Roka Canary Wharf

Nice, woody décor and the best selection of ‘robata’ you can get. If you think you like grill, you have to try this. The chicken is skewred and come with spring onions, I have also discovered a really good sake, the dassi 39, an excellent variety.

This is the place to go for a unique experience of the best of what Japan has to offer in terms of food.
From great sushi and sashimi, to delicious scallops, and lamb cops and Kobe beef to die for.
Tips: go for one of the set menus to try a range of great food.
Highly recommended!

Food is nice but very pricy! Like every other Japanese restaurant, the food portion is small. The Sunday brunch is very nice. I love the black cod and order it every time.

I haven’t had sushi since I left New York, so I was super excited to come to Roka. I was pleasantly surprised upon my arrival during a Friday lunch hour — the restaurant was buzzing with people and had an overall great vibe. I found the quality of sushi to be fantastic — which I was nervous about since a few people have commented that London doesn’t have the best sushi, but honestly this was very good. We ordered a ton of stuff, but most notable in my opinion was the yellowtail sashimi salad and the miso black cod (it wasn’t as good as Nobu’s, but it was good!). The service was attentive and the food just kept on coming. I can’t wait to come back!

The food was delicious.
Black cod absolutely, but also the truffle carpaccio.
It is expensive, but it’s worth it.
The restaurant is nice even though a bit aseptic.
The service was impeccable and so was my martini.

Brilliant restaurant and really good service. We went for the weekend brunch offer which I would really recommend. The sushi was extremely good and it really was all you can eat, all you can drink, whilst still remaining sophisticated.
We had the middle price brunch menu. In future I think I would just go for the cheaper one as the starters are so good and the cheaper main choices still looked very good.
Enjoy!

Was taken here for my birthday a couple of years ago and we all got the premium tasting menu. It was pricey (I think it was at least £130 per head) but so worth it. The black cod was my favourite, but absolutely everything was delicious. Worth coming here for special occasions, and seems to be less crazy than the Charlotte St branch. This would also be a good place to go for work lunches, being in the heart of Canary Wharf, and should please most discerning palates. My only complaint was that we couldn’t get through the booze that came with our tasting menu fast enough!

THE BEST! Took my man for Christmas lunch here during the weekend when they have the special brunch deal, and the food was all-​in-​all incredible. Great service, great vibe, great buffet and wines. We took the most expensive buffet option of £66 (with champagne) and looking back the £45 would have worked just as good, because you have unlimited access to the buffet too. Will definitely come back starving!

This review is only for the AYCE/​AYCD brunch. Amazing!
Since moving to London, we’ve pretty much given up on finding good, moderately priced sushi. We had become spoiled in New York with a wide range of quality sushi options at different price points. However, we heard some great things about Roka’s all-​you-​can-​eat and drink weekend brunch. Even though there are a number of Roka’s throughout London, only the Canary Wharf location offers this brunch deal, probably due to the desire to lure people to the finance-​heavy neighborhood on the weekends… which totally worked on us!
We made a reservation for a 12:30pm Sunday brunch seating and ended up arriving a bit early after taking the DLR from Bank. Roka is located on the second floor of the Canada Square building and features floor-​to-​ceiling windows overlooking Canada Square Park. The hostess was quite happy to seat us early, as there was plenty of seating available. The majority of the seating is located across from the buffet in a dimly lit dining room with wooden tables and plush chairs. The front area consisted of the bar, hightop tables and a few more lounge-​type seats. We asked if we could sit in the front, as we preferred the natural light as well as the view into the park.
As we sat down, we were presented with the brunch menu. Brunch has three different menu options (£42, £54, £66). All of the brunch options come with the buffet, the only difference was the choice of entrees and the wines being served; the most expensive brunch also came with a sashimi platter and a glass of champagne instead of a Bellini. We didn’t really care too much about the entrees, as we were focused on the, sushi so we decided to order the cheapest brunch, the koten brunch, at £42.
For the welcome drink, there was an option for a Bellini or a Bloody Mary. Adam opted for the Bloody Mary, which was quite good and I had the Bellini. The Bellini was light and clean, albeit a bit more sour than what I am used to, but still a really nice way to start off the meal.
After the welcome drinks, we requested the white wine and I asked for a green tea and passionfruit iced tea. The servers were really good about topping off our glasses when they were getting low throughout the two hours we were there. The iced tea was surprisingly great! Not too sweet and it was apparent that they used quality matcha that gave the iced tea a lovely deep green color. The passionfruit added some fruitiness to give it an interesting twist, definitely a really nice drink for a summer day.
Right after our menus were taken and before we could head to the buffet, a server brought over some freshly fried squid. The squid was tender with a light coating on the outside. Even though we were trying to restrain ourselves so we could have more room for the buffet, the squid was quite good and we quickly gobbled this up.
As we were polishing off the squid, a plate of beef gyoza came. Adam had one but stated that it wasn’t anything special. I had one later on and thought they were comparable to frozen gyoza.
When we came back from our first trek to the buffet, a steaming bowl of edamame was waiting at our table. It was a really nice service that they continued to bring these small bites (more squid came soon after!) but we knew their ploy was to bring the less expensive items to the table to try and prevent more eating from the buffet.
After perusing the various hot and cold offerings available at the buffet, we both decided that our first plate would consist of mostly sushi and sashimi. All of the items were very fresh, as they had a slew of chefs consistently replenishing and replacing all of the 30 or so items at any given time. Additionally, the fish was of good quality — and not just for all you can eat. We also loved that they had various sashimi options available as well. The one item that really surprised us was the amaebi (sweet shrimp/​spot prawn) which they had as both sushi and sashimi and wow, were these good! Whenever Adam and I saw them at the buffet, we tried it. However, by about 1pm (an hour into our time at Roka) they stopped serving the amaebi. Also, there seemed to less variety as well. This could definitely also have to do with the fact that by 1pm the place was quite full. So, if you’re interested in having more options, we would definitely suggest getting there on the earlier side.
I didn’t find the octopus (too much sauce) or the sliced beef anything special and didn’t end up getting more of that. However, the salmon sashimi sitting on a bed of shredded daikon and topped with a ponzu sauce was really nice and something that I usually had on most of my plates. Also, sashimi was a must on every trip as well since the options kept changing.
For the rest of the review and photos:

