Roka, Charlotte Street.

Roka on Charlotte Street has been one of my favourite luxury Japanese restaurants for a while. I first went there with work on a work lunch, and ever since I first tasted their sashimi and black cod, I have been in love. Jasiminne and I were long overdue for one of our London restaurant reviews, so I pinged her a message and we arrange a day to go and get our raw fish fix.

Photo from Jasiminne

I love the photo above that Jasiminne took! Is it weird that I like the fact I'm in it, but that I'm out of focus?! Anyway, I started with a cocktail and Jasiminne a glass of champagne. I usually go for traditional Sake when I'm at a Japanese restaurant, but it was a Friday evening and I just really wanted a cocktail. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was, but it was pretty delicious! It was very light and summery, perfect for the beautiful sunny evening we were blessed with.

We ordered loads of food, and started with a sashimi platter and my favourite type of sushi; California Maki Rolls!

We then moved on to the spicy soft shell crab. Omg. So moreish. I'm not a massive spicy fan, but I always get this, eat it and burn my mouth, but continuously go back for more.

Now, the Black Cod is usually heavenly. But for some reason it wasn't as good as previously. Jasiminne loved it, and don't get me wrong, I did too. I just don't think it was as good as I've had it before.

Now, after the Black Cod we decided to order the Beef Dumplings as well, but then they arrived and we realised we didn't actually want them. I don't know if it's because we realised we felt quite full when they arrived, but I wasn't particularly impressed by them. They were ok, but I've had better.

The desserts however were without a doubt the cherry on the cake. Jasiminne opted for the Green tea chocolate cake which oozed a brightly coloured green tea liquid from the centre when she cut into it.

I had a fruitier option, yoghurt and almond cake, with mango toffee, and caramel miso ice-cream. It was absolutely heavenly! Definitely one of the best desserts I've ever had. It really was the perfect summer dessert; the cake was so light and had so much flavour to it, and the mango toffee and caramel miso ice-cream complimented it perfectly.

We had such a lovely evening catching up and having a gossip, and before we knew it we looked around us to find the restaurant filling up fast! We'd purposely got there early and sat by the window for prime photo-taking without annoying other diners, and had been so lost in our discussions and food that we'd totally missed everyone else arriving! I love how Roka is open and so light and airy, ideal for any type of group, whether you're just there with friends or for a more special occasion.

Have you been to Roka? What's your favourite Japanese restaurant in London?

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