Canary Wharf Magazine, April 2011
I arrived with high expectations. I left with those expectations well and truly exceeded, and so satisfyingly full that I may never eat again (since overturned, worry not). Rocket ticks all the requisite boxes; great food, great wine, innovative decor, attentive staff and (particular bugbears of mine) lighting and music levels that were just right......
It has been shortlisted for a Restaurant and Bar Design Award 2011 and it was very easy to see why. Try Rocket yourself.
Click here for full review.
Company Magazine, 16th February 2011
Last week, Team Company discovered one of London's best kept secrets – Rocket Mayfair...............
The great thing about Rocket's menu is that it caters for every taste and every budget. It's mostly an Italian menu and does fantastic pizzas, but equally, they do lots of international dishes, including fish and chips, creole prawns or surf and turf. Among dishes we tried was a chorizo, prawn and potato frittata starter, which definitely classifies as a post-shop comfort-food treat. Or for something a bit healthier, the bresaola, rocket and Jerusalem artichoke salad was equally delicious. Our mains consisted of the fabulously decadent rare beef and chip salad with a black bean dressing – it does have a few other surprise ingredients (all good!), but you'll have to check out the online menu for those – and a corn-fed chicken with apricot and pecan stuffing. Both dishes were cooked to perfection and made all the more enjoyable by a few unusual twists and flamboyant flavours (again, see the menu!) But if you're not feeling very adventurous (or need to save a few pounds), just stick to the equally satisfying pizza menu, which features an array of fabulous toppings.
Click here for full review.
Square Meal 2011
Rocket, 4-6 Lancashire Court, W1
Tucked away in Mayfair’s busiest mews, Rocket’s popularity appears to have surpassed even that of the ubiquitous salad leaf after which it’s named. Service is ‘fantastic, friendly & prompt’, while the open kitchen is also praised: when the food’s on show, ‘you know exactly how fresh it is’. Wood-fired pizzas might include chicken with caramelised baby onions, but Rocket’s salad-led repertoire really steals the show. Prices are sub-£16.50, even for premium offerings such as a ‘surf & turf’ version with lime, chilli & tomato salsa or roasted rump of lamb with fregola & roasted vegetables. Readers claim to have barely room for a starter, although gorgeous haloumi & courgette fritters are all the persuasion that’s needed. With desserts at £5, & an extensive, keenly priced wine list, fans insist this is ‘a great all-rounder for anything’
Rocket, 6 Adams Court, Old Broad Street, EC2
Playful pop art meets baroque kitsch at Rocket, where the decor progresses from autumnal sobriety on the ground floor, through the sexy cocktail bar’s plush spectral tones to full-on frivolity in the top-floor dining room. Jazzy eclectic food is the deal, with starters such as Creole-spiced prawns with snow peas, roast sweetcorn & courgettes giving way to a choice of colourful salads & grills – anything from smoked chicken & goats’ cheese with pears & spicy pecans to sea bass on tomato confit with roasted fennel, anchovy & Kalamata olive dressing. Pizzas with offbeat toppings also show up strongly: try spicy Mediterranean sausage with roasted asparagus & Gorgonzola, while desserts promise fun in the shape of crêpes filled with dulce de leche, bananas & mascarpone. The wine list is pitched for affordable quaffing & comes with helpful tasting notes. Service is helpful without being intrusive.
Rocket, Churchill Place, E14
Push past the whimsical dolls-house baroque of the ground-floor bar – often packed with off-duty office workers – to reach the calmer environs of Rocket’s bright & classy upstairs dining room – an airy affair complete with open kitchen & balcony. The food is eclectic & inventive in characteristic Rocket style: kick off with Creole-spiced fried prawns with snow peas, roast sweetcorn & zucchini before a signature fish-&-chip salad on a bed of rocket with red onions & fried capers. The pizzas aren’t quite so original, but they do include a calzone filled with chorizo, prawns, jalapeños & roast tomatoes; the wine list majors on sub-£30 quaffing with good tasting notes & a selection of popular varietals by the glass.
