A certain percentage of the patrons at ROLi are always going to be on first dates. It’s a great choice for an early-stages date venue: the room is warmly lit and the decor beguiling. The space feels artsy and intimate—sure of itself but not pretentious. If you’re not on foot or in an Uber, you’ll have to reveal your parallel parking skills (street parking only), but if those fail to impress your date, the restaurant’s pedigree will: ROLi was a semifinalist for a 2026 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant (like, in the country).
On a recent Wednesday night visit, I observed from across the horseshoe bar as a man on a date fidgeted with his crisp baseball cap. The brim started off squarely above his face, then ticked a few degrees to the side with each drink. A second couple faced the bartender rather than each other. A few seats down on my side of the shoe, a woman ordered wine and oysters for a late-arriving spouse. A pair of regulars was served towering burgers without even glancing at a menu.
ROLi offers tables inside and outside as well as a counter overlooking the kitchen. But the bar is the best place to sit if you want to check the pulse of the dining room. During my visit, bartender Andres Monroy was clearly the beating heart. It was a pleasure to watch the precision of his work. As orders for the Yuzu Daisy (mezcal, yuzu liqueur, lemon, salted honey syrup) poured in, he prepared each glass rim with an identical swipe across a cut orange, then a moustache of black salt.
I adore ROLi’s seasonal cocktail menus, enough that I maybe threw baseball cap guy a dirty look when he went off-roading with martini instructions. Would you tell the Louvre to stick some arms on the Venus de Milo?
If you drink gin, welcome to the promised land. We started with two of the six available “gin bowls,” the Smashing Blackbirds (Glendalough wild botanical Irish gin, lemon, elderflower tonic, and Chambord, but not, like, CHAMBORD, for $16) and the Cote D’Ete (Citadelle French gin, melonade, fresh lime and Mediterranean tonic for $15). Both were so deliriously refreshing and complex and botanical, I had intrusive thoughts of running through a hedge maze in an English garden dragging my fingertip across petals and leaves. When, due to the length of my snout, I found drinking out of a “European style Copa de Balon” a little too bowl-like, Monroy used a pair of tweezers to nestle a stripey straw between my ice cubes.
My party had arrived early enough to try a trio of starters from the happy hour menu (available Monday through Friday, 5 to 6). One: the Side Caesar, perhaps the Platonic ideal of a Caesar salad, its romaine and baby kale swooning in the creamy dressing, silvery anchovies glinting in the light ($6). Two: the Croquettes-Croquetas-Kroketten,” delicious in any language and prepared according to the “chef’s mood,” which that night meant a classic jamon y queso with salt-bomb pegs of good ham ($10). Three: the breaded and fried Peppadew Peppers, tangy with a touch of sweet heat and a mint yogurt sauce I continued to eat without dignity once we ran out of peppers ($10). Should you miss the happy hour window, I can attest from a previous visit that the regular-menu Mushroom & Polenta ($18) and Roasted Rainbow Cauliflower ($16) are excellent demonstrations of this chef’s way with seasonal ingredients.
ROLi is named for Chef Roland Olah, who trained in classical French cooking but kept his connection to the cuisine of his native Hungary. His vision, according to the website: to bring “the rustic soul of traditional European cooking with modern creativity and a dash of New Haven spirit.” Co-founder Angela Grogan strives to make the experience high-end but accessible: “We want you to come when it’s a special occasion but also pop round when you’re in the neighborhood.” Grogan, who is Irish, broadens the pan-European vibes.
She’s also the one with the dogs, which we’ll get into tomorrow.
Written by Sarah Harris Wallman.
