Cuisine type: fondue restaurant, hot rock cooking, modern American
Atmosphere: intimate, modern decor
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 8.1
Nina
I picked this place for dinner mainly because it was on my way home from work, and because fondue is always a cool type of meal to share with family and friends (and we had Ben’s sister to entertain, so perfect excuse). Their atmosphere is subdued and intimate, with dim lighting and a mix of booth and chair seating. Unlike other fondue type places I’ve been to, the general layout is quite a bit more crowded, with tables less than a foot apart along the walls (I believe there was a bit more privacy in the full booth seating perpendicular to walls, but the entire dining room was one large room).
The difference between getting an entree with cheese fondue and a full meal was small, so we had to go for it - a full spread of salad, cheese fondue of choice, entree served with a sizzling hot rock to cook it on, and finally chocolate fondue, yum! The salad was fairly simple on the surface - baby spinach topped with avocado, carrots, onions tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with feta crumbles and almond slices. However, the balance they struck was quite amazing, just the right amount of each ingredient, and the dressing was well balanced as well, I would say it was one of the best salads I’ve ever had.
For cheese fondue, we ordered the Classic Swiss since it is, after all, a classic combination - white wine with kirsch, garlic and seasonings, used to melt a mountain of sharp gruyere and fontina cheese. On the side, we were brought the usual spread - different kinds of bread cubes, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli and most deliciously, apple slices. The waitress was also careful to ask us if we wanted extras of anything as we ran out - and I got more apple slices and cauliflower florets.
The entree came with a spectacular presentation, and one I had never seen or experienced before. My plate had mashed potatoes and steamed veggies one one side and the other of a heavy, ultra hot slab of stone. Separately, I got a slice of buffalo (not sure what cut) completely raw, and from that point on it was up to me to cook it as I wished on the rock in front of me. I went for medium rare, since the meat was extremely tender, and it really went well with the au jus which came on the side. I wasn’t super impressed with the steamed veggies which were a little plain, but the mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious.
Last but not least, we got the Chocolate Truffles fondue for dessert. It was really the perfect finishing touch for the meal - dark molten chocolate, with dark caramel mixed in, and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt for a nice finish. The spread of dipping bits was delightful - cheesecake bites, marshmallows, rice krispies, bananas, strawberries and shortbread. The only one that was a tad bit disappointing was something described as “brownie bites,” which turned out to be nothing more than marshmallows covered in oreo crumbs. As before, the waitress brought us extras as we ate through the initial batch, because of course we needed to sweep up the last drop of chocolate from the bowl. We left Rok Bistro well fed and quite happy with the experience.
The difference between getting an entree with cheese fondue and a full meal was small, so we had to go for it - a full spread of salad, cheese fondue of choice, entree served with a sizzling hot rock to cook it on, and finally chocolate fondue, yum! The salad was fairly simple on the surface - baby spinach topped with avocado, carrots, onions tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with feta crumbles and almond slices. However, the balance they struck was quite amazing, just the right amount of each ingredient, and the dressing was well balanced as well, I would say it was one of the best salads I’ve ever had.
For cheese fondue, we ordered the Classic Swiss since it is, after all, a classic combination - white wine with kirsch, garlic and seasonings, used to melt a mountain of sharp gruyere and fontina cheese. On the side, we were brought the usual spread - different kinds of bread cubes, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli and most deliciously, apple slices. The waitress was also careful to ask us if we wanted extras of anything as we ran out - and I got more apple slices and cauliflower florets.
The entree came with a spectacular presentation, and one I had never seen or experienced before. My plate had mashed potatoes and steamed veggies one one side and the other of a heavy, ultra hot slab of stone. Separately, I got a slice of buffalo (not sure what cut) completely raw, and from that point on it was up to me to cook it as I wished on the rock in front of me. I went for medium rare, since the meat was extremely tender, and it really went well with the au jus which came on the side. I wasn’t super impressed with the steamed veggies which were a little plain, but the mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious.
Last but not least, we got the Chocolate Truffles fondue for dessert. It was really the perfect finishing touch for the meal - dark molten chocolate, with dark caramel mixed in, and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt for a nice finish. The spread of dipping bits was delightful - cheesecake bites, marshmallows, rice krispies, bananas, strawberries and shortbread. The only one that was a tad bit disappointing was something described as “brownie bites,” which turned out to be nothing more than marshmallows covered in oreo crumbs. As before, the waitress brought us extras as we ate through the initial batch, because of course we needed to sweep up the last drop of chocolate from the bowl. We left Rok Bistro well fed and quite happy with the experience.
| Food | 9 |
| Drinks | 9 |
| Atmosphere | 9 |
| Service | 9 |
| Value | 7 |
Ben
Rok Bistro is a fondue restaurant in Sunnyvale. The decor and atmosphere are pretty casual, a large and well lit restaurant with a lot of relatively closely packed tables. It has the feel of a family restaurant, but the prices of what I would expect from a more upscale fondue place. Fondue is fondue; fresh vegetables and melted cheese / wine combinations are a reliably tasty course (though the portion was somewhat small for 3 people). The salad was one of the dishes that stood out as particularly good: a fresh and light baby spinach with avocado, feta, onions ,carrots, with feta and almonds.
My main course of prawns & scallops was simple but solid, in that the scallops were large and fresh .. all cooking was controlled by us as they are served raw on a hot stone. The dessert of dark chocolate truffles was definitely a win. There is a decent wine menu with reasonable prices, we ordered a Napa chardonnay, which was a pretty solid pair for the meal as a whole. The service was a combination of overly polite and then somewhat abrupt... but generally pretty good. Overall, the place has solid - but unremarkable - food, with the real draw seeming to be the hot stones on which they are served. The restaurant is not particularly romantic and even a little crowded, which makes the prices a confusing ... particularly as the ingredients weren’t exotic and cooking efforts from the staff seem relatively marginal for most dishes. I guess the repeat demographics may be families on a special night out, or couples desperate for closeby fondue.
My main course of prawns & scallops was simple but solid, in that the scallops were large and fresh .. all cooking was controlled by us as they are served raw on a hot stone. The dessert of dark chocolate truffles was definitely a win. There is a decent wine menu with reasonable prices, we ordered a Napa chardonnay, which was a pretty solid pair for the meal as a whole. The service was a combination of overly polite and then somewhat abrupt... but generally pretty good. Overall, the place has solid - but unremarkable - food, with the real draw seeming to be the hot stones on which they are served. The restaurant is not particularly romantic and even a little crowded, which makes the prices a confusing ... particularly as the ingredients weren’t exotic and cooking efforts from the staff seem relatively marginal for most dishes. I guess the repeat demographics may be families on a special night out, or couples desperate for closeby fondue.
| Food | 8 |
| Drinks | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 7 |
| Service | 8 |
| Value | 6 |
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