ROKA

Black cod at the robata

Black cod takes its time in yuzu miso before it reaches the coals. ROKA Galataport Istanbul keeps a modern Japanese language legible across a room built around robatayaki, sashimi, tempura and shared plates, with Executive Chef Suna Hakyemez running the kitchen. Robatayaki is a traditional method, grilling over hot coals, and here it is treated as both a cooking station and something to watch.

The references stay visible while the cooking refuses museum treatment. Yellowtail arrives with yuzu-truffle dressing; bone marrow takes teriyaki; tuna and salmon sashimi hold the cold end of the menu. King crab, seabream and premium beef skewers point to the sourcing, and the craft is in keeping those treatments distinct rather than letting one marinade speak for all of them.

A grill language for sharing

The program moves by sections rather than ceremony: sushi and sashimi, tempura, dumplings and rice, ramen, robata meats, robata seafood, robata vegetables, desserts. The open charcoal grill is the anchor, not a backdrop. Lamb cutlets take Korean spice, prawns are held in tempura batter until the crust sets, and black cod depends on the meeting of fat, miso, citrus and heat.

The restaurant also folds Japanese technique through a broader contemporary register, with teriyaki, ponzu, yuzu kosho, wasabi tobiko, truffle, piri piri and chilli appearing where the plate can carry them, and gluten-free and vegetarian dishes marked across the sections. That range can collapse in less disciplined hands. Here the method asks for sequence: cold fish first, then fried texture, then smoke, then sweetness. The wine program is curated around that movement, while shochu-based cocktails sit naturally beside the robata, where smoke and salt need lift rather than weight.

The room facing the Bosphorus

The pass works with the Bosphorus in view. Galataport gives ROKA a waterfront room, modern in finish and high in tempo, with music, glass and the steady pull of the strait beyond the tables. The development's own recent opening as a luxury harbourfront hub explains part of the room's confidence: this is a restaurant built for a promenade rather than a side street.

The grill supplies a second horizon inside the restaurant: cooks turn skewers, fish, vegetables and cutlets over coals while plates move outward for a room built on sharing. It is not a hushed sushi counter. The energy is closer to a full service station, where small plates keep the table in motion and the robata gives the kitchen its pulse. Black cod yuzu miso, yellowtail sashimi, Korean spiced lamb cutlets and prawn tempura do the main identifying work. Marinades such as yuzu miso, teriyaki and ponzu are treated as Japanese precision rather than seasoning shortcuts, and they name the place more clearly than any amount of decoration could.