A pop up or a pilot test? At the moment, the renowned Japanese kitchen firm Roka, which has robata cooking as its flagship, has just settled in the Arts hotel. They have chosen the terrace that once belonged to the Arola Barcelona restaurant for the colorful staging of their dishes. They opened at the end of last week and will be open until mid-September, every night.
There are no tables inside because they believe that the style of their proposal, with that central view kitchen that includes the robata (in this case from the brand born in Pineda de Mar, Josper) fits much better outdoors than in a covered dining room . They have also arranged a bar, where they make cocktails and from where the wines that are served at the tables come out. Those diners who still find these nights cool can wrap up a bit or use the pashminas that, just in case, are offered by the friendly dining room team. A treatment and a style of service that follows not only the pattern of Roka but that of all the spaces of the Arts, such as the bi-starred restaurant La Enoteca by Paco Pérez.
The dinners at the foot of the tower that houses the hotel facing the sea consist of that Japanese cuisine with good products, well executed and presented, distributed in various sections of the menu or condensed into a tasting menu (95 euros). On this lively terrace with clientele from all over, cold starters arrive, such as the amberjack sashimi garnished with yuzu and truffle (much more interesting than the iceberg lettuce with caramelized onion that will follow); the colorful selection of sashimi presented on a tray with ice or the firm’s characteristic makis that are offered, like everything on the menu, in its three London locations or in those that have been opening in Istanbul, Kuwait, Dubai or Riyadh .
There are tempuras and other hot dishes, but the star is the robata, from which fish come, such as black cod marinated with yuzu miso and accompanied by pickled radishes; meats such as spicy lamb chops or wagyu, another of the classics from the creators of Zuma and Roka, both belonging to the same group. And to finish, a nod to the city they are visiting in one of the desserts, which includes a reinterpretation of the Catalan cream.
