Roka, Canary Wharf, The Bottomless Brunch

Last weekend I enjoyed my first ‘bottomless brunch’, at Canary Wharf’s outpost of Roka, the award winning Japanese restaurants of Rainer Becker.

I was joined by my brother Dan and two friends for a Saturday afternoon treat and Roka didn’t disappoint.

I wondered if the vibe would be a little stilted on a Saturday at Canary Wharf, but it was buzzy and the clientele was a mix of groups of friends like us, couples and even families with children.

The decor is super modern and slick with the central theme being around the robata grill, which is open plan in the centre of the restaurant, so diners can view and engage with the cooking process.

On arrival we had the option of a bellini or a bloody Mary, both divine, whilst we mulled over the menu for our mains.

For the remainder of the meal, we had the ‘bottomless’ wine which in our case was the white, Le Anfore, dry and crisp and fruity with notes of elder flower, but very drinkable. I noticed an entire wall of wine, so if I returned I’d be interested to delve into that a little more and see what wines would be paired with the various dishes.

Once mains were selected we were invited to try the selection of appetisers from the counter, an Aladdin’s cave of treasure, that you could re-visit as you wish.

The buffet at Roka

Soba, cold noodles, Roka

Roka's buffet selection included soba, cold noodles, sushi, salads, an array of hot meat dishes cooked on the robata grill and hot noodles and soups as well as some tempura vegetables and little bowls of Japanese savoury snacks such as fiery rice crackers, wasabi peas and some unusual crispy slithers of which I’m not sure what you would call them.

Standout dishes for me from the vast array available, included the sashimi salmon and tuna, super fresh and tender, the padron pepper tempura, which were a complete revelation and insanely good and the katsu pork (thinly sliced pork fried in panko breadcrumbs. The sticky and sweet glazed chicken wings and the tomato salad were also fantastic, and the rest of the group were raving about some sliced lamb which had been cooked in an aromatic, sticky marinade.

Just as we were nicely sated after the buffet, a very welcome surprise dish of pork gyoza arrived at the table. These were fantastic, soft in the main but with one crispy fried edge and with tender, flavourful, herby pork inside. They inspired me to cook dumplings myself on Sunday, Potstickers and some wontons, of which I’ll share the recipe soon.

Gyoza at Roka

For the mains, three of us chose the same meal, the grilled rib eye with spring onions. In fact, Dan and I shared one of these and one of the tiger prawn and vegetable tempura dishes, a kind of Japanese surf & turf.

We all opted for ‘rare’ for the steak and it was absolutely delicious and so well cooked, to the point it just melted in the mouth. It had been marinated in the most intoxicating combination of flavours and was pretty damn near perfection. 

Rib eye from the robata grill at Roka

The tempura was also fantastic, succulent, juicy and fresh prawns, just cooked and in a light as a feather, but packed full of flavour batter. So good. 

Prawn tempura at Roka

The waiter was very prompt at refilling our glasses as soon as they were even a little empty, so by the time we were through with the mains, we were beginning to feel a little tipsy.

The finale at Roka’s brunch, is the dessert platter which arrives in a stone bowl filled with crushed ice and was absolutely beautiful to behold.

Fantastic dessert platter, Roka

It included a selection of fresh fruit, lovely and light and refreshing after our meal.

Alongside the watermelon, grapes and pineapple,was a sensational chocolate, milky pudding which somehow managed to be both rich and light. This was topped with an amazing nut brittle, drizzled with a caramel sauce and with a little banana ice cream on the side. Literally to die for.

Also on the platter were a couple of green tea panna cottas dusted with matcha, which looked fantastic, and went down well around the table.

We opted for the cheaper brunch of a selection of three, which at £49.00 per person, offers good value.

If I had any complaint, it would be that some of the ‘hot’ food on the buffet was slightly lacking in warmth, but that is being pernickety.

We all enjoyed and I’m keen to return to Roka soon, especially to try their tasting menu, which sounds divine. In the meantime I’m going to be on the hunt for my next bottomless brunch.

For more reviews of Japanese restaurants in London please see below:

Kyoto

Koya

Kyoto

I recently visited Kyoto, on Romilly Street in Soho with my Dad and brother after we got fed up of the queues outside of Koya where we had intended on eating for a mid-week, after work meal. Quite a different offering from the popular noodle bar, we opted to try a few different things on the menu and found it to be a great find, in an area where we would usually head to Gerrard St for Cantonese food.

The place is quite small and the tables are all very close together, but in a charming way, rather than just looking cramped, and the staff were incredibly welcoming when we arrived and we were soon seated on a table that ended up being a bit small for the amount we ordered.

We shared seven dishes and found most of them to be superb in quality and flavour – starting with vegetable tempura. Spears of asparagus and long, thin strips of butternut squash were coated in a very light, flavoursome batter, which had a crisp crunch and perfectly cooked vegetables inside – a very good start.

Next came the pork gyoza which were the best I’ve tasted. The delicate dumplings had a really tasty pork filling, and the pastry was quite thick, but was cooked through so avoided that doughy taste that sometimes occurs and they were gorgeously crisp on the outside too. We practically inhaled these, they were gone in moments. 

We ordered a crab sushi dish which the waitress had recommended for us, and this was good, although to be honest, I didn’t really feel it was any better than what you can pick up in any branch of Itsu, but I love their sushi so not a problem at all.

Next up came yakitori chicken which was another stand out dish – the chicken was moist and tender and the rich, sticky sweet yakitori sauce was utterly addictive. We had ordered some green vegetables to go alongside this and they were in a very salty dressing so these two dishes complemented each other well.

We also had a seafood noodle dish, which was frankly bland and a real disappointment considering the standard of the rest of the dishes, the seafood was all cooked well and comprised prawns, scallops and some squid, the noodles just had hardly any flavour at all, which was a shame.

Now I simply find it impossible to enter a Japanese restaurant that has a chicken katsu curry on the menu and not indulge – I love this dish and so does my Dad so naturally we went for this too and were delighted with the curry. The panko-coated chicken was perfectly cooked and the mild, but creamy curry was delicious – a great dish all round, if a little predictable of us to order it, but it’s just such a warming and comforting dish it’s too hard to resist.

The service was impeccable, and the bill was around the £100 mark which included several Asahi’s each, so quite reasonable. Kyoto is a place I’d been past lots of times and never thought about trying it – but now we’ve found it, I’m certain we will go back again and again.