I’ve been here for Brunch and was completely amazed so when I came here with a vendor for Lunch on a weekday, I’m really shocked why I’ve got such a bad taste in my mouth — literally.
First the good stuff: the service here is great, no doubt. Hence why I gave the review two stars instead of one. The ambiance is nice, definitely like an upscale hotel inside. Loads of servers and very friendly.
Now the bad stuff: portion sizes. seriously small pieces of sushi! I ordered hamachi sushi and the cut was tiny and was very dry! Definitely not worth the price. I also ordered the black cod/​crab dumplings. Tasted great and after the 3^rd one I was really liking it — that is until I bit on a crab shell (?!) seriously shouldn’t be happening in such an upscale restaurant — almost chipped a tooth! Service was great and of course I got the dish replaced, but seriously this shouldn’t happen.
The rest of the meal was good — teriyaki salmon, black cod, and some other sides. All in all I’d say come here for the Brunch and skip the Lunch.

Very nice. Third time visit and always delivered to perfection. Sashimi set is amazing. Can get a bit loud if you are sitting beside the grill…

Oooooh I liked this place, was taken here by one of our agency partners at work and I have to say it was pretty bang on.
We went for the soft shell crab roll, beef carpaccio with truffle, tempura tiger prawns, spicy tuna… and various other bits an pieces.
Favourite had to be the crab followed by the tempua… all delicious! A roka ice tea is also a pretty awesome thing with a half of passion fruit in there.
Great meal and I will be back.
Roka comes highly JD Recommended.

It was a spontaneous decision to dine here as we were too hungry to wait through the trip home after work! The restaurant looks like one of the nicer ones in Canary wharf. I like how you can see the robata grills and the masters preparing the sushi rolls towards the front. The lighting is a bit dark, though, and it feels more like a place where you would bring a client rather than your friends.
We ordered a variety of dishes. We had the
tiger prawn, grilled tofu, eggplant, negi toro maki, tuna tataki and baby back ribs. The tuna and maki were clean, fresh and delicious. The ribs were succulent and had me scavenging every last piece of meat from the bone. The tiger prawn looked impressive but was more show than taste. The eggplant and tofu were disappointing.
We had green tea and a Kirin to drink. I was pleased to see that we weren’t charged for the green tea refill as this has happened in other restaurants we visited.

