There was a Timeout deal to have a meal at Roka in Aldwych. The reviews have always been good and it was one of the few places to offer a special during the Christmas period. I am skeptical about Timeout deals because most of the time they aren't - Timeout just overinflate the perceived value to make it seem reasonable. For example this deal on Timeout costs £42 with a bellini and unlimited wine - in the restaurant it is £43 with a bellini or £59 with unlimited wine. So therefore you need to drink a lot of wine to make this actually a deal. And considering I don't drink wine and the extreme Christmas flu I had prevented me drinking anything, I just had to be content that the food was good. And to be fair, it was.
- Edamame with sea salt - standard and salty;
- Selection of vegetable pickles - decent kimchi;
- Robata vegetables with sweet yuzu miso - grilled vegetables with a nicely savoury balanced sauce;
- Soba noodle salad with kurumi dressing - cold soba salad;
- Chef's sashimi selection - one piece of salmon, tuna and kingfish per person. Quality was standard;
- Spicy mixed sashimi with cucumber & asparagus - I think this was replaced by the other maki roll;
- Vegetable maki with kampyo, cucumber, avocado - a refreshing roll with a bit of wasabi mayo;
- Japanese pumpkin & sweet potato salad - a bright orange mash that seemed a bit light in flavour;
- Chicken & sancho gyoza - small amounts of meat in the pretty parcels and nicely panfried;
- Prawn & vegetable tempura - juicy crisp prawns were the stars of the dish.
The sharing starters were all ok but paled in comparison to the mains. The robata items are all visible cooking in the middle of the open kitchen and it is impossible not to want these when selecting a main.
- Baby chicken, lemon, miso & garlic soy - outstanding chicken in flavour and tenderness;
- Beef sirloin, chilli & spring onion - requested and cooked perfectly medium-rare with reasonable tenderness but even better glazing and dipping sauce;
- Glazed baby back ribs with cashew nuts - 7 ribs per serve from a good meaty pig;
- Grilled skewer selection - chicken, lamb, pork and nicely done.
Finally the Roka dessert platter was presented to the table. The whole platter is impressive with the chocolate buddha being the most intricate. He is accompanied by various balls of fruit icecream, green tea and berry pannacotta, and some fruit. It's a fine way to finish.
Overall the food quality and presentation is excellent. The highlights are clearly the dishes cooked on the robata as expected these have great texture and strong flavours. I'm sure what the normal a la carte prices are like but I'd happily go back with another voucher - it's especially good value if you drink enough wine...