In London: Nopi

We’re in Berlin now, about to head out to dinner… we’ve walked about a million miles, and it feels nice to sit down and rest for a few minutes. Here are some snaps from our first night in London at Nopi… Ottolenghi’s newest restaurant. A big thank you to all of the readers who left comments recommending it!

Jack started with a bourbon sour (pictured above). I had wine, but if I had been a little less jetlagged, I would have gotten a cocktail called The Saffron Chase (gin, elderflower liquer, lemon juice, saffron syrup & champagne). I’m still kicking myself a little bit for not trying it…

I gushed over the decor – especially all of the gold accents and shiny subway tiles (when you see photos of my kitchen you’ll understand how much I love subway tiles).

For our meal, we shared the aubergine with feta & pomegranate (the dish that’s on the cover of the book Plenty), pea & broad bean fritters with cardamom yogurt (which didn’t make pretty photos, but tasted amazing)… portabello mushroom farro with leeks (probably our favorite), cod with sweet corn puree, and roasted beets.

I’ve cooked a good many dishes at home from the cookbook (with much success), so I was really excited to taste the food at the actual restaurant(s). The best way I can really describe the difference is that the flavors were somehow brighter, the flavors more distinct and the seasonings more perfect. Hopefully I can lock those flavors in my mind to take back home to my own kitchen experiments.

 

 

9 comments

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  1. Bre
    09.20.2012

    Oh my goodness major restaurant envy…If I ever get back to London this will def be on my list. Beautiful pics! Please show us more! 🙂

    • jeanine
      09.26.2012

      Hi Bre! I’ll be showing some more soon! Got a whole bunch of photos to sort through 🙂

  2. I love the poetic names of drinks…’The Saffron Chase’ sounds like a perfect drink name (or perhaps a movie where the plot centres around tracking down the elusive spice!). I’ve dreamed of eating at Nopi, but for now I’ll settle on living vicariously through you!

  3. So glad you went, isn’t it amazing! 🙂 Enjoy Belin.

  4. amber
    09.18.2012

    I love that you went here! Its my favorite restaurant in London, and we went there on my birthday…and then my mothers birthday…its where i first tasted burrata…

  5. Ginger from Thealbrecht.com
    09.17.2012

    Mmm, that drink sounds amazing! I might have to try making a version of my own. Enjoy Berlin.

  6. Laura from thespicedlife.com
    09.17.2012

    SO fun! I love visiting restaurants that I have the cookbooks for. And that is an awesome one, so I am jealous too! 🙂

  7. Oh, lucky! Enjoy your travels–I went to London about 10 years ago & hope to be back there again someday soon. Hope to hear more about your traveling adventures.

  8. So jealous! This is definitely going on my list of must-visit restaurants.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.