Roka Akor - Scottsdale — Restaurant in Scottsdale

My husband and I went there yesterday for our wedding anniversary. We wanted to go there because we went there 4.5 years ago and it was great. However, this time, the experience was very difference.

We had the omakase the first time, we decided to do it again. It was $145 per person. Our server asked us what kind of steak we would like, American or Japanese, we replied Japanese. We knew that there would be upcharge, however, it was never dsclosed to us which is just wrong. Best part, they didn't even break it down on the bill. When we saw the bill, it was $60 per person more for about 6 bites of steak, for a total of $120. pretty much it was $20 more per thinnily sliced steak. I knew this place was overpriced when I saw how thin the sliced the toro sashimi for the sushi for $37 per two piece.

The worst part of the experiance was that we waited for more than 20 mins for our steak after the fish course. We attempted to get our server's attention multiple times as she kept going to the party next to us to serve them food and second round of drinks. We had eye contact with her, we sad hi to her, then she immediately turned around and walked away to the opposite direction away from us. We saw a couple managers but they care to stop by our table where we set the chef's bar. they would talk to other tables and the chefs but us. I finally wavied my arm really high to get our server's attentions, then she decided to go check on the steak at the grll station. Then we still waitied another 5 more mins before we got the steak. At that time, we were very disappointed and ready to leave as our dog wasn't feeling well at home. Honestly, they were not very busy as we arrived at 5:40 pm for our reservations. There were plenty of open tables until almost 7 pm, then the dining room was getting more full.

Then the other surprise came when we got our bill, it didn't even have a break down of the up charge of the Japanese steak, for the record, it wasn't even A5 Wagyu beef which they don't carry. Feel free to reference the bill I attached in the photo.

The food was pretty well and delicious, the reason for the 3 stars was for the service and overpriced food. Also the lack of surprise of the omakase, the menu items and preparations haven't changed in over 4 years just different garnish, the seasonings were exactly the same. I even pulled up photos on my phone from 4.5 years ago to compare. The reason I go for Chef's choice omakase is for the seasonal elements to taste what's the freshest and want to experience the greatness of chef's creativity which was lacking.

I wouldn't suggest to go unless you are willing to take a chance and over pay for sushi. You have plenty of other options here with Harumi and Shimogamo, better sushi...

I came here for Restaurant Week and even though I know RW is often not indicative of the restaurant's regular performance and offerings, I couldn't justify paying so much for Roka Akor on a regular night. Overall we had great service and a pretty flawlessly executed meal. Here is what we ordered: (1a) Bone marrow with black garlic: this was the best thing we had all night, 99.9% because of the amazing black garlic spread. It was pungent, aromatic and bursting with flavor. A perfect match for the fatty bone marrow that always tastes so good on plain toast. A great start. (1b) Butterfish Tataki with Yuzu Shallot: this was just 4 small bites of butterfish, served very cleanly and fresh. The fish was fatty and delicious, with the yuzu shallot dressing barely present. (2a) Grilled Skirt Steak with Shiso Chimichurri: I enjoyed this chimichurri because it was served with a hint more spice than what I am used to, but besides that it was very traditional. The steak was served rare (as requested) and had a good chew to it. The fried rice ball that came with it didn't really go well with the dish, but it was something that was attached to all entrees for some weird reason. (2b) Honey Glazed Salmon: The salmon was cooked perfectly and after drowning it in some lime juice, the flavor of lime and honey was pretty spot on. The picked cucumbers (not sure why they didn't just call them "pickles") was a refreshing side. (3a) Lemon "souffle": I actually envisioned a souffle when I ordered it but instead was faced with a disappointingly short and dense tart with toppings on it. The server told me that they used quotation marks around "souffle" because they were all made in advance instead of to order. I don't think Roka Akor knows what a souffle is, but it was most definitely nothing near what this dessert was. (3b)‘Purin’ with Smoked Almonds and Mango: This was a great dessert. It tasted similar to a flan with pieces of sugar brittle and nuts. It was creamy, not overly sweet and very satisfying. At $40 a person, we had a pretty satisfying meal worth the price, which is often a hard thing to accomplish. I would consider trying Roka at another time, when I feel like...

Restaurant was under par and waiter was not attentive whatsoever. When we were seated, we requested a table but were told since we didn't have a reservation that we had to sit at the bar. There were 5 open tables. We requested the manager and told him we were not comfortable sitting at the bar since we would both face the same direction and was not good for conversation. Did I mention we had our daughter with us that sits in a booster chair? Anyways, manager accomadated us after my husband said if we were not seated at a table that we would be on our way. Once we were seated, the waiter rambled about their specials and pricing. My husband became annoyed and interuped the man and said he was ready to order. He ordered a Macallen on the rocks and when I asked about sweet red wines they had, the waiter said he didn't have any knowledge of any so I ordered a Manhattan with Woodford instead of Knob bourbon. He warned it may be a dollar more who cares if you are already spending. $15/drink... We also ordered a dozen oysters, 2 orders of sashimi, and miso soup as appetizers. After that, a hostess and restaurant manager had to wait on us after the so called waiter never returned until we had to ask for our tab from the hostess. The waiter came over the manager brought the bill to us of $259.00 for 2 and a baby... The waiter heard me say how I've seen the manager and hostess more than the waiter. All the waiter did was walk away. I didn't want to leave a tip, but my husband did of $10 in case they split tips. The food was okay, but not worth their pricing. It was not real Japanese. All of their kitchen staff was Hispanic not very professional either. The manager offered his business card for the inconvience. Said he'd buy us a round of cocktails next time. No discount. Do you think after spending over $250.00 that we would return for a cheap drink?? Baffoons! We will never be back. We spend a lot going out since we both work many hours in the medical profession. We didn't care about cost, but we did expect a great experience with the food and cannot emphasize...