Roka Akor | Old Orchard

Reviews 3

NA

Natalie Kimball

The hub and I had a late-lunch/early-dinner at Akora Roka for the first time Saturday. We passed it on the way to the movie theater to catch a matinee. Great smells coming from it, people dining outside and in an enclosed patio with large French windows opened completely. We looked at the menu posted by the door and saw it was Japanese with a nouveau cuisine vibe running through it. When the movie let out, we were pretty hungry so we decided to try the food. A cool breeze had picked up so we opted for a table indoors. The interior was quite attractive, with high ceilings and glass translating to a lot of light, and some beautiful wood. The menu had many hot and cold pre-entrees, as well as two nice salads and an impressive assortment of fresh sashimi, sushi and maki. Hot entrees had open-flame-broiled steaks and fresh seafood selections, including live, whole lobster. An intriguing item was a "house specialty" entree of a Japanese-style broiled lamb or pork chop, which was a new one to me. Ive never seen either on a Japanese cuisine menu before. I started with a miso soup, served in a covered dish. This was followed by a tempura combo of Asian prawns and butterfish with a selection of vegetables that was superb...just about the best tempura Ive had. I had a glass of saki that was tasty too; the saki selections are impressive. We also had a refreshing bottle of sparkling water, and my husband had a Japanese cocktail, gin with lychee purée and citrus liqueur. Very nice. He ordered a selection of sushi that we really enjoyed--very fresh and inspiringly seasoned. His entree was a thing called tataki; broiled pieces of butterfish (sometimes known as escolar) on a wood block. Neither of us had ever had the dish, or even seen it on a menu before. The taste was sublime. We asked about a dessert menu and, yes, there is one. The top item was a serving of unusual flavors of house-made ice cream and sorbet. Some are available in another item, a parfait combined with fresh fruits, accompanied by "lime shortbread". The server told us their most popular dessert is a warmed, chocolate cake, covered in toasted peanuts and something else, which I now forget. It sounds scrumptious, and I love chocolate, but I was interested in trying one of the unique selections. I went with a green tea custard, covered in banana frothed cream, with "chocolate pearls" and carmelized banana pieces. It was so mouth-watering my good, words cant describe. My husband had the apricot-lemon sorbet, which had a dramatic presentation, in a dish atop a mini-wood-crate filled with chipped ice, and an espresso, which I find unusual too for a Japanese restaurant. It was all pretty amazing and a very satisfying meal. Not cheap either. The check was over $100 but Im not complaining; it was a very fine meal and we both left feeling thoroughly sated and content. We dont mind spending a big chunk of change on an exquisite meal, which ours at Roka Akor was most definitely. Just wish we could dine there more often, but thats too rich for us. OTOH, I could stop in again for a dessert and nothing else.

EU

Eugene Feygin

ATMOSPHERE The place seems like a pretty good place for a date but I would consider dimming down the lights and maybe a DJ. When you walk in your greeted by a really beautiful host who makes the place feel really welcoming. The only thing is the bar area needs something - possibly a tv or a longer sitting area in order to get more people to engage but when you have only 7 seats - the spot seems a little bit like an after thought in order to just have a bar. Also the bar is not a sushi bar. One lady walked in and had a pretty funny reaction when they explained that the only bar she could sit at was a regular bar (she opted to sit near it). The mood here is definitely not like one in the city. SERVICE I sat at the bar and had two different waitresses around me and what I loved is that they were able to recommend some things they loved. They were great to talk to and very attentive for service and very pretty. Everyone was really nice and really well dressed. FOOD I first had a drink the Shochu Smash. It was alright but didnt really seem like there was a lot there too drink. Proceeded with a Spicy Tuna and Spicy Avocado rolls. Now I first want to say that I was pretty surprised they offered fresh wasabi (this is very rare in the entire Chicagoland area) which was great but the rolls were just really dull. The presentation was ok (I dont need the weird animals or any of that nonsense they sometimes do at sushi places) but it just seemed really lack luster. I typically rarely use any soy sauce and some wasabi and these rolls were just honestly not very good. I would not have ordered them again if I came back. I was really hungry and ate them anyway but not a place for sushi in my book (unless I ordered the wrong rolls). A A funny note - the recommendations that the waitress was providing were pretty remote from sushi (that was after I had ordered) and I think that should have been the sign that maybe sushi is something they offer but not something they really shine at. I then checked in on yelp and they brought out a pretty cool looking appetizer but it wasnt my thing but it was still cool to try something new. The dessert was the highlight of the evening. The really cute bartender/waitress picked it out for me: Tahitian Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberry and Rhubarb Compote. I personally dont like overly sweet desserts and this was a good end to the dinner. I would only recommend no need for the leaf on the bottom, or the cracker and place a small piece of mint on top and your golden. PRICING With the items mentioned above I was around $76 which to me seems a bit steep considering the location of this restaurant. This is a price I would expect to pay in the city but in the city I would have a completely different atmosphere. I personally think this is over priced for the meal I had and I would not pay this again.

JE

Jennifer Choi

Came here to celebrate my dads bday a couple of weeks ago- I love Rokas downtown location but living in Skokie their Old Orchard location was convenient so decided to visit this establishment for dinner. Being Saturday night the crowd control was seamless, constant movement with a lot of great energy. Even though the space is much smaller compared to their city location the ambience of the place makes you feel like youre dining in their hip downtown restaurant. The friendly service transpired starting from our hostess stand all the way through to our waitress, bus staff and the managers. You can tell there is constant communication from the back of house to the front. Never losing a beat- our waitress was attentive and through out the changing of each course different staff member would explain about the dish. Everything was delicious and you could see the passion and thoughtfulness of each dish. I know some people complain about the price of this place but I rather pay a little more for fresh and unique ingredients. I also love it when people can explain why my dish is special and/or how something should be eaten to best bring out the taste of the ingredients used. Each dish was presented beautifully and worth every penny. It was an unforgettable experience for my family.