This a very nice restaurant, definitely recommend to any Japanese food lover. The atmosphere is great, however, the restaurant gets really busy during weekends which makes it hard to find a table. I am a vegetarian but they have quite a few vegetarian options on the menu. It quite pricey but worth it if you love food! read more

The food is delicious and staff was super helpful and friendly in deciding what we should order. However, we were with my husband's parents who thought the place was too hip for them. Also they had problems hearing the conversation over the loud music. I would return with my husband or friends our own age. read more

My favorite sushi anywhere. And my anywhere in this instance is pretty much all over the US - and London. I go to Roka on every visit - lunch or dinner, each one is fabulous. Not sure you save any money by going for lunch, unless maybe you drink less. The yellow tail sashimi is sliced so thin you can see the plate through it, a must have every time. As is the tuna tataki. Love the miso cod, the eggplant, I could go on. Great atmosphere, trendy without feeling like you have to be uper cool to go there. Very good wine list. Go. read more

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Amazingly displayed food, more like art I'd say! The flavour were amazing and I'd definitely return. Fast and helpful service too read more

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Very generic, not good as expected, tasting menu is disappointing. Not recommend if you expect a great Japanese dish, the fusion is too western and it feels like it's not respecting the ingredient and its combination of ingredients is confusing (e.g. a very bad use of truffle and Waugh) read more

Overall, a good place. The service is fantastic - really friendly and really attentive. The food was something of a mixed bag, but let me qualify that: I'm from California and we get GREAT sushi. The sushi and rolls here are good but I've certainly had better in California. The absolute highlight was the yellowtail sashimi with truffle oil - that was amazing! I'd go back there just for that. We had the Rotaba beef, which was good, but in my opinion, needed more salt. The experience was really nice and the neighborhood had a cool vibe. read more

Horrible, incredibly rude experience! I've eaten here many times, and have enjoyed it until recently. Unfortunately, my last two experiences were sub-par, and the most recent so bad I cannot imagine returning. They've lost their edge, and are no longer worth it. Actively avoid this place. We made dinner reservations in advance. Within minutes of sitting, we ordered the tasting menu, at their suggestion. I've had it in the past; it's a large tasting menu, with many courses (twelve?). The food was generally good, but it took them a long time (30-45 minutes?) to start serving us, and once they did, it was very, very rushed. We were eating very quickly--even by American standards, and by European standards it was a flat-out race to finish. Toward the end, they were bringing us multiple courses simultaneously, and taking away dishes before we could finish them. Finally, they brought the desert--which looked pretty. I wish I could report on how it tasted. Unfortunately, as they brought the desert, they also informed us that they had people waiting for our table, and they needed us to leave. They acted as though we had done something wrong. This before we'd even had a chance to eat our dessert! We pointed out to the manager that we had been eating as quickly as they served us, and that we wanted to finish the meal. Now, here's the crazy part--the manager actually came and took our desert away while we were eating it, informing us that it was time to leave! So here's my response: We did not design their tasting menu. We ordered the most expensive item on their menu, and ate it as fast as they delivered it. It is not our fault they took a long time to get started, nor that they are booking tables too closely together given the menu they have designed, and their ability to serve it. We didn't expect them to take as long to serve the meal as they did (2.5 hours total). And I hate feeling rushed by a restaurant who clearly cannot get their own act together. But to actually come to the table and remove food, which they've charged us for, and tell us (in front of our guests) that we had to leave because they had booked the table, is simply inexcusable. Hey Roka: if you want your tables turned more frequently, don't take so long to start serving, and don't design and recommend a menu that you cannot serve in the time allotted! The food is okay. The price is very high (£120 per person, without alcohol). The service sucks. Avoid. read more

In my memories Roka has the place as one of the best Japanese food experiences I have had, during my most romantic dates ever. But don't worry this praise is not going to be too sweetly flavored..the relation ship is over, now go there just for the divine food. On my unforgettable dates we had this seafood tasting menu for two, that pretty much covered Japanese cuisine from raw fish to a divine deserts. They just kept bringing us different plates of food like art pieces, that was fun and cute to share. I have no idea what the bill was, but I am sure it was a lot. The place is cosy with contemporary interior and with a big open grill on the first floor. The food is amazing, not just sushi and sashimi but also roka and rokata, and other Japanese modern dishes with names I have never heard of. Because the word has spread around you need a table reservation during the weekends. read more

