Roka Bar and Asian Flavors

Roka is now open. Roka used to be Tei Kei’s and has gone through an extensive upgrade and remodel. Same owners so I was leery at first as the last time that I went to Tei kei’s it was HORRIBLE! Well… that is not the case now. Bravo to the owners for doing such a great job of reinventing themselves and creating dishes that are creative, unique, and very tasty. The service was fantastic as well. Everyone was so friendly and very knowledgeable. We started with tempura avocado which was perfectly battered and complimented with a mint/​sweet sauce. Bueno! I had a cup of hot and our soup which was just okay. Something about it appeared off when it did not look like the traditional hot and sour soup and after tasting it my intuition was correct. No bueno! I would stay clear of the soup. Now the main dishes: Mongolion beef BBQ was delicious and prepared perfectly and had lots of flavor. Complemented with some friend rice and tempura cauliflower side dish… very good. My dining partner had the rice paper salmon which see said was very good. So, well done Roka! You seem to be onto something and I will be back. NOTE: The only reason that I am not giving 5 stars is because when I exited the restaurant to my left of the door in plain view there were some employees smoking cigarettes and swearing like sailors. Just kind og gross to me to be able to see those who handle my food smoking cigarettes in plain view. Maybe they need to go behind the dumpster or some other place to do so other than right to the left of the entrance where everyone can see and hear them.