“Shall we go for a long lunch?” Is there a more exciting concept than a good catch up with a dear friend over good wine and food made for sharing? I booked a table at The Ivy Asia St Paul’s for an afternoon of culinary delights and a good yap.
Restaurant overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral
My companion being fashionably late gave me ample opportunity to take in the restaurant in all its glory. Located as the name suggests next to St Paul’s Cathedral, visitors will be thrilled to be able to see the iconic dome from the floor to ceiling windows wrapped around the restaurant and bar. That’s if they notice what’s outside the window of course because there is so much to see in this space.
The interiors at the Ivy Asia
Adorned with traditional Japanese decorations and spectacular blossom trees throughout, everywhere you look is beautiful and interesting. The floor you walk on looks like a piece of art, the chopstick holders look like something you’d buy for yourself in Tokyo, you just know you’re in a restaurant that cares about the customer experience and has some character. Goes without saying it’s absolutely perfect for a good photo!
Which menu is best at the Ivy?
But you don’t go to a restaurant for the decor, so let us talk about the menus. There are a few to choose from such as the Lunar Samurai Set Dinner, The Experience Menu, Afternoon Tea and even a lunch menu for a very affordable £28. As we wanted to try a variety of dishes and have completely different tastes, we went for the traditional a la carte.
Let’s begin
For wine we were delighted to see that the Ivy has its own Côtes de Provence and enjoyed the crisp, subtle bouquet with every course. I began my meal with the vegetable tempura, yes, it’s kind of basic and there’s so many things I could have chosen but this is a dish that few places really get right. The batter has to be the perfect crunch, and the vegetables not overcooked and turning to stodge. This dish was done to perfection, light and crispy batter encased carrot, asparagus, mushroom and sweet potatoes all dipped, well drowned, in Ivy’s own special blend of soy sauce. It’s one of those dishes you have and then crave for weeks afterwards.
Main courses
For mains my companion went light with black cod, a slow roasted Atlantic sablefish marinated in miso for 48 hours, which she devoured with delight. I went heavy with indulgently sticky belly pork slices, with ichimi spice and smokey bbq dressing sprinkled with toasted sesame and accompanied by refreshing pickled vegetables.
A couple of sides were needed with these dishes, so we opted for the cucumber, kimchi and peanut salad with chilli, coriander and lime and stir fried green vegetables. My cucumber salad was absolutely sensational and would highly recommend it as a fresh and crunchy accompaniment to a soft meat dish. This is my kind of food, bitesized chunks packed full of flavour and texture with a tasty dip, I really enjoyed it.
Would you like to see the dessert menu?
I was absolutely stuffed full of friend vegetables and masses of meat, but you can’t stop me from having a peek at the dessert menu when I’m dining out, and unfortunately there were so many that sounded good we just had to sample a couple. Ordinarily I would have gone for the ‘Golden Dragon’, a selection of desserts to share including passionfruit donuts with warm chocolate sauce, ice cream and a whole manner of deliciousness but I’ll save that for another day.
I had the Sake Barrel, lovely vanilla creme brulee with a toasted sesame biscuit to crack through (hammer included) and a sake flavoured tuille. I had to share with my companion (because I wanted some of hers obviously) who opted for the Samurai, which came out looking just like that, a dark chocolate mouse with chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream and chocolate pearls. Best served mixed altogether like a child would mix Neapolitan ice cream. In hindsight, we should have just got one to share as it was criminal the amount we left, so be warned, the portions are more than generous. Oh and I forgot to mention it tastes divine.
There are 3 Ivy Asia’s in Central London and there’s even one in my hometown of Manchester, all with the same passion, attention to detail, exquisite surroundings and most importantly, absolutely delicious food.
The Ivy Asia St Paul’s
New Change
London
EC4M 9AG
United Kingdom
