Ottolenghi's NOPI restaurant

Vegetarian readers of the Saturday edition of The Guardian will likely have become intimately acquainted with Yotam Ottolenghi's complex recipes that reward with perfect flavour combination. And have in all likelihood bought up his collection of veggie recipes, Plenty. Well, I certainly did. It has, so far, proved capable of delivering superb food from every single recipe tried so far. The news that Ottolenghi was to open a restaurant, just north of Piccadilly in London - hence the name NOPI - led to the possibility of creative, diverse, exciting veggie food (along with meat and fish dishes) and led to a table reservation on the second weekend of March.

The first thing that greets you at NOPI (after a phone call 24 hours earlier to check you are still coming - a sign of a sold out restaurant?) is the brightness of the space it occupies. White everywhere, including lots of stylised tiling (I found this pleasingly clinical; my dinner partner felt it was a bit reminiscent of a bathroom – though the highly mirrored bathrooms themselves are something else). The whiteness is offset by huge brass light fittings and the light wood of the tables. Oh, and the big table with some massive loaves of bread and a big dish of a pinky substance.

The waiting staff seemed to embrace the relaxed atmosphere, open to chat about the restaurant, Ottolenghi and, of course, the food.

As we absorbed the menu, a complimentary dish of the pinky stuff - a beetroot and, I think, crème fraiche pate - arrived with slices of gorgeous bread, which were replaced as needed.

NOPI describes its food as sharing dishes. They are, though portions are not massive. Dishes also arrive as and when ready from the kitchen, so don’t be expecting to have it all there at once.

So, what was the food like? Honestly? It was some the best flavours I have ever tasted.

A grain-based dish combined braised artichoke and succulent broad beans with hits of tangy pickled lemon. A soft, creamy burrata was ably matched by explosions of blood orange and crushed coriander seeds. Mung beans became exciting when served with braised baby carrots and smoked labneh.

The lamb balls in a creamy sauce were evidently tender, though rich. And the beef dish was described as “possibly the best beef I’ve ever tasted” and certainly my partner’s highlight of the savoury courses.

For me, the highlight was the baked blu di bufala cheesecake. This warm cheesecake, almost soufflé-like in texture, was complemented by sharp pickled mushrooms; again, a perfect marrying of unconventional flavours.

The sweets on offer all sounded fabulous. But the chocolate, peanut brittle, mace and crème fraiche was a puzzling mix of ingredients that looked like they shouldn’t work together, but so do. And the churros served with hot chocolate sauce to dip into then coat with fennel seed sugar was both ludicrously sweet and utterly more-ish.

On the drinks side, we sampled a couple of the cocktails - the pineapple and sage martini being a particular favourite.

Downsides? In terms of the menu, I had none. The setting is relaxed and we did not feel rushed. Tables, though, are close together (which means that you can earwig in on neighbours who might, for example, include a vegetarian who eats scallops…)

I’m looking forward to my next meal there and seeing how the menu develops and changes and spending another couple of hours marvelling at Ottolenghi and his team.