Walking into the Ivy Asia St Paul’s, the immediate impression is of a rather dazzling space. The main restaurant sits on the first floor at the top of a grand staircase and as you ascend you enter a buzzy atmosphere with a mixture of suits from the city, tourists, and those here solely for the excellent pan-Asian food. Located opposite St Paul’s, there is the main dining room, as well as a private dining space, and a bar open until the early hours.
As The Ivy has expanded its restaurants around the country there was always the possibility the brand, and the quality, would be diluted, but the Ivy Asia restaurants, of which there are three in London, have kept ahead of the game by evolving the menu.
We are here for the launch of its summer Premium Experience menu, a delicious multi-course offering that roams across Japan, China and the Korean peninsula for £85 a head (two-person minimum). It expands on the Experience Menu (£65 per head) with some special treats that add a little glitz.
Food and Drink at Ivy Asia St Paul’s
We start with crispy wontons, with a spiced yoghurt and Szechuan dip, followed by prawn dumplings with ponzu and daikon, as well as wagyu beef skewers with teriyaki. All very tasty, but my favourite was the yellowtail sashimi with a tosazu dressing and dry miso and truffle salad. I have to say, I was sceptical that truffle would work with the other flavours, but they actually blended very well.
Next up was a classic, crispy aromatic duck with pancakes. Sometimes half the fun of eating is the theatre of it all and here the food was brought to the table in a giant steaming golden duck, with the cucumber, spring onion and hoisin hanging off it in little gold buckets. This is Asia at its most in-your-face and I loved it.
The main event of the Premium Experience menu is a kind of surf and turf. Roasted black cod with a miso glaze, accompanied by wagyu beef and glazed shiitake mushrooms with a truffle BBQ sauce. Sides are steamed rice, wok-fried greens, ginger and chilli. A decadent second lot of wagyu on the menu and second use of truffle, with good marbling in the meat (characteristic of the right kind of wagyu) and was excellently cooked; succulent and rare.
The cod was nicely charred, the miso working well with the lightly sweet, delicate fish and a hint of lime made it pop. All were very photogenic too, as my fellow diners can attest to, while the waiters were attentive in making sure our plates were never empty.
As we waited for the desserts to arrive, I sat back and looked over the interesting choices on the new summer bubble tea cocktail menu. These give a sophisticated twist on traditional bubble tea via the addition of mixers and premium spirits. The Bubble Breeze, which contains Tanqueray gin, butterfly pea tea, elderflower and apple boba pearls was a favourite, with tequila, whisky and vodka cocktail options to also choose from, as well as non-alcoholic versions. A refreshing change from the atypical gin and tonic and paired well with the menu options.
Finishing on a sweet note, the menu ended with soft serve ice cream and cinnamon sugared doughnuts, with chocolate sauce and mango coulis, all served up on an elegant Japanese-lacquered tray and flamboyant dry ice. It was a fun end to a decadent meal that suited the room and the general vibe. The Ivy Asia is big and bold, and an overall experience that is hard to beat.
The Ivy Asia St Paul’s
20 New Change
London
EC4M 9AG
United Kingdom
