Roka Canary Wharf - Third Time's A Charm

I've had bad experiences every time I've been to Roka. Nothing to do with the food, mind. Just for some reason every time I go it immediately triggers a crisis at The Boyfriend's work. The first time we went he was 2 hours late for dinner, which meant that I actually ate alone. The second time, I had to sit and watch him talk on, not one, but two conference calls at the same time, (a phone at each ear) throughout our lunch. Surprisingly, each time I stil enjoyed myself because the food is so good I don't think I would even have been capable of talking. I'm pretty sure anything could happen in the restaurant around me and I would still be a supremely happy bunny. Which is why I will jump at any chance to go. My only real problem with Roka, (bar the Bank world collapsing every time I go) is that its too popular for its own good. It takes at least a week to get a table, and inside they've tried to squeeze too many people in, which also has consequences on the service, which suffers as a result.

I'd never really considered Canary Wharf as a place to go to dinner, (as I'm sure most people haven't, unless you work in the vicinity) but for the Boyfriend and I, starving at 7.30 pm on a Monday night, craving sushi and tired, Roka Canary Wharf seemed like a perfect choice. They had space last minute, (finally a good restaurant in London with space!) and on public transport took me only 10 minutes longer than walking to Charlotte Street, and this way didn't involve any rain. Sold. 


The restaurant itself is basically a larger version of the Charlotte Street venue, except they probably have similar numbers of tables as these were evenly spaced. It was half empty but the atmosphere didn't feel as empty as it was.

We started with a Age Wari Gan roll - Soft shell Crab, cucumber, Kim Chi and Chilli Mayonnaise. The soft shell crab was crunchy but still soft and and the mayonnaise provided a bit of spice to the roll. However, the Kim Chi and cucumber flavours were lost due to the strength of the mayonnaise. Still, easily the best soft shell crab roll in London. My only criticism is the fact that they are 5 rolls instead of the traditional 6 which makes splitting them difficult especially when they are so good. Playing the " If you really loved me card" here is advisable.

We then had Fried Baby Squid, Schichimi and Lime - which was the low point of the meal. It wasn't that it was bad, it's that relative to the other things we ordered it wasnt as exciting. Poor ordering on our part. The lime flavour really dominated in this dish, which was a nice change to the usual plain calamari, again the Schichimi (a japanese spice mixture) flavour was either non existent or destroyed by the other flavours. They were nicely cooked though and not too greasy.

My highlight of the meal, actually scratch that, highlight of my life were the ribs. They were amazing. Sticky and spicy, in a barbecue sauce type glaze, but not smothered in sauce like your typical ribs. Crunchy cashews nuts and spring onion added an extra uumph. They were so good I didn't care that I looked revolting stuffing my face with the ribs  and ended up being covered in the glaze. None of it mattered because they were so damn good.

The Seabass arrived shortly after the ribs, luckily as after I started eating those I wasnt about to stop to take a photo of some vegetables, so I managed to get a quick shot of it. The Seabass is good. Its about the same standard as Nobu and the rest. I have never felt the need to touch the yellow sauce that accompanies it (no clue what it is) as the seabass is flavoured enough to make it redundant. It was perfectly cooked, as always, and fell away in flakes after a gentle poke with a chopstick. Lovely, but second fiddle to the ribs.


Aubergine and asparagus accompanied these two. The aubergine was baked in its skin and served with a little spoon with which to scrape it out. Covered in yet another sauce so good I couldn't believe that this could possibly be healthy. (To be honest, god knows what they put on it to make it taste like this, but it was a vegetable so I assume it has to be just a little bit healthy).The asparagus had been grilled on the Robata and was still satisfyingly crunchy. It tasted just like asparagus should which was refreshing after the rich glazes/sauces on everything else we had ordered.


All of this was accompanied by a nice carafe of some wine which, I liked as always but about which The Boyfriend seemed fairly apathetic. The service was perfect, the waiters really didnt miss a beat (probably helped by the fact the restaurant was half empty).


The total came to 50 a head, not cheap by any means, but when considered relative to the competition around it, (I'm thinking about you, Barbecoa) and given Roka is also an "it" restaurant, its a pretty good deal. I challenge anyone to find better Japanese in London for the same price. The Canary Wharf venue has none of the problems its older sibling does and comes off as less pretentious too. It seems to be more about the food. But maybe I'm just biased because for once at Roka I wasn't a Blackberry widow.


Roka
1st Floor,
4 Park Pavillion,
 40 Canada Sq,
Poplar, E14 5
0207635 5228