Roka taps into quick dining market

31-Jul-2014 - Last updated on 27-Apr-2021 at 12:41 GMT

Sochu Kanteen will open in the basement of Rocka's Charlotte Street restaurant, serving ramen and quick Japanese bites

Roka, Rainer Becker’s contemporary Japanese robatayaki restaurant brand, is entering the casual dining market with a new concept called Shochu Kanteen housed in the basement of its Charlotte Street restaurant.

Shochu Kanteen, located in the Shochu Lounge bar, will serve ramen and quick Japanese bites at lunch times Monday to Friday to appeal to office workers in the area.

“On Charlotte Street there are a lot of offices and we saw people in the area grabbing lunch on the go and wanted to offer people the chance to have quick and easy Japanese food,” Hamish Brown, executive chef told BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Report.

“We have a beautiful space downstairs that’s not really used so we developed food that people can eat very quickly at lunch time.”

The menu will include hirata buns; Tokyo-style soy ramen; gyoza dumplings and Japanese inspired salads.

There are currently no plans to expand the casual dining concept but Brown said the development of Shochu has been “very organic” so would not rule out expansion for the right opportunity.

He said the quick and casual dining concept will be “chalk and cheese” compared to eating at a Roka restaurant.

The fourth Roka restaurant opens in Aldwych this autumn. The restaurant group celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and doubled in size to mark the event by opening in North Audley Street earlier in the year.

The two newest restaurants join Roka Charlotte Street and Roka Canary Wharf.

This article appeared first on M&C report. To subscribe contact Emily.croft@wrbm.com or call 01293 846578.