Weekend brunch at ROKA Aldwych

Sundays are always days that I put aside for pure relaxation – staying in bed, catching up on a bit of writing and TV shows. One thing I will always leave my house for though is food, you know it.

May @RedVelvetLondon organised a little blogger get-together at Roka after seeing an amazing £30 bottomless brunch deal on Timeout. The Han Setto Sunday Brunch is normally available from 12 noon until 8pm, priced at £39 per person with a Bellini on arrival; or at £55 per person with unlimited red, white or prosecco.

I met May at the afternoon tea on a bus last year and hadn’t met the other two girls yet, Ellie @The Young Domestic Goddess and Felicia @Dancing in high heels. Luckily we avoided any awkward silences, got along and most importantly bonded over some good food. Actually, maybe it was a little awkward that I was 15 minutes late leaving the girls waiting by the bar. 1PM for Middle-Eastern people actually means 2PM, so technically  I was early :).

Roka was buzzing and relaxed as always. The tables are not too close to eachother so it’s speakeasy despite the busy vibe. The bar area is very light and airy whereas the dining area is pretty damn romantic. Its perfect for a date, especially since they do great cocktails. 



Wasting no time, Bellinis were served upon arrival and they were delicious! Then came pouring the unlimited prosecco.
That’s what we came for after all wasn’t it? (yes!)

Roka dishes are designed to share. The brunch includes 10 sharing starters, most of which I’d recommend. I was hoping for more meat among the starters. It felt like there were too many salads which suited more as side dishes. Having said this, the starters are unlimited and you can choose which ones to exclude so its purely based on personal preference.

Apparently Chinese people eat the whole edamame for cleansing purposes so I went “all in” on the first starter. It was quite chewy but who am I to speak, I eat raw ginger and lemon skin. Out of the vegetarian options the spinach in sesame dressing was definitely the winner and a must order. The dressing is very rich and delicious.

The beef, ginger and sesame dumplings were also very good. Obviously the highlight was the sashimi. There was a selection of beautifully presented salmon, tuna and seabass pieces on ice. We had 3 rounds of them because one would be a fool not to completely rinse the offer of unlimited sashimi.

My favourite out of the two sushi options was the crispy prawn and avocado roll. The tempura dish included prawn, asparagus and butternut squash. They weren’t too greasy which was great. The pieces were light and crispy with the perfect touch of salt.

The one I liked the least was the potato salad with bacon which was a little out of place and tasted very average. We all agreed on this and would suggest skipping it to save up space for the better dishes.

We all loved each and every one of the main courses. They were really the stars of the show. The ribs were delicious (but could have been a bit juicer/had more meat). The sea bream was glazed in miso and lemon – very flavoursome. Last but certainly not least was the beef sirloin with chilli and onion – wow oh wow. We ordered one medium rare and one rare, both were flawless. I was fixated on these for the whole duration of our mains and I’d come back for more.

No wait… the actual star of the show was the delicious melt-in-your-mouth chocolate Buddha (may he RIP) surround by exotic fruits, sorbets and cakes. This is hands down the most beautifully decorated dessert platter I’ve ever been served.

Overall this brunch was great and I’d definitely recommend it! The starters and alcohol are unlimited, the mains are amazing and the dessert platter.. well the picture speaks for itself! A stuffed belly and 5 (or 6?.. not sure) drinks later I was basically hungover before I even went to bed, happy days. At least I wasn’t the only one, Ellie joined the pre-hangover club or whatever you’d call that. This is definitely high up there among the best brunches I’ve had in London.

4.5/5

Roka Aldwych
71 Aldwych
London
WC2B 4HN

020 7294 7636