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| - Super fun, hip environment with very good sushi.
I like the spin they put on the sushi experience with having an open-flame grill. This Roka Akor has a much better energy than the one I visited in downtown Chicago. The scene is vibrant, the servers super friendly and tattooed, and the sushi chefs all are hipsters except the quintessential serious Japanese guy forming the nigiri. I'm a sushi snob and a perfectionist, so quite hard to please, but they did a good job. I tried a wide selection of items; here's a rundown:
1) Edamame - very good, I liked the shaved sea salt. This was a sign that Roka is about adding that extra touch to the presentation
2) Sashimi Deluxe Platter - this is a big-spend item, and a lot of fish. Some of the cuts are premium, others are specials of the day. The presentation is grand, however, I did not like that they serve all this on ice. I'm not sure why so many restaurants do this, as it makes the fish too cold which reduces their taste. It is served with freshly ground wasabi and sliced ginger.
Here's a synopsis of this hefty platter starting from the bottom (if you reference the photos):
- Oysters - served with chile and a ponzu sauce, reminds me of Morimoto but less delicate
- Toro tartar - excellent, loved this mixed with some scallion. It was like a negitoro roll sans the rice and nori
- 5 types of white fish - hamachi was good, three-line grunt was interesting, some were not cut as expertly as I would have preferred, a bit floppy
- Akami and maguro - two types of tuna, the pieces were massive and too much fish per mouthful
- O-toro and chu-toro - o-toro was a bit greasy and not as sophisticated as I'd like being from Spain not Japan, the chu-toro, however, was standout, in that it combined a succulent fatty taste with a bit more texture
3) Robata mushrooms - cremini mushrooms. Not much to say here except the skewer concept is fun, and I think next time I'll opt for more skewered items, such as waygu beef if available!
4) Salmon sashimi - I wanted to try some more sashimi, the salmon had a nice light texture
5) Nigiri flight - Ikura was very fresh, each fish egg was perfectly formed and not frozen or desiccated. Uni was from santa barbara and oh so sweet. I was so happy they had this. The nori (seaweed paper) was a bit plain and not toasted. It seemed as though they had picked it up at the local Whole Foods, but I could be wrong. Shari (rice) was slightly above room temperature and had a touch of vinegar to it. I liked it. Oh, and the Unagi. Unfortunately, for a grilling restaurant, I think they became a little overzealous and charred my poor freshwater eel. Don't worry, I ate them up anyway
6) Amaebi with fried heads - I wanted to end on a sweet note, so went with sweet shrimp. The amaebi were extremely fresh and cracked open in front of me (alas, they were not alive at the time). As an extra decadent touch they deep fried the heads, which, despite being a health nut, I savored. There's something about the warmth and crispness of the heads, and still they retain a granule of that sweet flavor which makes amaebi so fun
All in all, a very good experience. The GM was accommodating and made me feel welcome, and the sushi chefs, while not garrulous, were happy to smile and nod. I would've preferred a bit more information on the provenance of each fish and what made each item special, however, this is a good place to unwind with a drink, throw down some sushi, and sample savory grilled items
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