Roe Is A Big And Bold Second Act
It feels like people have been trying to make Canary Wharf happen for years. They’ve stuffed it with winter light trails and go-karting tracks, but ultimately what you’re left with are 50-story reminders of who’s responsible for the financial crash and a bewildered Google Maps trying to divert you into the Thames. But the latest development – offering massive, sprawling spaces for restaurants amid floating pavilions and underneath skyscrapers – might just have cracked the code.
There must be something in the market research bringing massive established brands like Hawksmoor and Dishoom out east, and last year the team behind the immensely hyped Fallow joined the party. The result is the enormous 500-seater Roe, bringing a winning combo of bold flavours, sustainable ethos and digital savviness.
What sets it apart
The genius of Roe lies in how it manages to retain a mass-market appeal while dabbling in experimental cooking. It can both fill a restaurant this size, in this location with a more weighted slant towards a corporate demographic and drag foodies out into unfamiliar surroundings.
That means an all-day menu with brunch, a kid’s menu, beer towers, and actual thought and effort put into the vegetarian burger. But it also means delicious twists on cocktails and British favourites, out-of-the-box thinking and knowledge that you’re only as good as your ingredients allow. Fallow was built on a nose-to-tail, snout-to-trotter ethos, but it was never the primary selling point – that was the food.
The genius of Roe lies in how it manages to retain a mass-market appeal while Trojan horsing in experimental cooking
What we ordered
The menu is a little choose your own adventure. As well as small plates and larger mains, there’s also a dedicated section for both skewers and flatbreads – the best recommendation is not to structure your order traditionally and prioritise sharing so you can try as much as possible.
To start, we went for bluefin tuna crudo with a hazelnut-tahini sauce, which might seem counter-intuitive but it works, and the cuttlefish fried toast. Encrusted with sesame seeds and slathered with chilli jam, it’s one of the stars of the menu and a great exemplar of a unique Roe twist on a beloved dish.
Encrusted with sesame seeds and slathered with chilli jam, it’s one of the stars of the menu.
Again, for guidance on structuring your meal at Roe, don’t skip the flatbread section. They come soft, slightly charred and packed with brazen flavour combinations on top. Devon crab with chilli could have used more heat but was still delicious, and the combination of Tunworth cheese, pear, garlic and honey showed they can do classic flavour profiles just as well. There was also a snail vindaloo and mint yoghurt option that was eyed-up for a return visit.
For the main course, sriracha mussels are impossible to go wrong with, especially if you’re looking for a safer option to open yourself up to some of the madder ideas on the menu. A smoked eel Wellington will make some diners sit up with interest, and baffle others. The outside is deep-fried, rather than a flaky puff pastry, and the eel is powerful without being overpowering. It’s a little wacky, but they pull it off.
We finished with a magic trick of a dessert, overripe bananas deconstructed, mixed with vanilla and whipped cream, and reborn as banana once more alongside peanut butter and crispy banana skin.
For guidance on structuring your meal at Roe, don’t skip the flatbread section
Verdict
If Canary Wharf is going to be anything after 5pm on a Friday, using the vast area to create what are essentially restaurant theme parks might be the way forward. Let’s Trojan horse London’s maddest culinary minds into glass spheres. Let’s put Hugh Corcoran 30 floors up West India Quay.
As for Roe, the follow-up to Fallow makes for an intelligent refinement of the brand. A little less hectic, a little more space, and self-assured. Not many restaurants can have finance bros who view Patrick Bateman as aspirational and Vittles-subscribing foodies eating alongside each other in harmony.
where: 5 Park Dr, Wood Wharf, London E14 9GG
website: www.roerestaurant.com
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