The path to Alibi Bar & Dining is mapped out for you the moment you step into the Ovolo Woolloomoloo. “Booking at Alibi? Up the stairs and straight ahead,” smiles the receptionist.

The heritage hotel, which contains industrial equipment from its history as a wool store, is a whimsical wonderland, forcing us forward from the foyer via a rather erratic route to the main dining room.

We’re like peas rolling around on a plate. There are nooks with books. Arty objects of interest. Butterflies in bell jars. Cabinets of curios. And trees dressed in fairy lights. It’s like we’ve tumbled down a rabbit hole. Even though we’re indoors, this reimagined vegan venue has an al fresco feel thanks to an interior glasshouse full of greenery installed by design studio Luchetti Krelle.

It’s not news to Sydney diners that Alibi is a vegie-forward restaurant that is part of Ovolo Hotel Group’s Plant’d initiative. But it’s worth noting that pioneer of plant-based cuisine Shannon Martinez (of Melbourne’s Smith & Daughters and Lona Misa) is now leading the next evolution of the brand’s ethical eating ethos.

Before taking our order at Alibi, our charming waiter Felix comes over to chat us through the menu embossed with Food With Soul in gold.

There is a tortilla with aioli and no eggs. Cacio e pepe pasta with no cheese. And a cotoletta parmigiana. We go with the ‘beef’ carpaccio which is actually made from rice paper, and served with horseradish and anchovy, figs, fried capers and vegan parmesan.  We’re encouraged to drape the triangles of ‘carpaccio’ around sticks of accompanying grissini, but the rice paper was not pliable enough to do so.

The menu is divided into starters, mains, salads/sides and desserts. All is forgiven with the sheer vibrancy of the caesar salad. It’s a brilliant-tasting salad, a vivid tangle of witlof, radicchio, cavalo nero and pickled celery spiked with lemon and salt.

Those familiar with Martinez’s work will always order mushrooms when they see them on the menu, in this case roasted slowly in a Pedro Ximénez garlic sauce which we mop up with a slab of pillowy focaccia. The mushies are meaty and moreish. Next, we enjoy summer eggplants that are fried in a light batter that takes a radical and fantastic swerve alongside an agrodolce fig caramel with toasted hazelnuts.

All heads in the now-crowded dining room turn to follow our waiter Felix as he arrives with our creme Catalana. There’s an audible crack as we break the burnt sugar topping with a spoon and scoop up the citrus-infused custard inside, which leans into Martinez’s Spanish heritage.

After curating the new Plant’d menu, Martinez has returned to Melbourne and left chef Jiwon Do (formerly Hippopotamus Restaurant & Bar, Wellington) in charge of the Mediterranean-style menu. Ovolo’s director of F&B Andrea Gualdi also takes inspiration from the Med with a revamped roster of fizzy spritzes, high balls, and interesting wines and spirits.

Carnivores don’t need an excuse or pretext to dine at Alibi. It’s more than okay to own the fact you’re reducing your carbon footprint.

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