Roku comes from the guys behind Edo sushi and is set to join Factory Floor, Donner Summer and Leaf + Shoot in the Peddler Warehouse courtyard for its soft launch this evening (13 April).
The unit, which formerly housed Sheffield Cheesemasters, has been transformed with the addition of a new kitchen and seated bar area boasting sleek, Asian-inspired interiors and ambient lighting creating a cosy, relaxed vibe in the evenings.
The food offering promises to bring the ‘next level’ of Asian cuisine to Sheffield and will focus on a small menu of things they do well, using quality ingredients that you won’t find anywhere else in the city.
Tomo Hasegawa, who co-owns the restaurant with business partner Michael Simpson-Li, told Exposed: “The food offering is going to provide high quality sushi and quality main meals, but with a less extensive menu so we can concentrate on things that we do well.
“It’s reasonably priced, while still offering unique plates and dishes that customers can’t get in Sheffield, or the surrounding areas, and that will hopefully entice customers from different cities to come down to the area.
“I want to offer customers new ingredients and tastes that they haven’t experienced before or are difficult to experience because you can only get them down in London, or very expensive places.
“For example, instead of using yellowfin tuna, we will be using bluefin tuna, which is a farmed sustainably and imported from Spain. The taste is very different. It’s got a lot more depth and has a richer taste than yellowfin tuna, and I don’t think anywhere in Sheffield would sell it.”
As well as the food, the drinks offering is also slightly unique; in the coming weeks, all the alcoholic drinks onsite will be provided by their neighbours across the courtyard, Factory Floor, who will serve their distinctive cocktails directly to the restaurant. By way of returning the favour, Roku is set to offer a bespoke menu of small plates and nibbles that can be ordered to the Factory Floor bar.
Given their location, they will also be offering bespoke Peddler weekend menus.
“When we started Edo Sushi from a small takeaway, we have always been looking to get our own sit down,” says Tomo, “the search has been a long one, but we’re finally hoping to provide customers a place of our own to come and sit down and eat some really nice Japanese and Asian inspired food at reasonable prices. For us, it’s always about striking that balance and keeping those standards high. We don’t want to have to shut down after three months!”
From what we’ve seen, we don’t think Tomo has any worries on that front, and we can’t wait to check this one out.
Roku will be open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 12pm to 10pm. For more info and booking, head over to their socials.