Great place!! They use such lovely fresh ingredients, no sushi dish will disappoint you, in fact the tasting menu is so good that the first couple of times I was there I had that rather than choosing from the complete menu .The atmosphere is buzzing, the place is airy and vibrant. Service is excellent, which is to be expected. Keep in mind that it could be a bit on the pricey side. If you want to eat at the counter rather than at a table you wont have to book in advance on weekdays, but on w/e this place is crazy and gets packed even in the early hours for dinner. There's a bar downstairs where you can also eat and is a bit less noisy, and in my opinion it gives you a bit more privacy. I prefer the top floor. Definitely worth a visit! read more

I love this place. I came a couple of years ago and when a friend reminded me of it, I decided to head on over for lunch on my last visit to London. I ordered salmon sashimi, a soft shell crab roll, eggplant robata and a special foie gras appetizer. The foie gras was served as four sliced disks from a large torchon, wrapped in seaweed, and served with some crackers and pickled vegetable. Everything was beautifully presented, incredibly fresh, and could not have been better. The one complaint I had was that the large portion of foie gras was far too rich and far too large for me but I couldn't resist finishing it anyway. read more

Visiting London for a couple weeks, staying in Fitzrovia, Roka is a favorite of my friends and I understand why! What a fun restaurant to visit, from the time you walk in staff is excited and friendly. The place is bumping with energy, it's a very lively dining experience on a Thursday night, I imagine it's over the top on Friday/Saturday. Dining with locals, we chose to sit downstairs and were seated at the bar table, totally awesome. We started out with an award winning cocktail prepared by Alexandro who created the passion fruit concoction, it was delicious! Alexandro paired cocktails with our meal selections, he is awesome to sit with. ( none of our drinks were on the menu, each was made specially to our tastes by Alexandro, such a treat. Gloria was our server, she was amazing to have recommend great menu selections. We tried various sushi and sushimi as well as lamb chops and desserts. This was an amazing dining experience and I recommend sitting with Alexandro and Gloria at Roka! read more

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Absolutely amazing service and superb food! The basement bar staff are wonderful and mix a mighty Mojito!!

All the staff at bar downstairs including Paolo were attentive, fun and professional which made for a wonderful experience with my date--who used to be a regular. Mixed crowd, great music and of course, the food looked amazing (though didn't sample as we'd come from dinner). Wonderful vibe all around. Thank you Paolo et al. read more

Had one of the best meals of my life here. top 10 for sure. I am so glad that I made the decision to get the tasting menu. While I wanted to go all out and get the premium tasting menu, the regular was still phenomenal. I was scared that a restaurant with such a trendy ambiance would fall flat on the quality of the food, but instead it exceeded my expectations. Even the kimchi was phenomenal. All of the sashimi plates were delicious and my favorite dish was the sea bream (cooked). It was amazing. The sake selection was diverse and every bottle we tried was very good. The desserts were also great - there was some sort of chocolate pot of mousse and a couple of other interesting desserts that were subtle and very tasty, not overwhelmingly sweet. read more

We had reservations for 6 people and got seated right away, even thought we were missing 2 people who were running late. I thought it was very nice of them to seat us. The hostess was friendly and warm. Everyone loved their drinks. The service was excellent. The food and presentation of the food was excellent. People at the table ordered Sushi, Sashimi & Hot-pots. We all had desserts which everyone enjoyed and thought looked like a work of Art. We would all go back again the next time we are in London. read more

Elegant and High End robot a grill restaurant. Great modern japanese cuisine excellent sake selection by Natsuki Kikuya the Sake sommelier. Try the Grilled scallops with Yamahai Sake. Below a very charming Shochu bar. Excellent for business or important dates. Pricey, but top level. read more

Definitely the best asian fusion food in London. In my opinion better than Nobu. The sashimi is really fresh and i highly recommend the mushroom risotto (although it's not called risotto on the menu). If you have a special occasion I also recommend the tasting menu which is incredible. read more

This place ruins me for all other Japanese restaurants. Incredible. Superb on all levels.

