The Ivy restaurant prides itself on the service and quality of food it has to offer. Founded in 1917 in London’s Covent Garden, the restaurant has since branched out of the capital, opening numerous additional branches in across the country.
The Harrogate outpost opened in 2017 and as I am a regular customer it only seemed fair to visit it to try the new Christmas menu. In the past the service has always been first class, though it does come at a price. A discretionary 12.5% service charge is added to the bill – not that you would mind if you thought it was deserved.
The Holly and The Ivy
After a warm greeting, the staff offered to take our overcoats to the cloakroom. This is not an offer I always take up – one time I received back an identical coat complete with someone else’s house and car keys, though I must stress that on that particular occasion I wasn’t at The Ivy!
As we were escorted to our table, we eagerly awaited the chance to explore the new Christmas menu. While we considered the temptations on offer, a bottle of table water arrived.
The festive menu isn’t cheap: two courses served from 11.30am to 6.30pm cost a whopping £50.Three courses served from 11.30am to close costs £55, which you would not blink an eyelid at if you thought the service and quality of food warranted the price.
My starter of stilton and walnut cheese soufflé was indeed very cheesy and had the tangy, salty flavour that is associated with a good stilton.
The main I chose of turkey ballotine was presented well with apricot, cranberry and pork stuffing, pig in blanket, sprout and parsley mash, cranberry chutney and truffle sauce. Sides included garden peas with broad beans and baby shoots along with brussels sprouts, chestnuts and cranberries.
Things were going well until the Christmas pudding arrived. The dessert being flambéed was as much an invitation to take a photograph for an Instagram moment as a novel culinary touch. Unfortunately, the pudding itself was very dry, and seemed a bit of an anticlimax after my excellent main.
A £5.95 supplement brings a warm almond mince pie served with brandy cream, candied orange and pine sugar. Literally gone in a mouthful, the pie seemed extortionately priced considering its size.
Living on the veg
My sister went for the vegetarian option on the Festive menu, choosing the foraged wild mushroom and truffle linguine, which she didn’t think was anything special. Her dessert choice of Christmas crème brûlée – a winter berry cinnamon compote served with shortbread – seemed rather tasteless and, with the two courses costing £50, certainly not value for money.
When I told a friend that we were going to The Ivy he said that the restaurant seems to be all about aesthetics and not about the food. In the past, in my opinion, both have been equally impressive, but after this recent visit I have to agree with him.
The service didn’t have that extra special touch it had in the past. Whether that is down to the younger and perhaps less experienced staff they seem to be recruiting, or a lack of training, the impression I received was that the quality had declined. The food too was cooked without the love, care and attention evident in the past. Overall, this visit made me feel that The Ivy is resting on its laurels.
The Ivy plant, a British evergreen, grows rapidly and tall. The restaurant which shares its name seems on this occasion to have had its roots chopped and to need a good dose of replenishment.
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