Ottolenghi

Good quality, tasty food, but it's more of a casual restaurant than somewhere to go for a special meal, it's very packed in, mostly communal tables etc. It's also perpetually busy and often difficult to get a table.

The prices are very high for the quantum of food you get, so if you are looking for somewhere relatively quick to eat, with good quality food, but with no budget, this is the place to go. Otherwise I would go somewhere else.
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Adrian
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Salads looked good and tasted ok but my problem was the quality of the main course. For £7.50 (total cost £12.50 less £5 for 2 salads) they should do better than a scrawny leg of chicken which falls short on quantity and quality.

Couldn't recommend here and wonder why the Good Food Guide said it was value for money - I guess they hiked their prices by 50% once they saw they were in the Guide.
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Philip Hanna
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

We happen to wonder into Ottolenghi's when my family moved to the area in early 2007, drawn in by the stacks of incredible looking puddings and deli by the front of the restaurant. We have gone on to have many enjoyable meals at Ottolenghi’s and it has become one of my most favourite locations in London. The food is exquisite, ranging from flavoursome deli dishes to my favourites, the indescribable meat dishes (my personal favourite being the crispy pork belly, which I hope they never take off the menu!). The staff are friendly and polite, and the front of house is tremendous fun and one to remember. I wanted to add this because I felt the other comments did not reflect the reality of this gem of a restaurant and did not reflect the views of the friends and clients that have joined me and shared my passion for Ottolenghi.
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A. Whitehead
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

We went on a Saturday night for my friend's birthday. There were 4 of us and we ordered 2 dishes each despite the restaurant's recommendation of 3 dishes per person.

The starters of various salads were all outstanding and delicious (roasted aubergines with yoghurt & pine nuts, French beans with garlic mushrooms etc).

However, the main dishes were huge disappointments. Both the baby octopus & sea bass were too salty, the beef brisket with rice & pak choi was reasonable but one can easily find a better tasting dish in China town. The small courgette flowers stuffed with mozzarella etc was delicious enough but it was by no means worth £10.50.

We paid an average £25 per head. We believe Ottolenghi should either improve the quality and quantity of their main dishes ASAP. Or alternatively, they should just offer diners their vegetarian and salad selections only.
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Summer
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Went there last night with five friends to the Islington one.

OK, lets get one thing straight, this restaurant is about tasting food not eating it. The portions are tiny. The food is delivered in £10 packets and the presentation is very good and the quality is excellent. You need three dishes to get the equivelent amount of food from any normal establishment though. It was all washed down with a middle of the road Rioja, which was perfectly pleasant if a little pricey at £35. Now at these prices, averaging £30 on a main courses you could be playing in a proper restaurant in the area (Fredericks, Les Trois Garcons par example). Instead I was sitting in a glorified deli at a large bench table with 20 other diners, which I don't have a huge problem with, but wasn't looking to drop £50 for the pleasure.

End of the day it's Upper Street and it was a bonus not to be surrounded by estate agents and recruitment consultants spitting pizza on each other.
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Ollie Watson
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 07, 2007

A true passion for food is certainly evident at Ottolenghi.We visited today for a quick lunch,service was prompt and charming,as usual,and the belly of pork with plum and cinnamon was good.(However ,not as glorious as the belly of pork we enjoyed Sunday at the nearby Scolt Head).

Salads of roast sweet potatoes,pecans and maple syrup and aubergines ,yoghurt and sumac were good too.

No room for cakes,but they certainly looked spectacular.

Recommended.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

How disappointing. Perhaps we just caught them on a bad day, but breakfast there this morning was simply unpleasant. The homemade baked beans encapsulated why you should never bother - Heinz really do the best. It wasn't helped by the two, large pieces of bone from the ham hock that nearly broke my teeth.

My friend had the scrambled egg with smoked salmon on a toasted muffin. The muffin was rock hard, the scrambled egg positively radioactive in colour and the smoked salmon appeared to have been farmed to within an inch of its life.

