The Ivy1-5 West Street
London
WC2H 9NQ
Tel : +44 20 78364751
http://www.the-ivy.co.uk/
London, Sunday, September 28, 2008,
On the list of places to visit for 'food' was The Ivy (London) one of them. And because diner was already booked we took lunch for our celebration of 20 years of friendship. After having a superb diner the night before they needed to perform extremely good to life up to this expectation. This old place, dated from 1917 as cafe, brings back memories from long ago. Glass and lead windows, a lot of wood, waiters in 'standard' black and white, small tables, a lot in such a small place.
We started of with a G&T and a real Kirr (not to sweet and of course with Bourgogne Aligote - even written on the bill), and not asked if it was to be with champagne or the Bourgogne wine ... like it should.
We choose for more dishes and shared the experiences,
Starter and Main course
Steak Tartare
extremely tender meat, no fat in it, real good spiced (took the medium spiced) with all the extra ingredients next to the meat good and tastefull.
Crispy Duck Salad & Water Cress Salad
very well prepared, cripsy is crispy but the meat is tender and not dry. The salad with dressing was a perfect match. So much better than the first night of this short visit to London.
Mediterranean Fish Soup
also very well on taste, maybe could be a bit more fishy (but that's only for the 'wankers' like I do right now) but with the perfect company like the bouillabaisse always has ; rouille, Gryere and homemade croutons.
Breaded Scampi
a perfect example of how to prepare breaded scampies, the best I ever ate. Don't know how they manage to get the scampi as tender as they do, of course it would be a nice and perfect scampi but the preparation was litterly DIVINE, never tasted it anywhere better than here ... the homemade ravigotte was supberb as well but without it this dish would have still been DIVINE.
Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli with pesto
What can we say ... for those who try this at home (like I do once a while) this is amazingly well done, the spinach and ricotta is very well on taste but also texture wise superb. The pasta than together with the pesto is a terrific dish.
Wild mushroom Risotto
The risotto was like it should be, the small grains could be tasted, the wild mushrooms were well prepared and not overcooked, it was a perfect dish again ... finished with some nice Pecorino cheese.
accompanied with a bottle of ;
Chablis
Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume
Domaine Guy Mothe
2006
Dessert
Bramley Apple Crumble with custard
Of course they prepare apple crumbles with a real British apple ... The sweetness of the crumble with the custard in contrast to the fresh Bramley apple is very good. Actually a bit much after such a diner but the crumble was gone so there was some room left ...
After yesterday we're wondering if they could match Imano, but they could. Although the kitchen is real old fashioned the dished are well presented, and the taste is so good that it's not a miracle they were almost full for lunch and fully booked for the night. If we really want to go into detail and also highlight what was not worth a 10 that would be, table number written on the label of the wine ... not showing the wine lable with testing and pouring, not saying hello when entering the restaurant and those two at the door doing nothing and not even helping opening the door for the guests was lacking points for outstanding. For the rest, if you're in the neighborhood, make a reservation... IN ADVANCE ....
London
WC2H 9NQ
Tel : +44 20 78364751
http://www.the-ivy.co.uk/
London, Sunday, September 28, 2008,
On the list of places to visit for 'food' was The Ivy (London) one of them. And because diner was already booked we took lunch for our celebration of 20 years of friendship. After having a superb diner the night before they needed to perform extremely good to life up to this expectation. This old place, dated from 1917 as cafe, brings back memories from long ago. Glass and lead windows, a lot of wood, waiters in 'standard' black and white, small tables, a lot in such a small place.
We started of with a G&T and a real Kirr (not to sweet and of course with Bourgogne Aligote - even written on the bill), and not asked if it was to be with champagne or the Bourgogne wine ... like it should.
We choose for more dishes and shared the experiences,
Starter and Main course
Steak Tartareextremely tender meat, no fat in it, real good spiced (took the medium spiced) with all the extra ingredients next to the meat good and tastefull.
Crispy Duck Salad & Water Cress Salad
very well prepared, cripsy is crispy but the meat is tender and not dry. The salad with dressing was a perfect match. So much better than the first night of this short visit to London.
Mediterranean Fish Soup
also very well on taste, maybe could be a bit more fishy (but that's only for the 'wankers' like I do right now) but with the perfect company like the bouillabaisse always has ; rouille, Gryere and homemade croutons.
Breaded Scampi
a perfect example of how to prepare breaded scampies, the best I ever ate. Don't know how they manage to get the scampi as tender as they do, of course it would be a nice and perfect scampi but the preparation was litterly DIVINE, never tasted it anywhere better than here ... the homemade ravigotte was supberb as well but without it this dish would have still been DIVINE.
Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli with pesto
What can we say ... for those who try this at home (like I do once a while) this is amazingly well done, the spinach and ricotta is very well on taste but also texture wise superb. The pasta than together with the pesto is a terrific dish.
Wild mushroom Risotto
The risotto was like it should be, the small grains could be tasted, the wild mushrooms were well prepared and not overcooked, it was a perfect dish again ... finished with some nice Pecorino cheese.
accompanied with a bottle of ;
Chablis
Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume
Domaine Guy Mothe
2006
Dessert
Bramley Apple Crumble with custard
Of course they prepare apple crumbles with a real British apple ... The sweetness of the crumble with the custard in contrast to the fresh Bramley apple is very good. Actually a bit much after such a diner but the crumble was gone so there was some room left ...
After yesterday we're wondering if they could match Imano, but they could. Although the kitchen is real old fashioned the dished are well presented, and the taste is so good that it's not a miracle they were almost full for lunch and fully booked for the night. If we really want to go into detail and also highlight what was not worth a 10 that would be, table number written on the label of the wine ... not showing the wine lable with testing and pouring, not saying hello when entering the restaurant and those two at the door doing nothing and not even helping opening the door for the guests was lacking points for outstanding. For the rest, if you're in the neighborhood, make a reservation... IN ADVANCE ....
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