Roka Akor

I came here on a Thursday evening with coworkers for Happy Hour. We were seated promptly and we basically ordered all the food items on the Happy Hour menu. We came to the conclusion that we liked the butterfish, their cabernet wine and their Roka Mule cocktail the most. We just kept ordering those items until Happy Hour was over.
One of my coworker got all gangster and decided to order their Roka Fashion cocktail! That drink is extremely strong and should not be taken light of heart!

A hidden bar worth checking out in the Jackson Square area. Upon entering you’ll be guided downstairs «to the bar». The bar itself is situated in the middle of the room, surrounded by comfortable bar stools. Plenty of lounge chairs and and tables are available throughout the room. An intimate experience guaranteed.
Their Happy Hour deal is fantastic — you’ll get fancy bar food (sliders, truffle fries, and the like) for more than 50% off the regular price. Drinks included. A cocktail for $ 5?! You got it.
Roka Bar is a great reason to get hammered on a weeknight. In style, of course.

Consuming alcohol has become one of society’s greatest ephemeral pleasures. Having such consumption in a classy venue like Roka Bar increases that pleasure even more.
When you come to Roka, be sure to arrange for a babysitter and leave the kids at home (including friends who act similar to 4 year olds). This elegant lounge is sleek and contemporary, designed in rich dark hues and anchored by an L shaped bar. The atmosphere is sultry and inviting, perfect for date night or small group gatherings.
Artistic cocktails, premium sake and extensive wine selection comprise the drink menu. For a fantastic deal, come for happy hour like we did. On weekdays from 4:30pm — 6:30pm, you can nosh on bites such as the juicy Roka chibi burger with avocado, delicately flavored escolar tataki with white asparagus-​yuzu and fragrant truffle fries. Their Roka Mai tai is as good as the ones I’ve had in Hawaii, while the Aviation is astringent and well balanced.
A repeat visit is already in the cards. I could not ask for a more stylish restaurant to enjoy quality time with my love.

Fleeing from our previous spot because the service was nonexistent, we stumbled upon this place. A gang of six we were and damn, we were starving. Though there were no tables available, we were given the option to go downstairs to the lounge/​bar area. We were greeted by Willy. This extraordinary gentlemen immediately sensed our desperation for libations and nourishment. He smiled and then quickly got working to put together a beautiful spot for us. Between the culinary orgasm being delivered from the kitchen and the impeccable and charming service, we didn’t just have drinks and dinner, we had an experience. This is a place that truly takes pride in their work. I awoke still thinking about the brussels sprouts, the tartare, and that amazing chocolate cake. We ordered more than half the menu and every single dish was a masterpiece in its own right. Oh, and the cocktails! I had the most amazing whiskey cocktail, which is quite rare for a girl like me who prefers a single malt scotch, neat. I believe it was called The Back Room. I think it was a combination of whiskey and burnt cigar leaves. It was the perfect combination of whiskey and smoke but somehow different from anything I’ve ever tried before. Exquisite. I only wish I knew what else went into it so I could make it at home. I can’t wait to go back. I wish every restaurant could pull it off that way these guys do. Thank you Roka, I only hope you can sustain this magic. You have something really special happening over there.

Roka is one of my favorite restaurants to visit in Chicago, so I decided to try the one in SF. How I did not know one was in my city baffles me, but, whatever. I came in on Friday with a group of friends, and had a wonderful time. I was a bit disappointed that we could not get a table upstairs, however, the cocktail waitress made our experience so enjoyable. She knew the menu, and made some great suggestions on food. I thought it was really cool how they are selling Argyle and donating a percentage to charity for cancer. We brought a bottle! I also like how they have a DJ! I know where I will be spending my Friday’s from now on!

They are hopelessly disorganized. In the time it took to order and pay for a single drink I could easily have had three at a well-​run bar. Their bartenders are too busy doing everything else except waiting on customers at the bar. They are the bar-​backs, food runners, and seemed to be waiting tables as well. It was not a good experience and I won’t be back. There was nothing enjoyable about this experience.

Bartender was amazing. Happy hour is great with saki, beer, wine and booze. We are coming back for food!!!

I could say anything bad about this place even if wanted to :)
The staff was beyond accommodating and very service oriented. Food and drinks were great. I was with a group of about 15 people and everyone had a great time.

Had visited the restaurant several months ago and had an ok experience — ambiance is lovely but service /​food disappointing.
The bar situation though = pure bliss. Enter the restaurant and head downstairs, you will not be disappointed. The space overall is beautifully designed — sleek décor, beautiful lighting, I couldn’t help but melt into the seat. Came in Friday evening for some post-​work libations. They have an awesome HH deal — wine, cocktails, and bar bites for really reasonable prices, especially given the location. Staff was super attentive and friendly. Will absolutely be back!