The service was slack and sullen and given the apparent cheap ingredients used, extremely expensive

A real shame as I have heard such good things of Ottolenghi. Perhaps I should just stick to the cakes next time.
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Sean Barnes
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Sunday, September 16, 2007

Excellent food and friendly service, I would thoroughly reccoment Ottolenghi. An unusual mixture of hot and cold dishes combined with some of the best deserts i've ever tasted, bravo!
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Alex W
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, August 19, 2007

Almost flawless......actually, it was......

Ottolenghi hasn't had a review for a while, which I suspect is more because it is easier to fire up to write a bad review than a good one. However, when the entire experience is this good on every level, it seems a crime not to endow it with praise well due....

Being a passionate reader of Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes in the Guardian Weekend, we stopped past on a whim on a Wednesday night. I accept this is not a time when the staff or the kichen are under significant pressure; nonetheless, the experience was faultless. Enthusiastic staff seated us immediately, with no sulky penalty wait to punish us for failing to book. The chairs are comfortable, despite the restaurant space's leaning towards minimalist lines in decor. Here, it works, as the space is small, so it makes efficient use of what it has.

Orders were taken promptly for drinks, from a small but varied wine list, which is well priced, and offers both new and old world options. We chose a very pleasant Argentinian Chardonnay...nothing special, but worked with the food we ordered. The waitress, who was otherwise fantastic, had no idea why there was a 4 year old fairly ordinary NZ sauv blanc on the wine list, which made two of us. This was however, an extrenely minor blip in an overall triumph.

I am usually churlish with my praise about restaurants, as I generally feel I can do better, and with better ingredients at home. Not so here. The dishes are tapas style, in that they are starter size, and you are encouraged to order three per person for a full meal. This encourages sharing, which is what food is all about, and is a strong selling point for Ottolenghi.

We chose a range of dishes; seared marinated tuna wrapped in nori and served with a wasabi cream sauce was absolutely superb, though the one minor flaw was a Puy lentil salad with roasted tomatoes and cauliflower which was probably great earlier in the day, but tasted slightly wilted. I feel churlish complaining, as this was only noticeable because the rest was almost impossible to criticise.

From the kitchen we chose a lamp rump - marinated, grilled and served with mint, feta and flat parsley salad....mind-blowingly good; a marinated octopus served with a tomato/garlic dip of some sort (I failed to take the menu to refresh my memory), and a heavenly grilled lemon sole with skordalia. Given skordalia (a potato and garlic dip) is usually bland and mealy in this country, this was a real surprise. We were left grinning from ear to ear by the five dishes we chose.

I would be remiss not to mention that the service matched the food. Both waitresses who served us were utterly delightful, knowledgeable about the food, and clearly enthusiastic, which they had both sampled. Both had worked there upwards of a year, which is testimony to a great employer, and explains the success of the restaurant. The business model is brilliant - they manage the most appetising window display of cakes and tea from early morning, run into the best salads in London at lunch, and the above for dinner. This model relies on a great chef, great staff and great produce, which Ottolenghi clearly have in spades. At £60 for two including a bottle of wine, this was also great value for what we got. Get down there as soon (and as often) as you can!
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Kate - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Booked for three on Saturday night, could only get a 6:30 seating as I was told it was fully booked at 8:30

When we arrived, the counters were a cullinary delight, and it wasn't soon before we enquired after the feast, only to be told that it was from the lunch service and couldn't be offered to us. Dissapointing!

Also, even though we had 2 hours to work through our dinner, we were rushed into making a decision about what to have, which is difficult in itself as we had never been there before and didnt have time to read the menu properly, so we ended up with three of the same starters, not gaining the full benefit of the menu.

The food however, was absolutely delicious, although came with a hefty price tag of £45 a head, included three tapas style dishes, a glass of rose and an astounding pudding. The atmosphere was pleasant, although if you don't like sharing a table with strangers (Or a bathroom with men - its unisex) this isn't the place for you, there are only a few tables for two dotted around, the rest are communal.

My advice, when you go in, make sure they give you enough time to read the menu, you might miss out on something delicious in haste, and order different courses so you and your guests can all benefit!
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Nicola
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 02, 2006