Cafe Roka in Bisbee, Arizona Review

Cafe Roka in Bisbee, Arizona is by far the only restaurant that is in a town, not a city, that remotely reminds me of New York. It is very happening. The owner who has been there for 17 years who came from phoenix only opens 4 days a week. Thurs, Fri, sat, and sat. When they aren't having a private party you have to call in advance to make reservations.

When you first walk in you see all the people there and ask yourself where did all these people come from? Half of them are tourists and the others are regulars. The bar is in the center of it all. They have 3 levels. I have dined in both first and second levels. Fridays they have a live jazz band.

You look around the room and everyone is ordering bottles of wine. And the delicious appetizers they serve. I ordered recently pita bread and hummus they that comes with a little plate of mixed Spanish olives and black olives sprinkled with oregano. Although I've made the pita bread better it was quite good. Every entrée comes with a four course menu since everything is fresh; it takes a while for the food to arrive.

I had a tomato and green chili soup which was delicious. The salad arrived with a vinaigrette dressing it was good as well. Afterwards, a small little plate of a lemon sorbet arrived. Very odd because you usually see that after the meal is over. While you're busy eating you don't even notice how long the meal is taking that by the time you're done savoring the first courses the food has arrived. I ordered a sea bass. It was so delicious the sauce was soy, vinaigrette and tamarind sauce. It was superb.

This place is classified as new American cuisine. It's an excellent place to go for a night of mingling with friends or being romantic with your loved one. Or just for sitting at the bar alone. For dessert I ordered a banana pudding cake with little slices of banana on top very tasty. For everything that was ordered for two people including two drinks the bill came out to $50 something dollars very good price for the quality of the food and the service. I thought it would have been $90 something dollars. But that was not the case. I highly recommend this place.