§Mouth watering meaty magnificence and the best baklava you could hope for outside of Istanbul, William Gadsby Peet is blown away by the authentic Turkish cuisine on offer at Roka the Square in Bagshot
From the moment the enjoyably mad head bar man came over to our table to jokingly declare we were "Only allowed bread and water or the boss will kill me", I had a sneaking suspicion my dining partner and I were in for a cracking evening's entertainment at Roka the Square. With the whirlwind of excellent service, exquisitely cooked meat, classical Turkish meze, cocktails and live music that followed soon after, I'm very happy to say my hunch was proven quite correct.
Independently owned and family run, the story of how a small slice of Ottoman opulence made its way to Bagshot is really rather life-affirming: local girl Sue had come out of a long marriage and was understandably bereft with how things were going in life when she met and fell for her Turkish partner Bulent. Bulent already owned a coffee shop and had experience working in the catering industry so the couple decided to go in to business together, pooling all their resources to buy an old, tatty restaurant site – transforming the venue in to the glorious culinary gem that locals can enjoy today. Happily the couple's gamble seems to have paid off, with rave reviews and a packed restaurant most nights.
One of my favourite things about Roka is the family-run aspect of a truly independent local business. The staff are all connected in some way and it creates a friendly, unforced atmosphere of service where everyone from the head chef to the bar back take a genuine pride in their work. When I meet Sue later in the evening and compliment her on the quality of the Roka team she's all smiles and explains how one waitress is "the daughter of Margaret from across the street", and that the bar does such good cocktails because her "friend's son had taken a course in London and was looking to make some money before travelling around the world." As a lifelong West Londoner, the palpable sense of cheerful community at Roka was a welcome contrast to the mechanical and soulless service one oft finds in my home town's many chain restaurants.
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Upstairs at Roka
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Upstairs at Roka
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The washing basins at Roka
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The Ottoman Room at Roka
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Hand picked furniture from Turkey at Roka
Another commendable feather in the cap of Sue and Bulent is the incredible work they've done refurbishing the interior of the restaurant. The old Jeera Restaurant site they started with was a rather grubby old Thai/Indian joint (think sticky carpets and 40-year-old wallpaper still carrying the smell of a bygone era when smoking inside was legal) and the interior decor that Roka now enjoys really is nothing short of miraculous when you compare it to what was there before. By combining a crisp colour scheme upstairs with more light sources, the 400-year-old original oak woodwork of the building has been put on glorious display as the centre piece of the upstairs dining area.
The classy English heritage of the building is well matched by a tasteful selection of traditional Turkish furniture, all chosen personally by Sue and Bulent and imported direct from a carpenter in Turkey. Stunning metal washing basins in the toilets and a private Ottoman Room – seats 12 and available for hire at no added cost – are particular highlights of the building's new design.
And they're not done yet! Sue explains that they're only a few weeks away from finishing a new roof terrace to adjoin the upstairs dining area – so definitely a restaurant to keep in mind for the balmier nights of autumn as well as summer next year.
But enough talk about interior design and service, it's the food at Roka that is undoubtedly its most impressive asset, so let us return to our pleasantly mad head bar man, as my dining partner and I ask what he would recommend from the menu that isn't bread or water: there's a long pause as he sizes us up – two strapping(ish), young(ish) lads over 6ft – and a cheeky grin dances across his face before, with a conspiratorial wink, he tells us to "leave it to him" and disappears in to the kitchen. I may well have to ring up Roka at some point to find out what that bar man was called so I can name one of my children after him, for the meal we preceded to enjoy was nothing short of divine.
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The best Baklava this side of Istanbul
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Magnificent mezze
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Chicken shish
For starters, the future namesake of my child had picked a hot meze platter that came with a selection of scrumptious dips and Turkish Pide Bread that the kitchen bakes fresh each day, and which arrived on our plates still warm from the oven. Grilled Halloumi, calamari, falafels and a delectable pastry filled with some kind of exquisite white cheese completed the first course, and, with a tasty Effes beer or two helping the dish slip down, I was already quite wildly enamoured with my first jaunt to Bagshot.
Things went from superb to sublime, however, when the main course arrived – a veritable Everest of meaty goodness simply titled the Roka Special that consisted of lamb shish, chicken shish, lamb adana, chicken beyiti and chicken wings. One of the waitresses told us it comfortably fed her son and 4 of his friends and I'm not in the least bit surprised. All the meat was cooked and spiced to perfection and I can think of no greater compliment to pay the chef than the valiant struggle my colleague and I undertook to try and finish the dish, one that continued long after we were both unequivocally full.
Despite barely being able to move, we were enticed in to sampling the kitchen’s baklava for desert after learning about the painstaking toil involved in making it fresh each day – the chefs spend hours layering pastry and honey to create an oozing, pistachio sprinkled slice of heaven – and I couldn’t be happier we made the effort as it is quite simply the best thing I’ve eaten in years. Honestly, my friend looked close to tears; that’s how good it was.
The meal concluded with an excellent mint julep to help digestion and the crooning of a local Vegas-style singer to warm the soul (Roka hosts live music every Tuesday and Saturday night).
I couldn't recommend a trip to Roka enough, I'll certainly be coming back for the baklava alone!
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