Rök Smokehouse

Enjoyed an absolutely delicious meal here with friends.
Hmmm, drinks? Yes, of course.
We were perusing the menu when our lovely server mentioned casually: «if you like bubbles, you should go for the organic prosecco, you’ll not have a hangover at all tomorrow.»
SOLD. (though I wasn’t sure the hangover part was going to be true, I was willing to make the bet)
Three bottles later, and sans hangover — I have to say, that was a super recommendation!
And…food? OBVIOUSLY.
Clearly, we were feeling festive with all the prosecco and managed to indulge in almost the entire menu. It’s the small plate-​meant to be shared-​curated daily type of place, so throw caution to the wind, order a bunch of stuff and enjoy. As my meal was a month or so ago I can’t be sure if any of the items are still making the rounds, but the standouts were the pickles (oh the pickles! fresh made!) as starters and the lamb. All veg dishes were glorious. Ok, basically everything, I do not think you can wrong.
Ambience? Wonderful. Chill. Casual, stylish.
On the edge of Shoreditch, ROK has carved out a little corner that is both understated style + comfort. It’s not super large, so make a booking particularly if you have a group. It’s Skandi-​style austere, in a very nice way. On the less busy side of Curtain Road, it’s got almost a deserted feel to it down this street after the work crowds have cleared out, making ROK feel even more like a well kept secret. Not for long.
The only downfall was the flat white — I think they are working out the coffee bugs, but it wasn’t a very good coffee. I didn’t care though, I just drank MORE prosecco. Organic! No Hangover!
Will definitely return. High quality, great vibe, enjoyable meal. Great addition.

Friendly and casual. Food was quick to come out and was thoughtfully presented. Delicious cocktails too

I was going to Rök without knowing what’s on the menu, but I had know it would be heavily meaty and I was a little bit worried whether I’d find enough food for myself. But vegetarians and pescatarians fear not! This is place is an absolute heaven!
I’ve tried the mussels cooked in beer served with sour dough bread which were delicious. They were very tender and I loved the broth.
The charred broccoli salad with quinoa, pumpkin seed, toasted almonds, garlic and sesame seeds was great too. The combination of flavours was really unusual.
The burned sweet potatoes with horseradish vinaigrette were full of flavours and the horseradish sauce was creamy, not too strong, just perfect.
Last came the pickled sides I was most looking forward to and I must say they were worth waiting for almost 2 hours. I chose the sweet mushroom pickle, which came in a jar with loads of marinated thyme. The selection of wild mushrooms not only looked cute, but tasted divine. It was really delicate and only little bit fermented and only a little bit sweet. Same goes to the pickled cucumber, both were delicious.
My partner tried the pork belly with roasted granny Smith and loved its tenderness, but felt that the portion could be a little bit smaller.
He also ordered bone marrow mash with garlic and parley, but after 90 minutes of waiting we were told they had run out off:/
When the order was taken, we were told the dished will be coming in the order in which the chef thinks is right, but after half an hour of waiting we realized it was just an excuse to the slow service.
With almost full house (20+ people) and only one chef (the kitchen is open, so everything is happening in front of your eyes) you can imagine the things were delivered very slowly. In the first hour we only got one dish out of 7 we’d ordered.
There wasn’t also much attention paid to the order in which the customers arrived at the place. When the three guys that had arrived 10 minutes started getting their food well before us, I thought «maybe they ordered simpler dishes?» But no! Some of them were the same, but instead of us getting them to us first, for some strange reason they landed on their table instead.

Considering that many of the dishes are to share, the tables for two are slightly too small. If only half the food was delivered at once, there would be no way to fit them on the table.
The should also invest in some better extraction system as sitting near to the kitchen one smells the smoke all the time, which is nice for maybe 10 minutes, then is start to be less pleasant.
Summing up, I visited Rök during the soft opening, when things weren’t still quite polished. I’m sure once the bits and bob are improved, next time I confidently give them five stars.