Eating my way through London…

Ever heard of the phrase: “too much to do but not enough time”? The story of my life seems to be: “too much to EAT and not enough time”! I’ve reached a point where the number of restaurants/groceries I want to try exceed the number of days remaining ;)! As well as visiting my old favorites, I’ve also been trying several new yum places like Ottolenghi.

Coming from a die-hard Whole Foods fan, this was right up my alley…actually  more like a bus ride away to Westbourne Grove but you catch my drift :)!

As they put it “we like to think of ourselves as the haute couture of the food-to-go world”. Ottolenghi is all about the freshest ingredients of the finest quality.  When we walked in, I was pleasantly surprised to see jaw-dropping, eye-popping displays of salads, meats and desserts: colorful and inviting. For such a small place, Ottolenghi is stuffed with mouth-watering, Mediterranean- inspired options like:

• Roasted sweet potato with spicy yoghurt, dukkah and chervil
• Heritage tomatoes with bulgur, mograbiah, turmeric, chili oil and mixed herbs
• Mixed roast peppers with ginger,lime, ricotta and parsley
• Grilled salmon with pistachio, pomengranate and rosewater salsa
• Roasted Mediterranean bake with pesto and parmesan
• Seared yellowfin tuna in sesame seed crust with tomato and chilli jam

Clearly we didn’t enjoy it ;).

Although  satisfied, we couldn’t leave without trying their dessert…well I couldn’t at least!

We opted fora slice of “carrot and walnut cake” with 3 forks, which we naturally dominated!

I’m glad I was able to try out Ottolenghi with my mom and sister who have a similar appreciation for freshness and good food.   To put it lightly, Ottolenghi is like a slap across the face to all those who suggest that taste (or eating out) and healthy cannot go hand-in-hand. Worth the wait, worth the trek, worth the calories, worth the price :).