Cling together Like The Ivy
London, England, UK
Cuisine Style: British
Average Price: £ £ £
Overall Rating: 4/5
Dined in May 2012
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
**A full article and index glossary of restaurants, wines, recipes and travel for
Wine Dine and Play are in the pages section above, or by following these links:
Executive Chef:
Gary Lee
Restaurant Owners:
Fernando Peire
In 1917 the First World War was in its horrific third year with millions of lives lost. In London, a sense of normalcy had to be maintained with everyone working for the war effort in some way. The Ivy restaurant has been a firm fixture on London’s dining and social scene since it was founded in the same year. Now celebrating its 100th anniversary the star-studded and glamour reviewed restaurant redesign in 2015 by the acclaimed Martin Brudnizki Design Studio tries to reclaim the once solid fame, but do they? This review is based on a visit before the renovation.
Abel Giandolini and Maître d’Hôtel Mario Gallati joined forces in 1917, their modest café gained favor amongst the theatre community, and The Ivy was born. The name came from an exchange between Giandolini and a customer. The actress Alice Delysia replied in the words of a popular song of the day: “Don’t worry, we will always come to see you, we will cling together like the ivy.” Mario Gallati, was to continue beyond The Ivy and in 1947 he opened Le Caprice, and another legend was born. Today there are a total of 14 restaurants in the group.
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| Picture courtesy of The Ivy |
With a central bar, signature harlequin stained-glass windows, oak paneling and a contemporary art collection, The Ivy ranks high among British dining institutions. It is renowned for its food that Executive Chef Gary Lee creates, balanced seasonal menus and other classics with a contemporary global palette, incorporating Asian dishes, salads, and vegetables.
You can dine à la carte or with the table d'hôte menus:
- Starters
- Classics
- Asian
- Mains
- Vegetables and Salads
- Vegetarian prefix
- Set menu
Dessert:
- Cheese
- Ice Creams and Sorbets
- Main desserts
When I made my reservation it was based on the recommendation of my sister and how it was the place for actors and politicians to dine when they went to the theatre. So as I was going to see The Jersey Boys Musical production about Frankie Valli, and I decided to try out The Ivy.
From a unique standpoint, this is the first restaurant I have dined at that included such a wide variety and styles of wines in its collection. Starting with pinot-esque styles to wines from Morocco, Slovenia, Uruguay, and Orange wines on their list. Orange wines are essentially ‘white wines’ macerated and fermented with the skins and sometimes with whole bunches in Georgian clay pots (qvevri) buried underground. Intriguing, enticing and complex are all words that only begin to describe this ancient style of ‘dry white wines’, currently enjoying a much-deserved renaissance period thanks to pioneer winemakers such as Josko Gravner. They also have Coravin style wines by the glass on their list. Coravin is a new piece of technology that allows one to pour a glass of wine, without opening the bottle and risking oxidation.
A few items of interest include the potato gnocchi with scamorza mozzarella cheese, basil pomorola sauce, with burnt butter & sage as well as a squid, chorizo, datterini shaved fennel & preserved lemon salad.
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| Picture courtesy of The Ivy |
Keeping with English tradition you can have roasted Devonshire chicken with pommes sarladaise, grilled Nidderdale pork sausages with creamed potato, cider gravy or braised Hereford beef in Guinness with herb dumplings, carrots and turnip greens.
By the conclusion of my dinner, I can say that the food was okay by most standards, but nothing extravagant like it was made out to be. The service was slower, as he was busy with many other tables, and with the tight atmosphere, extremely crowded, tables right on top of one another, made it not worth the money paid.
Dessert:
Desserts include cheese platters, salted caramel fondant, ruby plum crumble pie, chocolate, and blood orange sponge pudding, and baked Alaska to name a few.
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| Picture courtesy of The Ivy |
Please see these guidelines for Tipping in Restaurants and on following proper etiquette, customs, cultures, and avoiding assumptions when you dine out.
