I don't know why this restaurant gets such poor reviews on Google... Maybe they've got the wrong restaurant!!
The decor is stylish with turquoise and walnut themed tables and chairs. I'm sure it's lovely during the daytime when you can see the lake in front of the restaurant. The layout is great because they have square tables for two set on an angle in front of the windows overlooking the lake so that people can sit beside each other instead of opposite to each other. The restaurant concept is steaks and seafood cooked on heated stones. The grills are from the company called Black Rock Grill, hence the restaurant name, Rok.
We arrived for the time of our reservation and we're promptly seated and our waitress came over right away to ask us what we wanted something to drink and brought over the drink menu. I ordered a virgin mojito and it has all the ingredients but has more lime juice in it.
Right after we ordered she brought over for mini warm ciabatta buns with butter. These are so good, it's tempting to eat a bunch. They will bring you more if you ask for it. Our appetizers came shortly after. The smoked duck Caesar salad was light and packed with flavour! The crab cake was quite rich and fairly filling. The outside was crispy and there was a generous slather of mayonnaise to accompany it. I kinda regretted ordering something so filling cause I was already getting full even before the mains came out.
My favourite part of the meal was having the steak sizzling on the hot stone. The servers recommended to us to remove the steak from the stone and place it on the plate beside to avoid overcooking the steak. They equip you with a sharp steak knife so when you're ready, just cut thin slices of meat and sear it on the hot stone before eating. I chose the ostrich meat as a special treat and it was well seasoned and didn't need extra seasoning or sauce. The ostrich meat tasted a bit like a blend of beef and duck and was very tender despite me cooking them completely.
The Manhattan steak had a little bit of tendons/fat which needed to be cut out and it lacked flavour. Each meat came with a red wine dipping sauce. To my delight, the roasted veggies were served in that tiny cast iron skillet! A side of creamy mashed potatoes was served piped in a hollowed-out potato.
Since it was my birthday they brought two pieces of chocolate brownies with a large sparkler to my table. I ordered the tonka bean creme brulee and it was really nice. The Sortilege cut the sweetness a little bit but I found that it gave a slightly bitter taste. The pineapple cheesecake was a crustless whipped cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet and pineapple on the inside. It's a very delicate dessert, only lightly sweetened and refreshing. We tried to finish the brownies but by then we had way too much food!
Overall a fantastic, satisfying experience and I would go back again anytime when I'm staying at the Esterel resort! read more