When diners visit Roka Akor for the first time, corporate executive chef Ce Bian recommends they learn about the restaurant by ordering the chef’s tasting menu.
“It’s very popular,” he said. “It’s something that the chefs are excited about. It’s seven courses and gives the guest a true amazing experience of the concept with appetizers, sushi, grilled seafood and steak, and dessert at the end. You try the most popular and chef-preferred dishes.”
Bian has been introducing the concept to plenty of people since Roka Akor opened within Oakbrook Center Dec. 22 and became a draw of its own.
“The mall dies down around 7 p.m.,” said Bian, who lives in Skokie. “Lunch is all the people coming by, but dinner is an occasion.”
With a menu of gourmet dishes including market priced fatty blue fin tuna sushi and wagyu sirloin steak served with bone marrow and truffle aioli for $38, the restaurant’s dining room has already become a favorite for birthday and anniversary celebrations.
“It’s amazing,” said Lombard resident Katie Ward. “We didn’t really have anything in the area like this. I didn’t even know of a good sushi place in the area.”
While the restaurant has an extensive sushi menu, Bian sees Roka Akor as a Japanese steakhouse.
“What the sushi chef does here is truly amazing in terms of the quality of products and presentation, but the heart of our restaurant is the robata grill,” he said.
Eating in the main dining room provides a view of the open charcoal grill, used for the traditional Japanese cooking technique for skewered meat and vegetables. The 5,400-square-foot space also features three private dining rooms, a sushi bar and a bar area that provides a more casual experience.
“All the bartenders are very chatty,” Bian said. “It’s a fun night in the bar. If I come myself I will sit in the bar.”
Wherever you’re dining, the drink menu is part of the experience. Servers are trained to recommend pairings throughout the meal.
“We have a bunch of sommeliers in the company,” Ce Bian said. “We carry a good amount of wine, sake, liquors and Japanese whiskeys. Shochu is one of the signatures of Roka Akor. They’re infused in house with different flavors. That’s a mixologist creation.”
This is the third Roka Akor in the area, with other locations in River North and Skokie, but head chef Kristian Cho said he’s gotten to make Oak Brook his own.
“They give me a lot of freedom here,” he said. “We have our menu set, but we get to play around with different stuff and change the menu ourselves. They trust us to make the guests happy and be a profitable business.”
Cho, who lives in Chicago, began working at the River North restaurant seven years ago before serving as executive sous chef in Skokie and head chef at Roka Akor Houston.
“I’ve been here since I was 19 years old,” he said. “I grew up with this company. They’ve taught me a lot.”
He’s not the only one who’s made the transition from Roka Akor’s city location to the new Oak Brook outpost.
“We have people living in Oak Brook come to Chicago every few months, but now they come here once a week,” Bian said.
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Clarendon Hills resident Jill Stewart is among the customers that had previously been to the Chicago restaurant.
“We’re excited it’s here now,” she said. “The menu’s really good. It’s great sushi.”
Roka Akor
Address: 166 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook
Phone: 630-634-7652
Website: rokaakor.com
Email: [email protected]
Hours: 11:30 a.m. oto 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Samantha Nelson is a freelance reporter.