What do you when you look longingly at $$$$ super cool Roka Akor with sad puppy eyes? Discover that they have a bar and splurge on drinks and the dessert sampler!!! But keep it down low because it is a hidden gem. But feel compelled to write a review about it to look like a pro Unilocaler. Ughhh my struggles are the epitome of first world SF problems.
Roka Bar is arguably more posh than the Roka Akor restaurant – it’s loungey and lit dimly but provocatively with accented backdrops, contrasting the bright central bar area. The theme is upscale, classic, and exotic all at once, with beautiful wooden tables, a glowing colorful block of ice, and an artsy liquor display on suspended shelves. In short, one of those places interior décor so amazing, there are no awkward silences because there is no shortage of pretty things around you to look at.
We splurged with no regrets on the $ 18/​person dessert sampler, which entails a bit of a risk because you have to trust the chef’s selection. It came out in extravagant presentation, in a large bowl filled with ice, garnished with various fruits, and topped with a flamboyant leaf. It tasted as good as it looked P:
1. The berry cheesecake was perhaps my favorite – it was soft and fluffy beyond imagination, and the tart citrusy berry sauce was a surprisingly tasty addition.
2. The chocolate fondant was amazing as it usually is (who can say no to warm rich chocolate fudge paired with vanilla ice cream), though Roka’s rendition seemed to feature quality chocolate and vanilla. The branding on the top layer saying Roka Akor all over turned out to look tacky and would probably be better off on a purse like Coach than on a chocolate cake, but overall it was a delicious play on flavors and temperatures.
3. The sorbet was nice and simple, but I guess it wasn’t as memorable since I forget what flavor it was
4. Matcha ice cream was legitly matcha. It had what seemed like an almond and/​or soybean crumble; I just wish they have more because I like a high toppings-​to-​ice-​cream ratio.
Drinks were excellent as well. $ 13 cocktails were well worth the $ 13, even though they temporarily did not offer the famous Sword and Samurai topped with torched flambé lemon slice.
Craft cocktails, über fancy desserts with culinary sophistication, swanky ambiance, and not too crowded on a Friday night in SF… so perfect I am almost reluctant in writing a 5 star Unilocal review in my fear that one day Roka Bar will blow up with Local-​Edition-​size crowds and succumb to gentrification.
We’ll be back sometime when I find an excuse to splurge on the full-​blown Roka Akor dining experience :3
(But we may still prefer the spiffy bar over the more toned-​down restaurant)

Wish there were any other words to describe the wonderfulness of truffle fries and good selection of happy hour cocktails. Not to mention the art deco style lounge areas accompanied with a central bar right in the middle. The staff is quite friendly and polite too. Definitely going back.

Love their black cod and sweet corn with butter

This is the downstairs loungy bar area to Roka Akor restaurant, which btw used to be Scott Howard (best HH ever) back in the day. Great dimly lit classy yet trendy atmosphere, reasonably priced drinks and food for SF, and surprisingly friendly attentive service. It wasn’t crowded at all, yet it was the night before Thanksgiving so not sure about a regular weekday. Really couldn’t ask for anything better in a Japanese/​sushi restaurant. My friend and I ordered beer, wine, sake, edamame, the corn side dish, and 2 rolls and everything was top notch. Will definitely be back.

I love Roka… I’d been to the restaurant and was impressed, so I was happy to see they had a decent-​looking happy hour. The prices aren’t the cheapest for happy hour (and my friend says it recently went up before I visited) but it’s good compared to their normal prices, and it’s good quality!
I had some bubbly with a huge amount of food. Big-​ass bowl of truffle fries, mmm perfection. Really sizable slider. That beautiful hamachi roll and a salmon avocado roll. Ok we shared. Left with a happy tummy and not a huge dent in my wallet, so I was happy!
The bar/​lounge was half-​empty when we went, so we got our pick of seating. Good ambiance, very conducive to catching up with friends (or on a date)!

We were early to our dinner reservation and got to check out the bar. Very cool, dark, lounge-​y, posh…
We ordered some drinks and apps to kill time.
I ordered the corpse reviver drink, pretty yummy and good flavor, lemon, grapefruit…
we got the shrimp ceviche tacos and tuna roll for fun. decent.
I’m not that cheap but their HH isn’t very «HH» but I guess compared to their regular prices… its HH.
haha, BUT! I’d still come back if I could.
Didn’t really like our bartender… wasn’t personable and didn’t check up on us.

I loves the elegant «hole in-​the-​wall» effect! Japanese whiskeys, a huge block of ice for drinks, and fashion-​forward bartenders. Excellent service ms positive attention to detail are only surpassed by the bar food. Dinner upstairs is a must and can’t wait to check out The Chicago edition in June. Jason (GM) is an amazing orchestrator. Kyle is passionate about the Japanese whiskey offering and Jordy (sp) is the quintessential Jamaican; direct, warm, and just plain good! Breaking news: djheylove is holding down Friday nights starting in June. Life is about to get better for us all!

My friends and I came here to celebrate my birthday and we had dinner reservations but were early so we came down to the bar. The bar scene is very happening. I ordered a cocktail but can’t remember the name. It was very good. The bartenders are attentive and seemed pretty nice. There’s bar seating and tables for lounging. I think they a have bar food menu too. Next time I come here, I will definitely try out the bar food here.

Suggested by the host to be at the bar that is located downstairs before waiting to be seated to dine upstairs.
Dimly lit with bar seatings as well as dining side lounge tables. It looks like they had fermented tea on display, but that is a guess.
Drinks are pricey — especially these days with SF tax, mandates (healthcare) and tipping! They offer up the norm for bar drinks, such as selections on cocktails, wines, beers and sake.
I felt like the bar was a lure and a splurge. Drinks should have been complimentary since they kept us waiting for seats — when we made reservations and we were on time too!

If you like getting drunk in a loungey atmosphere and don’t mind paying $ 13 per cocktail, then this is your spot. I know I dig it! We dropped by after having dinner upstairs and tried several of the unique concoctions; the Roka Mule and Shochu Smash were my favorites. Service was very good — even though we were there to drink alcohol, the staff made sure our water glasses were always full (I hope someone from The French Laundry is taking notes).

Went downstairs to the bar before dinner.
Their bar is sleek, full of fidi peeps, little bit older crowd. Too bad we just missed happy hour (half off drinks til 6:30pm).
If there is one cocktail you should try it’s their SWORD AND SAMURAI ($ 13). 12 year old aged yamazami sake, lemon-​grass green tea, fresh yuzu, and honey syrup. The icing is when the bartender flambé’s an orange slice to top your drink. (
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