Ojai Rotie — Restaurant in Ojai

I live in Ojai and Roti has been a favorite of mine of years, so it pains me to write this review. I went for dinner on Saturday and had my first negative experience here.

First, there was a long line on the sidewalk to get in and the hostess said she wasn’t going to seat people for another 15 minutes, despite half of the tables being empty, which seemed strange. Why not let people sit and get drinks while they wait? When she finally started letting people in 30 minutes later, she explained that there was a 45-minute wait for whole rotisserie chickens, but everything else was available. Totally fine. When we got to the counter, I tried to order the benny sandwich, but the staff member said they were also out of all sandwiches with chicken. Again, that on its own would not have been an issue—I get it, it was a busy Saturday night. But it only got worse from there.

My wife order the avgolemono soup and when they brought it to our table, it was only broth. Pure broth. No chicken, no rice, no egg. We paid $19 for a bowl of broth. No one had mentioned this choice was also off the menu that night. We’ve never complained at a restaurant before, but this seemed absurd, so we flagged down a staff member, who first came to inspect the soup and then said, “That’s strange, they must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

The staff member never offered to comp the meal, even though it was a far cry from what was listed on the menu. But she did offer to bring some feta to I guess sprinkle on the broth? When we weren’t excited about that, she offered a plate of humus or some avocado. She delivered these and said, “You guys made out,” which feels more like gaslighting than anything.

I can understand when a popular restaurant runs out of ingredients. But it was the staff’s reaction that was really disappointing.

Lesson learned: If there’s a line in front, go someplace else. Better yet, avoid Ojai Roti altogether on...

Outstanding chicken! Tender and juicy. Went for the whole bird. I'll come back and try the half to see if it too is tender. Some could easily say the best chicken. This may have to be a weekly thing.

Sides we got (for take out) were the slaw and the cauliflower. Delicious. I think the slaw should be called kitchen sink slaw (jk) because there's everything but the kitchen sink in it. Heh. Never had coleslaw with jalepano peppers or peanuts before. There were even some golden raisins. My friend took a pass on it because it had a little cilantro in it. Heh.

The cauliflower was awesome. It had a curry taste (and must have been Turmeric based). So, extra stars for great sides that stand on their own.

Still full stars plus even though the bread wasn't a fav for me (this is personal pref. people love the bread). The chicken meal comes with a flat bread that's alright. We got a loaf of the sourdough too. The sourdough is certainly well made and has the perfect balance of crisp crust and soft center. For me though whole wheat sourdough isn't my deal. The wheat obscures the sourdough taste. I love a well made white sourdough.

Last note, this is mostly a patio dining (and I would think they do a lot of take away biz like we did) place. There's one café table inside but outside is where you want to sit. The walk up order counter is bizy.

We called ahead (which I think is a good idea for take away and easy). Just check your bag to make sure you got everything you ordered. (Poor girl forgot our sides. I think she felt worse about it than I did. They're busy so stuff like that happens...

My wife and I dined in at Ojai Rotie, and loved it. Enough so that we wanted them to cater our wedding, which was October 2024 in Ojai. We say it often that this was one of the best decisions we could have made for our wedding day. I could go on and on and on about how much they went above and beyond for us to feel special, celebrated and cared for, but I'll share the following:

Our guests consistently told us how much they loved our reception and the meal. It was presented beautifully, it was utterly delicious, and approachable, fun to share, while still feeling beautiful and elevated. We have a number of chef/hospitality friends and a glowing consensus was just how good the meal was — and for a party of 55, that's no small feat. My wife and I are people that really care about food, ingredients, and preparing meals with care, and the Ojai Rotie team absolutely conveyed that for us to our family and friends. We are so grateful.

The service. Lorenzo, Leigha and their whole team were truly fantastic from the first email and phone call we had, to them staying late to clean, pack away our dishes and clean up the kitchen for us at the end of the evening. I genuinely can't express my gratitude enough — Leigha, you are incredible.

I love to bake, and have had my sourdough starter Josephine for a decade. Their loaves are fantastic! And the toum! Get it all together in one bite. You...