Veg-focused, food waste, live-fire cooking, preserving – a decent tick-list of trendy buzzwords for restaurants that have opened in the past few years. But at Rovi, Yotam Ottolenghi’s Fitzrovia restaurant, these four pillars are the foundations of every dish that’s served. And with chef Neil Campbell at the helm, the restaurant has quickly become known for pushing the boundaries and setting new standards for this new wave of veg-centric cookery.

The large, open 90-cover restaurant has a relaxed feel but there’s certainly a sense of occasion, with the beautiful central bar taking pride of place in the centre of the room. Eyes are usually drawn to the open pass, however, where diners can watch chefs handle the grill, a beast of a machine that gives nearly every dish on the menu a lick of smoke and char to bring out the best possible flavours from the ingredients.

Neil’s love for preserving means ferments and pickles play a large part on the menu, working in tandem with the wood-fired grill to tease flavours out of every ingredient. While the restaurant is veg-focused, you’ll still find meat and fish on the menu – but the real magic here is the way the vegetarian and vegan dishes stand up to their meatier counterparts. It’s a refreshing way of cooking that requires real skill and creativity to get right, but Neil has proved himself more than up to the challenge. Nothing is wasted in the kitchen – trimmings, scraps, stalks and leaves often find their way into the preserves lining the shelves.

Diners have a simple menu to choose from, including a variety of starters or small plates, larger main dishes, sides and snacks – all suitable for sharing. There’s an early bird menu for those dining between 5 and 6pm, an interesting mix of desserts and a short but expertly curated wine list, focusing on low-intervention bottles from across Europe. The cocktail list features familiar drinks, given their own Rovi twist.

A meal at Rovi can take you all over the world, with flavours and techniques derived from cuisines found throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Neil works with small suppliers and farmers from across the UK to ensure the very best quality of produce, but then approaches them with an arsenal of international inspiration to get as creative as possible. Omnivores, vegetarians and vegans are all catered for in equal measure, and every dish on the menu offers something unusual but incredibly delicious.