Rök smokehouse is influenced by the old cooking techniques of Northern Europe, specialising in brined and cured British meats, all cooked on fire served alongside fermented and preserved seasonal UK produce. We went along to see what this Nordic restaurant in London had to offer…
The restaurant is tucked away, in a office area between Liverpool Street and Shoreditch. Apart from a small sign, the restaurant isn’t really easy to spot.
“This used to be quite a run down sandwich bar!” he said. Looking around, it didn’t seem that the old wooden floor, the wooden bar and the white washed walls hadn’t always been there. The whole interior has that simple yet super trendy London vibe to it. The tables were ready laid with glasses, side plates, napkins and cutlery. And although we came a few minutes before opening hours the waiter wished us welcome in that a laid back way and we chose a table, in the sun.
Although the restaurant, being a bit narrow, only has a window at the front, the restaurant is flooded with daylight during the day, thanks to cleverly placed windows in the ceiling towrads the back. Pickled ingredients makes a decorative display on wooden shelves. Otherwise, there decoration is sparsely.
For starter we shared pickled cucumber and pickled fennel at £3 each. This, as a starter and a dish on its own, made completely sense to my dining companion. I, on the other hand thought these were sides… For main he chose smoked pork and salad where as I went for the smoked salmon and tomato salad. All very nice. It looked amazing but we both agreed that, although we knew it would be smoked, perhaps a bit less sour would be good. For my dish I’d have liked the sweetness of the tomato to come more through. But all in all a really nice meal (and very filling), for a bargain price at £9 per dish. And the food looked as nice as it tasted.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. When we went for lunch it was rather quiet. But I can imagine the place coming alive in the evenings. Rök is perhaps not fine dining but they’ve found their niche with simple yet well made dishes served in rustic surroundings. Rök has the charm and friendliness of Scandinavia and we think it’s the perfect place to unwind after a long day in the office.
Opening times, sample menus and more is to be found at roklondon.co.uk