Roku Den — Restaurant in Torquay

Roku Den is a charming and friendly little Japanese restaurant in Torquay. I say "little" deliberately, because it's a small and intimate space, which I'm given to understand, is exactly what the owner wants. Roku Den doesn't look like much from the outside, but the interior is nicely designed with comfortable seating for such a small space. A big part of the internal footprint is taken up by the open kitchen, which, again, is very Japanese. It has a sort-of izakaya feel about it in terms of the size and the variety of small plates, but it's definitely a restaurant rather than a bar.

It's all about freshness at Roku Den, and they express this via their sashimi, hand and rice roll, and nigiri. We ordered a range of these, and every piece was beautifully prepared, nicely seasoned, and achingly fresh and clean.

Service is provided a a troop of young locals, who are friendly and helpful. The owner is a charming American guy (from California, I think) who takes pride in what his kitchen sends out. The wine list is short, but interesting, with a few excellent whites and reds, some Japanese beers, and some excellent sakis. Being a cool and rainy evening, we started with a hot saki, and did it hit the mark.

There is an omikase style set menu available, but our party of six chose to order off the menu and we selected a wide range of sushi and small dishes. Service in terms of ordering and delivery was prompt and efficient, and every dish I tried was excellent--flavoursome, fresh, and prepared with excellent technique. Prices here are mid-range, and I think represent good value for the quality of food on offer.

I very much look forward to returning to Roku Den on my next visit to Torquay, The locals are very lucky to have access to such a top-quality Japanese restaurant that has real...

4 of us individually ordered. I ordered salmon sushi & kingfish sushi my wife ordered chicken teriyaki. The couple we were dining with ordered the same dishes. After 45 minutes the waiter delivered I plate of kingfish to the table with no explanation of what it was or who it was for. After 5 minutes I asked if the other food was coming, he answered yes it's being made up so we waited. Another 5 minutes he placed a plate of salmon on the table and walked off. I called him back and asked if he could bring the other two plates of fish and the 2 serves of chicken teriyaki as ordered. He told us there was two serves on each plate. We initially thought he was joking as we ordered our meals separately, not intending to have share plates and the portions on the plates were small. It took another 30 minutes for two bowls of teriyaki to come. Over all the restaurant was dirty with ripped chairs and very cramped conditions, the staff are poorly trained. The food was very nice but the portions are small and expensive. we have been to this restaurant many times In The past with a different menu. They should go back to the old menu, update or repair the furniture and retrain the staff. We will...

The first time I came to Rokudome I was so amazed by the food that I brought a friend back to this amazing place. I was expecting the same high quality service as the first time.

But this time it was a completely different story, because I felt the invisible racism.

I called to make a reservation for 12 o'clock, but when I arrived, the waitress looked confused and didn't know what to do with my reservation even though she had an iPad system in her hand. I highly doubt they recorded my reservation.

On the other hand, she seemed upset about my question and asked another "Asian girl" to serve us. Maybe talking to Asians made her feel bad. This unprofessional service attitude made me lose my appetite before I even sat down.

The Salmon Don and Green Tea Soba were delicious as always, but seemed they missed some toppings this time. The most disappointing dish was the Crispy Chicken which was juicy and flavorful but this time it was bland and dry. Very unfortunate.

Overall is not too bad, just I have a very high...