Rovi

Fermentation, Fire, and the Vegetable-Forward Counter at Fitzrovia

When Yotam Ottolenghi opened Rovi on Wells Street in Fitzrovia, the concept represented a deliberate departure from the deli-counter format of his earlier Ottolenghi sites. The premise was more focused: vegetables as the structural centre of the plate, with fermentation and open-fire cooking as the primary techniques shaping flavour. That kind of kitchen architecture — where the absence of meat is a design decision rather than a dietary concession — has grown more common across London, but Rovi arrived with the editorial weight of a publishing brand behind it. Ottolenghi's weekly column in The Guardian and a run of bestselling recipe books had already established a culinary grammar among home cooks; Rovi translated that grammar into a 85-seat restaurant with a serious bar at its centre.

How the Menu Is Built

The menu at Rovi operates as a sequence of decisions rather than a conventional three-course structure. Vegetables lead, and they lead with technique: grilled leeks arrive with pickled walnuts and date-walnut praline; charred hispi cabbage comes dressed in almond XO. The sourcing leans toward producers whose ingredients respond well to fermentation , celeriac becomes a shawarma, candied mushrooms carry chilli and fermented black vinegar, and the underlying logic throughout is that heat and time-based transformation (roasting, charring, fermenting) produce the kind of depth that meat-centric cooking typically claims by default.

Proteins appear when the kitchen chooses to deploy them, not as the organising principle. A saddleback pork chop with kohlrabi and apple kimchi reads as a logical extension of the same fermented, fire-led vocabulary rather than a concession to conventionality. Fish dishes, such as grilled halibut with curly peppers and capers seasoned in khmeli-suneli , a Georgian spice blend analogous in its layering to Chinese five-spice , show how far the geographic range extends. The Levant, the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, and South Asia all contribute techniques and spice references, but the menu never reads as a survey course in world cuisine. The flavours are integrated rather than catalogued.

Desserts follow the same willingness to use unexpected combinations: fennel meringue with lime and pastis sorbet and lemon curd, or a chilli-spiked cherry and chocolate fondant. These are not afterthoughts. They extend the fermented, acidic, and spiced logic of the savoury menu into the final course.

The Bar as a Structural Feature

The large central bar is not decorative. It functions as a second axis around which the room is organised, with counter seating designed for guests who want proximity to the drinks program rather than a conventional table experience. The cocktail list is built on seasonal herbs and house-made shrubs, a format that aligns the bar with the kitchen's preference for fermentation and slow preparation. Non-alcoholic options , hibiscus agua fresca, watermelon and rose sharbat , are given the same construction logic as the alcoholic drinks, which places Rovi in a tier of London restaurants where the soft drinks list is a genuine alternative rather than a compromise.

In a city where the cocktail bar scene has split between high-concept experiential formats and neighbourhood accessibility, Rovi's bar occupies a middle register: technically serious, ingredient-led, but integrated into a dining context rather than operating as a destination in its own right.

Where Rovi Sits in the London Dining Context

London's mid-to-upper casual dining tier has expanded considerably over the past decade, but vegetable-forward restaurants with a serious fermentation program remain a smaller subset. Rovi competes for attention not with the tasting-menu establishments like CORE by Clare Smyth, The Ledbury, or Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which occupy the formal ££££ tier, but with the broader category of ingredient-driven, technique-focused restaurants that price below that ceiling while demanding comparable kitchen discipline. Sketch's Lecture Room and Library operates in a different register entirely , formal French service, multi-course structure, different occasion entirely.

The Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe list provides an external coordinate: Rovi ranked 303rd in 2025, 300th in 2024, and received a Highly Recommended designation in 2023. That trajectory , consistent recognition across three consecutive years in a list that surveys the continent , places it in a peer group defined by sustained quality rather than opening-year momentum. Under head chef Neil Campbell, the kitchen has held its position within that ranking as the broader casual dining category has grown more competitive.

For Mediterranean-inflected cooking that uses fermentation and fire as its defining methods, comparison cities are instructive. Apolonia in Chicago and Balear in Madrid operate in the same broad category, though with different geographic emphases and local contexts. Rovi's distinction within London is partly structural: it carries the Ottolenghi publishing brand, which gives it cultural recognition beyond the dining room, and it is the format that most explicitly develops fermentation as a kitchen methodology rather than a garnish technique.

Fitzrovia and the Neighbourhood Context

Wells Street sits in Fitzrovia, the pocket of central London between Soho and Marylebone that has accumulated a concentration of independent restaurants over the past two decades. The area lacks the destination-dining theatrics of Mayfair but also lacks the tourist compression of Covent Garden. It functions as a working neighbourhood for the media and creative industries that cluster around the BBC's Broadcasting House, which sits a short walk north. That demographic , media professionals, international visitors staying in Marylebone, diners who know the area from repeat visits , maps reasonably well onto Rovi's format: accessible without being casual, technically serious without requiring a special-occasion justification.

For a broader orientation to what London's dining scene offers across formats and price points, the full London restaurants guide covers the range from this mid-casual tier through to the formal establishments. The London bars guide, hotels guide, and experiences guide cover the broader picture. Beyond London, the wider UK dining scene includes destination addresses such as The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton, all documented in the London wineries guide and connected regional pages.

Planning Your Visit

Address: 59–65 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London W1A 3AE. Hours: Monday to Thursday 12–3 pm and 5–10:30 pm; Friday 12–3:30 pm and 5–10:30 pm; Saturday 12–3:30 pm and 5:30–10:30 pm; Sunday 12–3:30 pm (lunch only). Covers: 85 seats across banquette, table, and bar-counter formats. Google rating: 4.6 from 2,230 reviews. Booking: Reservations are advisable for dinner and weekend lunch given the consistent OAD recognition and the strength of the Ottolenghi brand pull in this neighbourhood.

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