Canary Wharf Magazine, June 2010
Outside space here is on two tiers, downstairs for drinks and snacks on the terrace or outside dining upstairs with great views of West India Docks. The style is classic, unfussy and relaxed.
.....the stowstopper was the Burrata - fresh Italian cheese made from a mozzarella outer 'shell' but with a mozzarella and cream runny centre. Indulgent and delightful.
.....A word to the wise, the pizzas are plate and stomach fillers, but ours was devoured nonetheless,.....
.....Burrata, pizza and fish filled stomachs didn't stop us from trying out the dessert menu. One banana, marscapone and vanilla ice-cream filled crepe later our gastronomic journey was complete. For anyone out there with a sweet tooth, this is the dessert for you, enough to make even the blackest day blue again.
.....The latest kid on the block at style, substance and a sweet tooth."
 click here for full review
The Docklands, 23rd June 2010
"There is plenty to love at Rocket - the menu is full of colour, vibrancy and interesting flavours."
click here for the full review
Hardens, London Restaurants 2010
"Top-end locations" (including a cute courtyard off Bond Street) add to the appeal of these "fun and lively" outfits, which serve "slightly unusual" pizzas and "unique" salads.
Hardens, London Bars and Pubs 2010
Rocket, 4-6 Lancashire Court, W1
"It may be hidden away in a cobbled mews, off Bond Street, but do not expect this bar to be anything remotely approaching a secret. On almost any weekday evening, it’s packed with post-office drinkers hell bent on having a good time – and, come rain or shine, the two small rooms regularly spill out on to the courtyard. The first-floor pizza restaurant offers tasty tucker at keen prices (for this part of town), so booking is always advisable.”
Square Meal 2010
Rocket, 6 Adams Court, Old Broad Street, EC2
Even a few years ago, Rocket’s self-consciously oddball style might have been considered too frivolous for the Square Mile, but response to this City outpost of the Mayfair original has been unambiguously positive. The location (a peaceful courtyard in the shadow of Tower 42) is certainly a winner, while the decor – tastefully subdued in the ground-floor bar – becomes increasingly extrovert as you head upstairs, with a sexy first-floor cocktail bar acting as curtain-raiser for the zany top-floor dining room. Grills & salads steal the limelight on the menu: anything from blackened chicken with cashews & soba noodles, or lamb, feta & pomegranate, to deep-fried coconut crispy squid on mango. Pizzas are also serious contenders (try black pudding with king prawns, pancetta & green chilli). The wine list includes some classy names but avoids the bonus-fuelled heights scaled by some City venues
Rocket, 4-6 Lancashire Court, W1
Rocket certainly knows how to please the punters. Its secret is keenly priced food dished out by staff who are invariably ‘nice, friendly & helpful’. The kitchen rustles up authentic pizzas from a traditional oven, as well as consistently fresh salads & grills with globetrotting flavours. Popular starters include spicy fried baby squid with sweet chilli & lemon dressing, while the main-course salads bring a version containing rare beef, rocket, deep-fried green beans, red onion, radish, crispy garlic & fried chilli. Fishcakes & fish & chips also get regular orders – both come with a pile of Rocket’s signature greenery or crunch. The wine list offers good value, & regulars enjoy special promotions, often focusing on Italy.
Time Out, Eating and Drinking 2010
This lively bar and restaurant, tucked away in a small network of alleyways in Mayfair, specialises in upmarket exotic pizzas, grills and creative salads. Weekday lunchtimes see the smart but airy first-floor dining room (dominated by a large picture of a black Labrador) filled with business lunchers. Evenings bring a more diverse and relaxed clientele.
The wine list offers a good choice by the glass and includes helpful tasting notes. In all, Rocket makes a pleasant bolt-hole whether you're a Mayfair hedge funder on a budget or taking a break from retail therapy on Oxford Street. It also has a branch in the City.
The Wharf, 13th May 2010
Rocket, Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, E14
....This bright and captivating restaurant was bustling with lunchtime banter and provided the perfect atmosphere to entertain clients, enjoy a bottle of wine with friends on the terrace or share a dessert on a date....