Impressed and over-​delivered from my expectations.
I love this place– for the weekend brunch unlimited menu. I will definitely be back.
I’m very skeptical with unlimited options at restaurants because quality is usually compromised for that quantity. Was not the case here. Quality was fantastic. Sushi was great– fresh, tasty, well made and didn’t skimp on the fish. I’ve been to sushi restaurants where the rolls will have such a ridiculous ratio of rice than fish/​fillings, but at Roka, there was just enough rice for taste and the rest you can actually taste the fish and ingredients within the roll. This was the first thing I noticed and appreciated. There were other options such as soups, heirloom tomato salad, chicken skewers, and other really well presented choices– which were good as well. From the kitchen option, I had ordered the steak and it was delicious. Juicy and seasoned. The only thing is was that it was a bit fatty. The staff noticed that we didn’t finish and the manager came back and asked if we wanted another cut. We were blown away with the customer service. They had a lot of attention to detail and really made you feel like a valued customer. Don’t really experience that in London so it did blow us away and we were so impressed and pleased. When it came to dessert, they had added a bit extra b/​c of the steak. So nice and super great customer experience.
Drinks were so delic. The green tea/​passion fruit drink was amaaazing. The red wine was good as well. Very impressed b/​c I was expecting a cheapy wine since it’s unlimited flow. But quality was good and tasted good. The server was knowledgeable about the wine so that was appreciated and made the experience even better.
Everything was so tasty and presentation was impressive for this brunch. Don’t let the «all you can eat» deter you! Love this place and can’t wait to be back!

It’s long been a tradition amongst my friends (and I’m sure with many of you) to organise a meal to celebrate your birthday. Since I’m lucky enough to have a number of my cousins in London as well as my close friends, a suitable place with good food and the ability to seat a large number of people is important. Oh, and booze. Roka Canary Wharf ticks all the boxes when looking for a Sunday Boozy Brunch in a classy setting. There are some minor issues, to be sure, but overall it’s a great experience and one well worth the hefty price tag.
Roka is Japanese inspired which is reflected in the décor and style of the polite service. It’s a great place to eat with friends although perhaps not for families with young kids. It’s not cheap, with the three brunch choices ranging from £42−66pp although you can choose within each three rather than one level for the entire table.
The main issue I had with Roka was during the booking phase. I called up and asked to book a table for 14, and was politely told the table for 14 had been taken. Fair enough, can I have two tables for 8 instead? Yes, we have two tables for 8 available but we can’t promise to put them next to each other.
Now I understand that being able to allocate tables on the day helps with flexibility in planning for the restaurant and I’m on board with that. But given prior experiences (I’m looking at you Bar Boulud) with leaving it to chance, I found that table allocations seem to make little logical sense from a customer point of view as they seem to be made based on the convenience at the time. This left me feeling very frustrated with a rigid and somewhat hostile booking system when I was trying to bring in over a dozen people to spend a considerable amount of cash. Surely we should be working towards that same beneficial goal?
As I said above, there are three brunch menu options at £42, £54, and £66. The main difference is a different selection of mains and wines and the £66 menu has a sashimi platter to start as well. For the money, you get a welcome Bellini, unlimited wine, unlimited access to the diverse and delicious buffet bar, a main course, and a dessert platter.
I can’t even begin to go through all the variety of dishes laid out there but let’s pick a few highlights. Although we didn’t stump up for the sashimi platter, you do get a range of the more common sushi rolls and nigri as part of the buffet. There is also edamame to snack on, a variety of salads and soups, and various other dumplings, wontons, and meat. My favourites were the cold batter fried chicken which has a salty teriyaki flavour that was very moreish and tiny salmon topped sushi. The pork gyoza was pretty decent as were the wontons. The best way to sum it up is that we ate so much that tackling the mains started to become an impossible challenge. Also worth noting that they continuously replace dishes with new ones so the buffet bar is constantly changing while you are there.
Mains were similarly spectacular. I opted for the 5 spice roasted duck — perfectly cooked tender meat with a layer of tasty fat and a dry savoury spice rub. The black miso cod was epic (the gf got it so I got to snack on it too) and almost rivalled Nobu’s offering. On the lower end, the massive rack of short ribs looked pretty good and got favourable reviews from my friends. All the dishes were tasty — surprising for a place catering to a boozy brunch of this sort — and I tip my hat to the expertise of the kitchen.
Dessert was a tasty platter (check out the picture) with the highlight being a chocolate and mango layered mousse. They even wrote «Happy Birthday» in chocolate on the leaf which was a great touch. The only downside was that they were fairly stingy on the quantities with one platter being shared between four so you only got a taste of each type of dessert — what if you are in a group that doesn’t like sharing food?
I was nervous about this given the high price tag but with the amazing quality of food from the buffet and mains, the well-​matched wines, and then general upscale atmosphere, I’d have to go with a resounding yes.

