What? Rovi is the latest adventure of vegetable guru Yotam Ottolenghi. The British-Israelian chef that does his magic with vegetables, eastern seasoning, yoghurt sauces and the occasional slice of meat. And that fills half a library with his beautiful cookbooks. In the past Ottolenghi opened several small diners with his own name. Seven years ago he added Nopi to his list of successful achievements. Now with Rovi the chef wants to go ‘back to basics’. Letting the veggies and some forgotten pieces of meat shine bright. His favorite actions to achieve that are grilling, pickling and fermenting. Speaking of favorites: don’t forget to try the grilled onions with feta and green gazpacho. You could also try the mussels, but whatever you do: do not touch the peppers (they are inhumanly spicy).
Looks? In accordance with the menu, the interior design at Rovi tends to go back to basic. While the Ottolenghi eateries are very white and bright and Nopi is very shiny and gold, Rovi has a more natural feeling. Raw oak doors for example, and walls of travertine.
What else? Try to book a table at the back of the restaurant or at the curved bar. There you will have good views on the open kitchen and the racks full of fresh vegetables and Ottolenghi merchandise. A part from being a successful chef, the man is a very smart businessman as well, you see.
INFO Mon to Fri breakfast from 8am to 11.30 am, lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm (Fri to 3.30pm) and dinner from 5.30pm to 10.15pm. Sat and Sun breakfast from 10am to 11.30am, lunch from 12pm to 3.30pm and only on Sat dinner from 5.30pm to 22.15pm
59 Wells Street
London W1A 3AE Fitzrovia
+44 20 3963 8270 website
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