Click here for full review
Where and Now, 1st May 2010
"Rocket is a unique venue in the city. "
Click here for the full review
Where and Now, 19th July 2010
"Rocket Mayfair in a nutshell? The epitome of smart casual."
Click here for the full review
Where and Now, 5th October 2010
"Rocket, Canary Wharf, in a nutshell? Hip, unusual and yummy."
Click here for the full review
Your Docklands and City, May 2010
"It’s a fantastic venue with plenty of quirky design features. The cocktails were spot on and the amount of outdoor terrace space is sure to see it become a Canary Wharf favourite."
Zagat, London Restaurants 2010
A "stylish", "after-work" crowd gets fired up for these "busy, buzzy" Med bars/restaurants; "surprisingly good value" offering "pizzas of generous size".
We have a top ranking on Easy B&B.
Evening Standard, ES Magazine, 21st August 2009
Tucked away down a picturesque alleyway in the heart of Mayfair is this relaxed salad bar. Good service and an excellent wine list......
Hardens, London Restaurants 2009
With its “handy branches”, “fresh” food and “good prices”, this pizza-to-salads chain is “hard to beat”.
12th September 2009
......Of course, not every establishment can afford such things and nor do they need to. Over in Mayfair at Rocket, the discreet little pizza restaurant and champagne bar with famously low mark-ups, they have such a quick turnover by the glass that they barely need to reseal the bottles.
"I charge a quarter of the bottle price for a 175ml glass and they fly out the door," says the owner. "And I believe that £6.25 for a glass of Cloudy Bay, or £25 a bottle, is pretty good value. So do my many customers, which means I can continue to charge so little."
Rocket, London W1 (020 7629 2889). Unlikely but true: just off Bond St and serving Meursault for £7.50 a glass.
Square Meal 2009
Rocket Mayfair
Walking past, you’d be forgiven for not realising that above Rocket’s throbbing ground-floor cocktail bar is a very large, high-ceilinged dining room with a bar & wood fired pizza oven. The regularly changing menu offers and impressive choice: classy pizzas topped with anything from Gorgonzola & rocket or pancetta & goats’ cheese to smoked chicken & caramelised baby onions, are reliably backed up by some excellent salads – rare beef, Saint Agur cheese & pear, or crispy squid with mango.. Readers applaud the value for money at this popular, relaxed venue.
Rocket City
Nestling in a peaceful courtyard in the shadow of Tower 42, this City outpost of the Rocket mini-chain brings a touch of West End sparkle to the Square Mile. The real fireworks happen in the sexily monochrome first-floor cocktail bar & the flamboyant top-floor restaurant, which is decked out with look at me modern furniture, gaudy flower arrangements and the odd ironic object d’art. There’s also a cheeky innovative feel to the menu: start perhaps with the deep-fried whiting with mango, chilli, orange & cranberry relish before barramundi in a light teriyaki marinade with pak choy, green papaya, cucumber, radish, toasted peanut & crispy lotus root salad. If that’s not enough to pep up your palate, the pizzas have a similar box-fresh appeal: try the black pudding, butterfly prawn and green chilli version for size. The ground floor bar has a certain low-key charm & tables outside are an enticing draw.
Time Out, Eating and Drinking 2009
Lancashire Court is a small oasis in busy Mayfair and the perfect location for an eaterie such as Rocket. The first-floor restaurant specialises in creative pizzas and other modern international dishes. At lunchtime it quickly fills with a business crowd, but it’s still possible to find a perch at the ground-floor bar area, which on warm days extends outdoors into the attractive courtyard.
Zagat, London Restaurants 2009
The Med menu is “nothing too fancy” – “huge salads”, “über-sized pizzas” – but it “hits the spot”, “casual”, “good-value”.
Please note – our menu changes seasonally and some of the dishes have changed since these reviews were written. We hope that we have replaced them with equally popular ones. Also, in addition to our regular wines by the glass we have weekly specials and so the wines on offer by the glass also may be different.
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