Roka used to be my favorite restaurant in the city. Had dinner tonight. Very disappointed. Service was polite but nearly incompetent. In the first five minutes we felt rushed. And then all of a sudden we were left alone for a very long stretch before our orders were taken. It was 6pm and the lounge was nearly empty. Kimchi was so salty it was inedible. Being korean I have a high tolerance for salty kimchi. The lamb chops which are usually superb were just average and cooked unevenly. Temperature of all the food was a bit too cold. All in all still a decent meal but far from the standard i expect at this price and from this restaurant in particular. I feel bad giving it just three stars as nearly every meal I've had except the last one has been superb. read more

Visiting from LA for work and went with a coworker after a reco. Not only was the food a disaster with a myriad of weird to bad flavors I also became violently ill with food poisoning 24 hrs later. Would not recommend! read more

I don't know. I love the buzzy vibe, drinks, the room and the staff. But the food.....it's just ok. The grilled stuff is excellent. Same with Gyoza. Love the broccoli, beef and others. If you're from North America or Australia (or Japan) you'll be disappointed with the sushi. It's just not that good for the price. Go for the vibe and company. If you want solid sushi look elsewhere. read more

All stars for the food. The tasting menu was so good. The restaurant staffs (receptions, waiter, waitress, buser,..) gain zero star. they chatted with each other so loud (while most of customers were trying to whisper) that we could not enjoy this nice restaurant 100%. A nice restaurant should build a zen staff to make itself more valuable. read more

Excellent unique Robata-Style Japanese Restaurant in the Fitzrovia section of London! Beautiful modern decor, excellent service, and extremely tasty and well-prepared dishes make ROKA an excellent choice for those who wish for authentic Japanese cuisine beyond the usual sushi/sashimi restaurant fare! The grilled fish and grilled vegetables were delicious! We especially enjoyed the grilled cobia and kampachi fish and the grilled eggplant and portobello mushroom offerings! We went after theatre, needing reservations, as the restaurant was packed full on a Thursday evening at 10:30pm! Highly recommended! read more

Delicate, delicious japanese fusion in a hip, romantic setting (love the tree wood that makes up the sushi bar). A fantastic meal; we were awestruck by the seabream, the grilled mushrooms and the yellowtail salad. Next time, i'll go even more extensively with the grill. The use of few and incredible ingredients really makes each dish unique. Service is spot on. When in London... read more

Excellent service and food. The concept of Roka is family style eating but on a very small scale. The dishes are very small (our server recommended ordering 4-5 dishes per person). For example, the chicken and spring onion dish only includes two skewers. Our table of 4 ordered too many dishes to count and we ended up leaving about 3 dishes total at the table. I think a better recommendation would be to order 3 dishes per person and then order more if you are still hungry. The prices of the dishes add up very quickly! As a side note, the menu on Roka's website is not inclusive of everything they offer. They have a much larger selection than what is noted on the website. With 12.5% service included in the bill, our table of 4's bill was £225 which included food, one glass of wine, one mixed drink, one bottle of Coke (200ml), and one bottle of sparkling water. Below are the dishes we ordered and our thoughts: -Edemame - very large serving, nice sea salt on top -Spicy tuna maki - the smallest rolls I've ever seen but excellent (nice crusty touch on the rice) -Chicken and spring onion skewers - our favorite -Salmon - excellent -Sea bream - too meaty for our taste -Sea bass - good but as a warning, it is served with skin on (deboned) -Beef dumplings - excellent -Lamb - excellent -Duck - chewy, would not order it again, left all but two thin slices -Chili beef - excellent -BBQ ribs - very little meat, would not order again -Chicken wings - even less meat than the ribs, tiniest wings I've seen -Steamed rice - nice serving size, cooked well, needed salt (no salt or pepper on the table) -Asparagus - grilled to perfection -Broccoli - cooked perfectly, excellent taste The only reason why I did not rate Roka with 5 stars is: 1. Serving utinels are not provided with the dishes, so you are forced to use your chopsticks or cutlery to cut off pieces or scrape pieces off skewers (e.g. asparagus). My husband and I met his friend and her husband for dinner and it was a bit strange to have everyone's cutlery touching all the food, especially since this was the first time I had met them. 2. There is not enough room on the table for all the dishes, so staff was constantly moving plates around to make more room for the additional dishes as they were coming out of the kitchen. Perhaps it is just me but they always seemed to move my water glass or another dish near my right forearm, so my arm was either always almost knocking over my water or rubbing in one of the dishes. They need to invest in some sort of tiered structure in the middle of the table that can swivel. The table was too cluttered and it was impossible to pass dishes around as there was nowhere to set them after you have taken your portion off the plate. Overall, excellent experience. The nicest restaurant we have eaten at in London after having lived here for a year. read more