Other Noteworthy British/English cuisine Articles and Restaurants:
Jack’s London Grill Casual British cuisine and some Scottish favorites in St. Petersburg, Florida
Wellington’s Lounge Relaxed bar and lounge with English cuisine at the Royal Ascot Hotel in Dubai, UAE
Wheeler’s of ST. James by Marco Pierre White Traditional British seafood spot in Dubai, UAE
Yeoman’s Cask and Lion Hip British-inspired and themed pub with microbrews in Tampa, Florida
See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary”
Other England / UK restaurants and articles on Wine Dine and Play:
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Vibrant Pan-Indian Cuisine
Colnbrook, Slough, England, UK
|
Medieval-style British cuisine banquet plus 2-hour dinner show
London, UK
|
1800s warehouse dockside style British pub
London, UK
|
See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary by country”
Final notes, review basics, observations and more pictures:
Most reviews are subjective, depending on the writer; but they should also be responsible, and respectfully written, upholding the truth, and accurately conveying the experience to the best of the writer's knowledge, even if it includes metaphors the restaurant may not like to read about. My ratings are by the stars I award (from 0 to 5). The rating is calculated on a point accumulation of six separate factors based on individual experience. They include wine and other beverage selections, plate presentation, customer service, restaurant or café ambiance, food quality, and wow factor. To see more details of this rating list, read this article:
Scores are detailed in the factor chart below:
Formula Factor Conclusions and Overall Ratings
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Max Points Possible:
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Total Points Awarded:
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Total Points deducted:
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Ambiance
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10
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7.5
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2.5
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Food quality
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10
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9
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1
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Plate presentation
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8
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8
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0
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Customer service
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8
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5
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3
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Alcohol and other beverages
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10
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9
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1
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Total regular points awarded
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46
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38.5
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7.5
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Total percentage Before Bonus
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0.83695652173913
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“Wow” factor BONUS
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5
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2
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0
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Total bonus percentage
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0.0434782608695652
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Total percentage with a bonus for the final star rating
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0.880434782608696
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Stars Awarded (see chart below)
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0 - 5
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4
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**A full break down and explanation of the observations and point disbursement is available in the linked article above. To receive a detailed copy of your score, feel free to contact me at any time and I will provide it to you.**
***
Overall Star Rating:
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4 of 5 Stars:
88% Rating with a 2 point “wow” bonus
An Outstanding Dining Experience
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Wine List:
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Wine rating:
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8 of 10
Old World selections:
France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Portugal, Greece, England,
New World selections:
Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, California, South Africa, Lebanon, Uruguay
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Corkage fee’s:
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This Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge
$25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant style:
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Semi-formal dining
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Cuisine style:
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Asian, British, English, Steak
Allergen or dietary accommodations:
Farm to Fork, Gluten Free, Grass Fed, Local, Organic, Pescatarian, Sustainable, Vegetarian options
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Reservations:
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Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Dress code:
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Business casual or Conservative attire
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a kids menu or cater to them; however, for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended that kids not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
If not then:
Hire a Babysitter!
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Contemporary, Trendy, Hotspot, Great bar, Good for special occasions, Intimate, Classy, Upscale, and a Neighborhood Gem.
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Payments:
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Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Valet
£15 flat rate
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Loud
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant
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Patio or terrace:
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No
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Food Prices
(excludes, alcohol, taxes & 20% gratuity’s)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00 (inexpensive)
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00 (moderate)
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00 (pricey)
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00 (expensive)
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00 (very expensive)
**Currencies reflect the world’s major travelers, restaurant, or wine connoisseur’s**
Currency:
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Price
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£££
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$$$
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$$$$
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥¥¥
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European Union (EUR)
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€€€
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The Ivy:
5 West Street
London WC2H 9NQ, UK
Contact Information:
Restaurant website:
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Maître d or host:
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+44 20 7836 4751
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Online reservations
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Webpage Contact:
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Serving hours:
Greenwich Mean Time or
British Summer Time BST
(GMT, Zulu, or UTC - BST Offset + 1:00)
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Dinner: Mon-Sun
12:00 am - 11:30 pm
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Social Media
&
Accolades:
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****
The worlds best restaurants is a subjective list of who is writing it and changes on a regular basis. The Wine Dine and Play best experiences are based on my highest rated stared restaurants, meaning that the visit was an outstanding or extraordinary experience. From cafés, chains, mom + pops, hole in the walls, to fine dining including a few Michelin spots. Visit the Top 100 page to see the entire list.
A few to tease you with…
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Refined and elegant creole fare since 1880
New Orlean’s, Louisiana, USA
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Old-world classic Italian & Mediterranean
New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA
|
Country-style local ingredients w/French flair
Constantia, South Africa
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Other Pictures:
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| Picture courtesy of The Ivy |
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| Picture courtesy of The Ivy |
Who is John Galt?
TTFN
