Ottolenghi brings the fire to new restaurant Rovi

Fans of chef, restaurateur and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi’s magical ways with fresh produce and Middle-Eastern flavours will be intrigued by Rovi, which has just opened in London’s Fitzrovia. It offers the relaxed dining and to-go counter we know and love from other Ottolenghi locations, but what makes this addition exciting is a new focus on fire grilling and fermentation.

The dining space itself is airy and open; the industrial touches of the Bauhaus-inspired interior are softened by bare wood and warm textiles. There’s a row of seats by the window for walk-ins, and room around the bar to sit while you explore everything the equally creative cocktail menu has to offer − plus a selection of accompanying pickles and ferments, or bites such as crumpet lobster toast and tempura stems and herbs.

Fermentation − a millennia-old technique causing a new buzz in both wellness and cuisine − is used throughout the menu to add signature Ottolenghi notes of rare, unusual flavour, while fire grilling and hay smoking adds texture and earth to vegetables. Pictured here is a dish of mussels with Cascabel chilli oil and hay-smoked Jersey Royal potatoes.

Ingredients are sourced from suppliers who take painstaking care over their produce; the fruit and vegetables are supplied from a biodynamic organic farm in Sussex, and the scallops hand-caught by divers on the Isle of Mull.