Craving Japanese Food at Roka, Canary Wharf
Craving Japanese Food at Roka, Canary Wharf
Roka, Canary Wharf – restaurant review
Roka is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in London, and today I’m heading in to try out the Canary Wharf branch.
I’m glad to find that the feel of Roka Canary Wharf is much the same as the other Roka restaurants. From the outside, the floor-to-ceiling glass exterior leads to a warm, timber-clad interior. In addtion, seating is arranged around the central Robata – the Japanese grill that informs most of the food at Roka Canary Wharf.
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The best things to eat at Roka Canary Wharf
Roka’s menu is brilliant. There are pages and pages of delicious food, each sounding nicer than the last. I’ve been here before so I know the menu well, and flick through the raw options, before going to the grilled Robata dishes and the meats.
With so many delicious things to eat, ordering is never easy at Roka. In the end, we choose to start with the signature Roka sashimi platter.
The Roka sashimi platter
The sashimi platter is filled with sashimi arranged on a mountain of ice, and served with freshly grated wasabi.
Although I love the slices of sashimi, my favourite part has to be the tuna tartar. This is finely minced and mixed with a quails egg yolk. Mmm the smell – it’s gorgeous. In addition, there’s a small amount of Sevruga caviar, and shards of super-fine cracker.
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We take turns spooning the silken tuna on to these shards, and top each mouthful with a few beads of caviar. As we knew it would be, the tartar is the decadent cherry that tops the whole thing off. Nom.
This is swiftly followed by the yellowtail sashimi. Here we have membrane-thin slices of the fish, splashed with a refreshing yuzu truffle dressing.
The slickness of the yellowtail sashimi is followed by the soft shell crab maki, which gives depth and texture. Imagine it – crab that is soft and sweet, encased in a frothy tempura, rolled in rice and nori. Heaven.
We dip back to the raw section one last time with tuna tataki, rolled with shredded daikon and topped with apple mustard dressing. This is such an incredibly refreshing dish, that I can see why it followed the tempura maki. In fact, it’s almost like a palate cleanser.
After spending some much needed time with the sushi, sashimi and tartar, we head to the Robata grill section of the menu.
Adventures on the Roka Robata Grill
First we try the ponzu skewered scallops, licked with flame and topped with more of that fresh wasabi and shiso.
The Roka signature – black miso cod
Next up, the star of the show and the dish that Roka Canary Wharf is so famous for… The miso black cod.
This gorgeous fillet speaks of a sticky-sweet miso glaze that encrusts flakes of juicy cod. On the outside is a blackened char, courtesy of the Robata grill.
I’ve had miso black cod lots of times before in various Japanese restuarants in London. It’s safe to say that the one today at Roka Canary Wharf is one of my favourites!
To finish off the fish section we also order the Rockshrimp tempura. It’s sort of a side order at first – a recommendation from the waitress – but once we try it it becomes clear why this is a Roka favourite.
The Rockshrimp are tender and luscious, and each piece is covered in a delicate tempura batter. Delish.
By now we’re getting a bit full, but a dinner at Roka Canary Wharf could never be complete without having their lamb chops.
A firm favourite – Korean spiced lamb chops
Korean spiced lamb chops are seared on the Robata, and the fire and heat have crusted the lamb with colour and smoke. Each piece is succulent and waiting to be bitten, and is draped with cooling segments of dressed cucumber.
We also try the beef, ginger and sesame dumplings. Just look at that pan-fried golden goodness…
The iconic Roka Canary Wharf dessert platter
Roka are known for their desserts, and specifically for their dessert platters. These enormous works of art are filled Japanese treats.
We love the chocolate fondant most, imprinted with Roka in golden letters and filled with oozing, hot matcha.
Scooping the molten chocolate and swirling it with the piles of ice cream and sorbet is so much fun!
And so this brings us to the end of our dinner at Roka Canary Wharf. I have to apologize if this post seems too complimentary, but by now I know exactly what I like to eat at Roka, and so everything is basically a favourite.
Is the food at Roka Halal?
Roka don’t serve any halal meat. But they do have a halal sushi menu, and lots of halal fish and vegetarian options if you’d like to visit.
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The Details
Roka, Canary Wharf
Address – 40 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FW, UK
Website – Roka, Canary Wharf
Phone – 020 7636 5228
Nearest Tube – Canary Wharf
Disclaimer – the halal food status note for Roka is true at the time of writing. Please phone or email the restaurant before you make a booking to double check the halal food status and anything around cross contamination.
We dined as guests of the restaurant.
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