The first time we went to the Ivy was for a birthday treat, whilst we were still at university. At the time, the restaurant seemed impossibly glamorous: Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke no less had visited the week before.
We have been back between then and now of course but somehow, a few years ago, the Ivy fell off our list of restaurants we would choose for a special occasion. Corbin and King, who made the Ivy what it was, had moved on to the Wolseley. And we, quite frankly, realised there were other places we would rather eat.
In the past year, however, the restaurant has been revamped and critics have started raving about it all over again. It now has a gorgeous central bar and rumour was that the bar was where the best seats were to be had, so we duly booked to sit there for lunch. And it’s true, that if you want to celebrity spot as you eat, a pink mohair-backed seat at the bar is the place for it. We imagine you might be equally comfortable at a table, however, if you are not bothered about rubbernecking your fellow diners.
The menu has been spruced up alongside the interior and now includes an “Asian Graze and Share” section featuring sashimi as well as spicy chicken wings. We wanted the classics, however, so plumped for dressed crab and smoked salmon to start and then the – dare we say it – iconic shepherd’s pie, and the less legendary but still delicious scallops on risotto nero, the only mildly adventurous choice we made. We also had some rather good cocktails – the Novello with gin and Calvados and a non-alcoholic number called a Yum Yum which featured cherry blossom, raspberry syrup, lemon and Diet Coke.
It’s become a huge cliché to say that no one goes to the Ivy for the food but we found the food uniformly excellent, including a greengage crumble pie topped with a scoop of brown butter ice cream – is there anything nicer than a warm pudding with cold ice cream?!
The service is still the thing, however, and – if we’re honest it’s the reason we’ll be going back – to feel cosseted and spoilt and as though, once again, managing to secure a booking there is a reason to feel happy in itself. Yes, we know it’s a bit lame but the actors lunching with their agents (and the former cabinet minister and the successful novelist) hogging tables on the Wednesday lunchtime… well, they would seem to agree.
