Foodie Rich Away Days - The Ivy Review!

September 1, 2015 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

The Ivy Review

The Ivy, we all know the Ivy don’t we? It doesn’t really need any introduction. A celebratory hang out for years, many an ‘A’ lister has wiped their feet on the famous Ivy doormat, taking refuge from the marauding pap’s outside. This restaurant has a history probably like no other eatery in the whole of the UK; just imagine if those walls could talk! Well I thought it would be fun this week to review a restaurant a little further afield, a kind of ‘Foodie Rich Away Day!’ So where better to start, than jumping on a train and going ‘up town’ for a bit of lunch at the Ivy, this week I am taking on the big guns! You may not be aware The Ivy has recently undergone a huge refurb ready for its 100th anniversary. The doors closed in January, and only re-opened at the end of May. Most of the old fixtures and fittings were auctioned off, including that famous doormat. Would you pay £500.00 for a second hand doormat!

This wasn’t my first visit to the Ivy, I had visited a couple of times previously albeit a few years ago, it failed to disappoint on both occasions. Since the new make over, I thought it was high time we got back up there. They haven’t skimped on the fit out at all. Art by Damien Hurst hangs on the wall; even the famous stain glass windows have been given a spruce up! The restaurant itself is located in the heart of the west end, so a favourite with theatre goers and thespians alike, not forgetting the odd celebratory too. The building is classic art deco, outside and in. Upon arrival the faultless service becomes apparent, I mean these guys should know how it’s done, they’ve had nearly 100 years to perfect it. We chose to dine at the bar. I love a bit of bar eating, believe me it is the way forward, so many restaurants are doing this now. Not only in London, but closer to home too, Bourgee springs to mind; they’ve got a great bar. But not just fine dining, I often enjoy my fish and chips at the bar in the Mayflower down in Old Leigh. If you’ve never given bar eating a go, try it; it’s a totally different restaurant experience

Whilst Shown to our place at the bar, I noticed other diners glancing up from their Ivy Burger and shepherds pie (both Ivy classics) to see who has just arrived; Is it Brad and Angelina or Posh & Becks? Looking disappointed they see its only Lou and Rich! Oh come on, I’m a feared food critic don’t you know, here to write a review for Leigh-on-Sea.com. I bet the kitchen staff where quaking in their chef whites when they noticed @foodierich was in da house!! The bar was great. As soon as we sat down the unique interaction with the staff began. You only get that sitting at the bar. The bar stools! Oh the bar stools! How fantastic were they; covered in pink leather and mohair, so comfy, they matched Lou’s shoes perfectly!

So, sat on our luxurious bar stools, we sipped English sparkling wine taking in our surroundings, and of course glancing down at the other diners, eying up their food! The menu is just full of classics, such as liver and bacon, sausage and mash and the famous Ivy burger. Not a foam, Jus or veloutte in sight thank goodness! It’s a tough decision ordering off the Ivy menu, as it all sounds so tempting. I just had to have the Ivy classic ‘bang bang’ chicken to start, which was fantastic; poached chicken with a spicy peanut sauce and micro herbs, it was delicious. Lou went for steak tartare; again this has been resident on the menu for years, an absolute classic. I mean, if your gonna eat raw beef, make sure you do in a reputable establishment, well, we are in the Ivy; you don’t get more reputable than that! The bar had been raised high, those starters were great, I just hoped this would continue through to our main courses. I needn’t had worried, I chose the roasted cod with crushed potatoes, datterini tomatoes and nduja sausage. The chunky cod fillet was cooked to a tee, it just flaked apart beautifully. The tomatoes where small, sweet and incredibly rich. Combined with the nduja sausage, which is a kind of Italian chorizo (and I luurve Chorizo!), it made for a delicious dish. Lou went for a simple classic, fish and chips! This was a very generous dish, a huge piece of haddock, piping hot in light batter with chips on the side. Proper chips, not these stupid ‘jenga’ style chunky chips that many restaurants insist on serving, clearly just for the sake of being poncy. Strangely though, the real star of this dish was the mushy peas and tartar sauce. The peas were clearly homemade, and just tasted so fresh and herby. The tartar sauce was glorious! Lovely homemade mayonnaise with cornichons, capers and herbs, it was perfect

Puddings? Greengage crumble pie, Pimms Royal Jelly, blackcurrant and nectarine Eton mess, just to name a few of the classically English sweet treats on offer. But as always I just couldn’t find the room. On a previous visit to the Ivy some years ago, I gave the Ivy Knickerbocker glory a try, and it was wonderful. If you don’t fancy a sweet why not get stuck in to the Welsh rarebit? Its great to see this on the pudding menu too! I love a bit of cheese to end a meal, and Welsh rarebit is just a great alternative. As you would expect lunch here isn’t a cheap affair. If you want cheap eats head off to the Weatherspoons in Leicester Square. However, I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. £140 for lunch with a bottle of English fizz may sound a bit pricey, but when you weigh up the quality of the food, wine, service and surroundings it’s reasonable in my eyes

As I said at the beginning of this review, the Ivy needs little introduction, and any restaurant good enough for Lady Diana, or Laurence Olivier is certainly good enough for me. The refurbishment of both the menu and décor has delicately modernised this British institution, keeping it true to its origins. In London you are spoilt for choice, and yes there are young hip chefs out there opening ultra modern restaurants, and I have no issue with that, after all these young chaps are the future of the food scene. But, if it’s a taste of classic British cuisine with a soupçon of Asian influence, you need to get up to the Ivy; it just oozes pure and effortless style with the service to match.

Just before I sign off this week, I wanted to share this with you. When we left the Ivy, we headed off to Marks Bar, which is located in the basement of Hix restaurant in Soho; a sort of old ‘speakeasy’. It’s a great cocktail bar owned by Mark Hix, hence the name. We sat at the bar, and with our cocktails were given a small plate of popcorn. This tasted like no other popcorn I have ever had, it was superb. I asked what they season it with? It was whizzed up crispy chicken skin! Sounds weird but it was really tasty. It certainly beats butterkist!