I really don't understand how anyone could have had a bad experience here. We ate here last night, and I was blown away by how good the food was here!! Coming from NY, I've had the opportunity to dine at some excellent restaurants. When people say there is no good food in London, I tell them they just haven't been to the right restaurants. I think without a doubt that Roka is one of the best restaurants in London!! We originally had a reservation for a table in the lounge downstairs, but one look at it and I asked to be reseated upstairs. While the lounge wasn't terrible, it was just very loud and more of a lounge to have drinks in, not dinner. Luckily, there was a table outside, so that was great, even though we didn't get to sit inside by the robayata grill. Everything was perfect, from our food selections, the drink suggestions, and dessert (ok, so the only thing we didn't care for was how incredibly slow the service was, but the amazing quality of the food compensated for that). Do be warned that the portions are small, and not cheap. Here's what we ordered: - Edamame: standard fare, nothing exceptional - Spicy tuna roll - small but really tasty - Black cod and crab dumplings - amazing!! One of my favorites from dinner - Tuna tartare with quail egg yolk - amazing!! Must try - Hamachi tartare with yuzu - very good. Can't beat the texture of a good hamachi - Lamb chops - probably some of the best lambchops I've ever had in my life. Soft, succulent and extremely flavorful - Sea bass with yuzu - this was sooo amazing. The skin was perfectly crisped, the fish was buttery, soft yet firm, and the yuzu flavor was incredibly fresh. - Steamed rice - I know, how can you improve steamed rice, but here they added cracked black sesame on top, which made it very nice Dessert: - Chocolate pudding with matcha tea - very nice, rich chocolate taste, however it completely overwhelmed the flavor of the green tea - Chawanmushi with fruit - incredible, satisfying and so comforting. I was lucky to have my birthday dinner here last night. You should definitely check it out, too! read more

I had really big expectations for Roka, however was quite disappointed. Don't get me wrong- the atmosphere is nice, as is the Shochu Lounge downstairs, but the food is very average. read more

Expensive, and the waiting staff have quite a bit of attitude, but the food is just good enough to put up with it.

3.5 stars. Not bad, but not amazing either. Quite expensive. For the same price range I recommend Sushi Samba.

Been waiting ages to come here as heard great things and did exceed my expectations. Great service and our waiter even choose some of our dishes. Being first time visitors they talked us through the menu and told us sizes etc. food was the best japanese I have ever had and the wine was perfect. This place is on the pricy side but was worth it each dish had amazing flavours and was really tasty. Very accommodating to us having babies and we even fit the buggy in with us! read more

The first thing to mention is that the food was lush! So fresh and just damn tasty. I was vocalising all the way throughhonestly think Harry & Sally x 10. It could have been better signposted, I walked up and down Charlotte Street twice before I found it (but I am slightly blonde). Even on a Thursday evening the place was heaving but that did not impact the level of attention from the waiting staff. We were constantly attended to and they were more than happy to help work through the menu. The sashimi was brilliant but that is a given so I will talk about the things I tried that was new to me and might be for you as well. The Ko Nasu (Eggplant) was magical. Seriously, it melted in the mouth and the flavours of the ginger and other marinade just made my tongue squeal. The asparagus with seasame seeds was also amazing, in fact my heart is skipping a beat as I write this - gosh food can evoke emotions - it was so exciting to eat something so familiar yet served up in such a different way. The only thing I wasn't so impressed with was the dark chocolate and maccha pudding (that had ROKA etched all over it!!) - it was YUCK but hey you might love it. It might as well have been marmite on a plate for me. There was some noxious looking green goo leaking out of it as well which I think the waiting staff (that recommended it!) mentioned was green tea somethingIt just looked like slime to me. The ladies toilet (I can't help but mention them in my reviews :blush:) was clean, small and dark. The lighting could have been better but I loved the dark wood and chrome. There were individual hand towels which I thought was a nice touch but no hand cream which was a bit blah. We stayed upstairs in the dining area so I can't comment on the bar below but it sounded really buzzy. I also know they do great cocktails or at least I have heard so but as I didn't try any last night I can't comment on this. My date and I went through a few bottles of rather lovely dry white wine though. All in all, I found it a great dining experience but although the company was much better last night and the food just as good, I would still choose my Umu date over it as my Japanese restaurant of choice in London purely on the understated glamour & exclusive stakes alone (oops does that sound as shallow as it reads?!). The atmosphere is a LOT more lively at ROKA though so it depends on what you are looking for. Can't comment on how expensive or not it was because I did not get to see the bill but I do know that I would happiy return regardless of who was picking up the bill! read more

