RestaurantsLondonSpitalfieldsE1

survey result

Summary

£71
  £££
4
Very Good
3
Good
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Still “a gold standard”, with their “lovely, beautifully displayed food” – this small group of deli-cafés has expanded slowly since the first one opened in Notting Hill 21 years ago; the latest arrived in Pavilion Road, Chelsea, in January 2022. Hugely influential Israeli-born chef and writer Yotam Ottolenghi has transformed the way much of the world sees Middle Eastern cuisine – and vegetables. “I’m not a vegetarian, but I love eating the veg dishes here and I find I don’t need to order any meat”. (See also the chef’s two grander restaurants, Nopi and Rovi).

Summary

£64
  £££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Mouthwatering salads” which look as dazzlingly good as they taste set the tone at Yotam Ottolenghi’s deli-restaurants, where “the food is always outstanding” and “you always discover new ingredients and different takes on traditional dishes”. It’s now 20 years since the Israeli-born writer and TV chef opened his original Notting Hill venue, sparking a new interest in Levantine cuisine; in summer 2021 he opened a fifth branch, near the Wallace Collection in Marylebone.

Summary

£58
   ££
3
Good
2
Average
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“A feast for the eyes and always fresh, delicious” and full of “interesting flavour” – the “unusual salads” and habit-forming cakes at Yotam Ottolenghi’s starkly decorated café chain: an ongoing success-story particularly beloved of brunching yummy-mums and Guardian-reading types (“is this a restaurant or a cult?… some of the clientele on my trip seemed beyond parody”). “It’s only the food that makes it worth it” though – branches are “super-busy and never enjoyable” – and, given the prices, a visit can “feel like daylight robbery”.

Summary

£58
   ££
3
Good
2
Average
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“A feast for the eyes and always fresh, delicious” and full of “interesting flavour” – the “unusual salads” and habit-forming cakes at Yotam Ottolenghi’s starkly decorated café chain: an ongoing success-story particularly beloved of brunching yummy-mums and Guardian-reading types (“is this a restaurant or a cult?… some of the clientele on my trip seemed beyond parody”). “It’s only the food that makes it worth it” though – branches are “super-busy and never enjoyable” – and, given the prices, a visit can “feel like daylight robbery”.

For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

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Ottolenghi Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Ottolenghi Restaurant in E1, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Ottolenghi restaurant.
Nicholas R
We both stuck with the vegetarian options o...
Reviewed 7 months, 12 days ago

"We both stuck with the vegetarian options on this visit and were not disappointed with the complex and subtle flavour and texture combinations that are Ottolenghi's trademark. The celeriac and the mushroom papillote were our favourites but that's only a reflection of our preferences, the other dishes were just as good. Perhaps we should expect something of a canteen atmosphere since Ottolenghi's other restaurants charge much more, but the open space is clattering and the service is very impersonal. "

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Phil B
Very, very good small plates, as one would ...
Reviewed 9 months, 25 days ago

"Very, very good small plates, as one would expect. Service good. Wine list prohibitively expensive relative to the more reasonably-prices food."

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