Took Mom and myself to have dinner here after work on Sunday (4/12). Nice space. We were given above-average service when we were seated at the robata counter. (Actually, it's the level of service I expected given the atmosphere of the restaurant. Anything less would have been suspect.) When we had to move to the bar in order to take advantage of reverse happy hour, the service level dropped considerably- more on that later.\n\nSince we had arrived around 8:30p, we studied the menus to see what we could try off of the regular sushi options for dinner (the soft-shelled crab) and happily found out that Roka Akor recently started offering, \"on a smaller scale,\" a few robata apps only to be served on Sundays. I thought what a nice way to be introduced to the robata menu. I asked the usual questions regarding allergy concerns and asked how certain items were prepared. I even handed the bartender , Colin, a list of allergens to hand to the chefs. (Evidently this list was only going to be looked at once, since many of our dishes had to be corrected after delivery.)\n\nOff of the robata apps menu, I ordered the shrimps ($5) for Mom and the zucchini ($1.50) and the black cod ($5) for us to share. Off of the regular sushi menu, I ordered the soft-shelled crab roll ($9 for 5 pcs.) for Mom. The timing of delivery of these items was haphazard. It took at least 10 minutes before the plate containing two medium-sized shrimp to arrive. To charge $6 for two grilled shrimp is just ridiculous! It did smell wonderful and looked appetizing, but Mom wasn't wowed by them- certainly not at $3 per shrimp! The soft-shelled crab arrived about 5 minutes after the shrimp did and looked great. Mom found the rice good enough, but she still wasn't feeling any love. The plate of zucchini arrived roughly about 5 minutes after the crab roll (that's 20 minutes after I ordered!) and held 5 pcs. of seasoned zucchini (salt, pepper, and soy) and a dollop of mustard sauce at one corner of the plate. Mom liked the one piece she tried, but as much as I tried to get her to try the mustard, she didn't, so I can't report on that aspect. So here we were, 5 minutes before happy hour was to commence, and all I had to nibble on were the zucchini pieces... Black cod was nowhere to be found. Correction, Colin the bartender said he spied it at the robata counter, but did not make a move to retrieve it. I asked Colin if I could give him my happy hour menu selections (all cost $5 each) so that he may have them ready for entry at 9p? He took my order of Crispy squid and a salmon roll. I also ordered two Roka Akor burgers, one without the housemade bun, and instead asked for an extra slice of heirloom tomato as a sub. Would you believe that the crispy squid (again, only for Mom to enjoy bec. the batter contained *!) and the salmon roll (which arrived with **, which I wrote down on the list as two of my allergens- apparently the chefs did not remember, nor did Colin recall to alert the chefs) arrived before the black cod app? Anyway, the salmon roll was left for my Mom to enjoy while the chef prepared another, allergen-free, for me. Before I go on, let me say that Mom LOVED the calamari!! This was the first dish that wowed her, and she exclaimed that this version of calamari is the best she's EVER tasted and even begged for me to forget about my allergy and try them- they were that good! But I stood my ground. I found the salmon to be very fresh-tasting and mild-flavored. The pea-sized miso-mayo garnish that sat atop each piece was so mild, the roll could have been served without these embellishments and no one would know the difference. I'd say that the black cod (3 pcs.) arrived at least 45 minutes since the time of order. At least. Aren't robata items, esp. seafood, supposed to be quick to cook? I will say that the cod tasted superb, and I'd order them again. Well, maybe. $5 for three small pieces is too much, I think.\n\nLast, but not least, to arrive were the beef burgers, one-at-a-time. Funny, the first burger, which arrived without avocado, but with a bun, so that was quickly returned. My Mom's burger came, with everything on it, but she didnt' try hers until mine arrived- she was still working on the calamari and the salmon roll. I liked the beef patty, cooked perfectly to medium rare, although I wished there was more flavor. Mom's burger looked amazing. Too bad the lighting at the bar was very minimal (one oil lamp for the both of us until Colin saw me taking photos and lit up another and placed it in front of me, but the fire died down soon after).\n\nI hope to return again to see if the service improves (better memory recall and timing of delivery). I found the ambivalence showed by Colin of the (greater than 30%) tip I'd given him off-putting. Factored in the price of the comped salmon roll, PLUS tipped based on the burgers original price of $4 each, too. Hmm... maybe not too soon a return.
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