This used to be my go-to sushi place in London but it's gone a little downhill. The food is still good but the service was terrible. I came in and had my water bottle in my hand and was told I couldn't walk in with it and was actually stopped and asked to put it in my bag. The server also never put my order in and when I asked about my hot dish towards the end of my meal I was told they didn't have it and it would take 20 minutes. The nigiri selection was good and very fresh and I have had great meals here in the past but it is no longer my spot for sushi in London read more

Roka was good, the dishes were interesting and the sushi was very fresh and nice but overall it lacked a bit of flavor. I am not sure what all the hype is about. The hostesses at the front were very rude and uppity and for as quickly as they wanted our table it took a good 15 minutes for anyone to greet us at our table when we sat down. We went down to the bar after dinner which was nice and a good atmosphere. Too many great options in London to go back. read more

I went to Roka for date night and had the premium tasting menu. It was a magical 7 course tasting menu, I still dream of the yuzu truffle oil dressing they used to drench the super high quality sashimi. The meal only got better with Wagyu beef cooked to medium rare perfection. The atmosphere was super cool with an exposed center kitchen/grill. Definitely highly recommended. ALSO! How could I forget the humongous dessert boat filled with sorbets, tropical fruits, brownies filled with green tea, and coconut ice cream filled with citrus amazingness. I'm drooling. read more

Simply the best meal I have ever eaten, and I've eaten at some pretty cool restaurants in the past. Epic presentation, awesome sashimi. Not cheap but worth it! read more

The soft ambience mixed with the delicate attention given to every dish has made Roka one of the most delightful culinary experiences in London. The tuna carpaccio with truffle oil captured it all - freshest ingredients, delicate preparation, simple but overwhelming flavor. read more

Great cocktails and food, particularly the black cod. Normally I don't like lamb at all, but this is the first place I've actually enjoyed it. The spicy beef was better than the wagyu, especially for the price. The dessert platter is more like a giant boat so unless you have a large party you're better off ordering a couple different ones to share. read more

While Roka is a beautifully executed restaurant with a staff second to none, the food is rather obvious and uninspired. Incredibly salty. It's a reliable place to take people who aren't hugely experienced with Japanese food, but want to experience really excellent service. read more

Since day one Roka has catered to a trendy crowd who want Japanese food but not the formality of a Japanese restaurant. Glass walled on two sides, walls which fold back to allow a terrace on warm summer days and nights, with the main robatayaki grill square in the middle edged by an elm bar and closely packed tables of simple yet elegant design, it's a place to be seen in. The food is very expenive. Here though it should be pointed out that no Japanese restaurant is cheap. Top quality raw fish is expensive and the penalty of eating non-quality raw fish doesn't need spelling out. I would particularly recommond the aubergine from the grill with mirin, ginger and soy. This made this sometimes unassuming vegetable take on new depths of flavour. A word of advice-steer away from the £50 taster menu. It gives you a full variety of the dishes on offer; but with some help from the waiting staff you can get some more interesting dishes at better value.. read more

Roka is buzzy, very busy (almost rushed) and ultra cool. Like many Japanese restaurants the portions are fairly small and, before you know where you are the bill mounts up. With drinks you can easily spend £70 to 80 a head (including the 13.5% service charge that's automatically added to the bill). But the food is ingenious, beautifully prepared and quite excellent... leave space for one of their sweet dishes which are absolutely superb. read more