Ottolenghi: Very Hip Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Restaurant in North London

A few months ago, I checked out Ottolenghi in North London. This very trendy Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant has been recommended to me by a few people, so I was very curious to check it out. 

The restaurant isn't super big, but it's fairly long and narrow. The dining room is communal sitting for the most part, while the front of the restaurant it more cafe style and you can buy the mouthwatering confection in the window. I came here with my parents and from the moment we walked in, I felt like this might not be their scene....

The decor and the furniture was just a little too modern and trendy, if that makes sense. Heck, even I wasn't crazy about it. It almost felt like I had traveled back to the 1970s. Groovy, man.
The front of the restaurant and then dining room in the back
Yum yum!

Ottolenghi's dishes are very much tapas style plates and the flavor inspirations are a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. The menu is divided in half between cold and hot dishes. The menu is a little small, but each dish sounded absolutely tantalizing! I really wanted to try everything. 
After much deliberation with my parents, we shared up five plates, which were all superb. We enjoyed the following dishes:
- grilled king prawns, tom yum sauce, Tokyo turnips, and shiitake mushrooms
- tempura courgette flowers with ricotta, Schneeflockil, truffle honey, and walnuts
- paneer and potato fritters, butter curry, courgette and mint chutney
- grilled mackerel, green mango nam prik, sorrel, peanuts, and toasted rice
- miso quail, sweet and sour Thai shallots, grapes, and plum wine

I will apologize in advanced -- I ate here back in May, so my memory may not be quite as sharp. I do recall really enjoying most of the dishes. The one dish that I had mixed feelings about was the quail, but that was because I felt the shallots were too sour. The quail was beautifully cooked and very succulent.

In the courgette flowers, I recall particularly enjoying the truffle honey and the walnuts. The truffle honey was beautiful since you got to enjoy the wonderful aroma of truffle, but the honey added a touch of sweetness to the dish, that complemented the ingredients. Also, if I recall correctly, the walnut were a bit caramelized, so that was really lovely.

Sadly, I cannot recall any specifics about the other three dishes, but I do recall loving every single mouthful. I remember thinking, "wow, these are flavors that I've never experienced before and they all work brilliantly together! I love all of this!" Really really delicious dishes. Beautifully presented too!
Our selection of dishes

All in all, my evening at Ottolenghi was really delightful. I'll confess, the decor wasn't exactly to my liking and, called me old fashioned, I prefer having my own table vs communal dining, but hey, it's all part of the experience right? For me, it was all about the food. Really really stunning flavors, artistic presentation, and also, really good service! I'd say, all of the hype I hear about this place is spot on. If you want to try new foods and flavor, and you want to be in London's very trendy Angel neighborhood, I recommend Ottolenghi! :D 

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