Yet another example of style over substance. Nothing was terrible, but the price point suggested that is should be great, which nothing was.
I would not return to this restaurant.

This review is for the weekend brunch. Definitely make reservations for a large group but there seemed to be plenty of tables available when we got there. You get unlimited drinks, buffet and one main course item from the menu. You can chose different menus based on price — which will give you different selection of main and wine pairings. We went for the 42 ‘cuz the buffet spread looked really good.
Starting with the drinks — You get a Bellini on arrival with unlimited wine and bloody marys throughout your brunch. They do properly top you up through out the meal. There’s also hot green tea and this ice passion fruit green tea that’s very refreshing.
Starters buffet — I’m usually bit apprehensive about all you can eat japanese places but I have to say you can almost judge how the sushi is going to be by looking at it. There wasn’t a huge variety of sushi but your basic prawn, tuna and salmon — which were all so fresh and good. There’s so much to chose from like sashimi, salad, soup, vegetable tempura, makis. Pace yourself because you do have a main course that’s coming.
Mains — We ordered the baby back ribs, salmon and tempura dishes. The baby back ribs were really good — which can be very fatty but thought it was lean and cooked very well. The tempura was really good and the salmon was perfectly cooked.
Dessert — I was really expecting cut fruit for dessert so I was surprised that we got a platter spread. There was this chocolate mousse thing with mango sorbet and a brown rice kinda thing I don’t remember the name. By then, you’re probably stuffed beyond imagination.
I seriously haven’t eaten so much in a long time. I couldn’t eat dinner that night. Definitely worth making a trip out to CW.

Linzi loves sushi. Linzi really loves fancy sushi.
A rare treat for me today was a visit to Roka in Canary Wharf. Usually lunch is soup in the canteen not a 10+ course tasting menu. Roka is a lovely and spacious restaurant that is full of light. It was a little busy and loud for a business meeting but we made do.
I didn’t look at the menu, but trusted my companion’s choice in the tasting menu. This place is pricey so I don’t even know how much this entire menu cost. A lot, I reckon.
Service was swift and very courteous. Quickly an assortment of dishes arrived. Highlights for me were the melt in your mouth salmon and tuna sashimi, the amazing prawn and avocado maki, definitely one of the best rolls I’ve tasted in London, satay and chilli chicken, and the mushroom in koshu mayonnaise. We also had tempura, gyozas, and a strange chilli thing which i did not like. Everything was beautifully presented and seasoned and a step above every other sushi place I’ve been to in town. The baked sweet potato was a buttery revelation.
Dessert: what a beauty! A selection of fruits, lychee icies, creamy raspberry cheesecake and a slice of incredible mango and chocolate pudding cake. The little taster of mango sorbet was a dream!
If I could only eat in one restaurant for the rest of my life, it would be this.

Boy… Normally I can trust my fellow Unilocalers, but this time I was definitely swayed in the wrong direction. Normally, I’m not one to Unilocal immediately after eating at the venue, but I felt so strongly about this experience that I had to write my review up as soon as I could.
In short. I’m not sure whether these other people had the same experience I had. The venue was only about half full. Definitely not overwhelming busy to where the servers or kitchen be stressed. I had to wait a fair amount before being able to catch a waiters eye to order my dinner. I ordered up two rolls, a fish dish, and fried tofu. Not too difficult right?
The sushi took way too long to get prepared and delivered. Upon arrival, the sushi is just okay. It’s nothing special and the rolls themselves are nothing incredibly creative. However, the few options they provide, they do them well. At least you know you won’t be cheaped out like other low quality sushi places that use too much rice.
Then they took the sushi plate away and I waited another 15 mins for my main dishes to arrive. Why did this take so long, I have no idea. It was a grilled fish and fried tofu! Once they were served, I was underwhelmed by the dishes. The fish was a bit too lightly seasoned for my taste, and the fried tofu’s only saving grace was the sauce that came with the dish.
Either way, considering the cost and delay in service, I will never be returning. There’s a ton of other options available where you can get incredibly full to the point where your buttons are popping off your trousers. I left this place still feeling hungry! Never a good feeling.

Their Saturday brunch is a steal great selection of top quality Japanese food, including sushi and sashimi. And then you get to order a main course from the menu, as well as a platter of dessert to share.
Then there’s the drinks cocktail on arrival, 2 glasses of wine to pair with the food, and unlimited non-​alcoholic drinks.
Atmosphere is great for a leisurely Saturday brunch, away from hustle and bustle and so tranquil and quiet.