The Ivy Nottingham Brasserie: “A great choice for a special occasion” — food review
We sampled its Ivy Edition menu
When it comes to restaurants in Nottingham, The Ivy Nottingham Brasserie is one of the most popular for chic à la carte dining.
We were invited to try Vol. 3 of The Ivy Edition menu, assessing three courses, a bottle of wine, as well as the atmosphere and service. While we were kindly gifted our meal, this is an honest review of what we experienced.
If you’re looking for places to dine out in the city with plated dishes, a stylish atmosphere, and attentive service, this is a lovely choice. For more reviews and guides, subscribe to receive our articles in your inbox for free.
The Ivy Nottingham Brasserie food review
By Sam Swain
Photos by The Notts Edit
I’ve been intrigued by The Ivy since it was announced for Nottingham last year. I’d heard a great many things from friends and family who had visited some of its other locations, while the degree of hype that the announcement carried made it impossible to ignore. Indeed, I was fortunate to attend the launch party and its many proseccos, and we were also invited to sample Vol. 3 of The Ivy Edition menu, which gave me the opportunity to find out if it did live up to the hype.
The Ivy Nottingham Brasserie opened its doors in November – the Nottingham offshoot of the London restaurant, which opened in 1917, and is part of a chain which aims to bring what made the original Ivy so popular with some of London’s theatre scene, with an art deco interior and classy atmosphere. I do think it’s important to make a distinction between the two – the Nottingham restaurant is part of The Ivy Collection, which is not quite the same as the London location frequented by Hollywood stars.
On entering The Ivy, you are immediately struck by what is one of the more dramatic restaurants in the city. There are pillars, high ceilings, plants, and it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a sophisticated establishment. The staff are adorned in smart uniforms, with forest green waistcoats and bow ties, and they treated us really rather well throughout.
We were specifically invited to sample Vol. 3 of The Ivy Edition menu (two courses £34.95pp, three courses £42.95pp, ivycollection.com), however, we did take a glance at the à la carte menu (ivycollection.com) – a crowd-pleasing mixture of everything from fish and chips (£20.95) and shepherd’s pie (£19.25) to Moroccan chicken (£23.50) and sweet potato curry (£21.95).
Vol. 3 of The Ivy Edition is much lighter, consisting of dishes such as tomato, watermelon, and plant-based cheese. I am not sure why the cheeses and creams in the starters were vegan given that nothing else on this particular menu was. For myself, the tempura prawns with citrus mayo to start were light and crispy (although lacking punch of zest or chilli), while the main of tuna and avocado was well-portioned and vibrant – a protein-packed, healthy dish for summer. It was good, if not mind-blowing.
We chose an accompanying bottle of Silverhand Estate strawberries and cream pinot noir (£64, but available for £15 online), which was an extra treat, refreshing and light and did accompany the dishes we chose well, and was well presented elegantly in a free-standing wine cooler. It was also placed about six feet away from us – I’m not sure if this was to make us exercise some self control or because of the fairly densely packed number of tables in our area.
Dessert was our favourite part of the meal. The strawberry savarin was sweet without being overly sugary, and was particularly evocative of Wimbledon and other such British lawn sports, as some parts of this menu do try and lean into. My choice of whipped honey with coffee and vanilla ice cream was a satisfying choice – whipped honey was a first for me, and it was interestingly light and fluffy.
I’m self-aware enough to admit that I’ve overused the word light in describing this menu, but it’s really hard not to – larger appetites will definitely need to supplement this menu with the sides, which does dampen the appeal at £42.95 for three courses. Plus, a lot of the menu choices are solid without being completely unique, and you, like me, may baulk at the idea of a £20 chippy tea.
That being said, I can see the appeal of The Ivy. It eschews the current trend of small plates in favour of an à la carte menu, which makes it relatively unique in the immediate area. There is also grandeur and spectacle without being overly stuffy, and the menus – both The Ivy Edition and its regular menu – are varied and familiar enough to appeal to even the fussiest members of the family. This certainly does make it a great choice for a special occasion.
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