Major efforts are being implemented worldwide to restore ecosystems. However, the outcomes of restoration are uncertain. This uncertainty may be rooted in our lack of understanding on the reassembly of ecosystem complexity. Understanding how organisms rebuild their interactions and how functions derived form those interactions emerge is key to both evaluate and design future restoration. This is particularly relevant at the timescale at which ecosystem recovery operates, which may range from centuries to millennia. In this presentation, we will explore current patterns of ecosystem recovery of simple and complex attributes, why restored and undisturbed ecosystems are different, and particularly, why recovery is a long term process. Finally, we will hypothesize potential actions we can use to accelerate the recovery process that will bring more resilient and resistant ecosystems back.