I worked with OpenTable on this restaurant review, who contributed towards the cost of a meal at The Ivy Soho Brasserie in London. Words and pictures are my own.
We were given the opportunity to book a restaurant in Soho via the OpenTable website and with Valentine’s Day approaching, we thought we’d opt for something a bit more special than the usual chain restaurants and have a meal at The Ivy Soho Brasserie.
I’m sure most people will remember the original Ivy restaurant in London as being the most popular celeb-spotting haunt of the 90s, and it was obviously very much beyond my means at the time. However when they started their spin-off restaurants with the Ivy Asia and Brasseries (known as The Ivy Collection) they became more accessible and you can now book a table in any one of them via OpenTable, even if you aren’t Kate Moss.
Valentine’s Day itself was of course fairly heavily booked up, with only outside seating available. Now that lockdown is but a distant memory you won’t find me dining outside in February, but even though other restaurants in the area had tables availably my heart was set on the Ivy Brasserie, so we brought our Valentine’s meal forward to the Monday.
The Ivy Brasserie offered both a set Valentine’s meal at £75pp and their usual A La Carte menu, which can be found on their website.
We opted for the set menu.
The Ivy Soho Brasserie Valentine’s Day Set Menu review
The set menu offered a three course meal with a glass of rose champagne, tea/coffee and truffles.
Starter
For the starter, I thought you had to pick from three options, but you were actually given all three between the two of you to share. I’m not great at sharing, but it worked out OK.
I am a huge fan of starters (starters over desserts any day of the week and twice on Sundays please) and in particular the truffle arancini balls were banging. Really, really good. I love a but of truffle flavouring but they weren’t overpowering, or too cheesy. I’d recommend them to anyone.
The duck liver parfait was also really tasty. I’m not a huge fan of pate and other meaty spreads (makes it sound a lot worse when you say it that way, doesn’t it…) but that was really good too; if anything, I would have liked a little more bread to go with it and increase the bread/parfait ratio. Just a slice, not loads. Eating parfait off a spoon just doesn’t seem very elegant.
The mozzarella was nice enough, but nothing particularly special in my eyes. The vegetable accompaniments were nice though, giving the illusion of a little bit of health food on the starter extravaganza.
Main course
For the main course, you had a choice between the Lobster Linguine, Chargrilled Halloumi and a 7oz Fillet of Beef. These options came with salad and truffle chips for the table.
I opted for the linguine; meanwhile my boyfriend went for the fillet steak cooked rare.
The steak was extremely well cooked – having had too many well done steaks in restaurants recently masquerading as medium/rare, my boyfriend asked for it to be cooked rare and it absolutely was.
Of course this made me instantly jealous, but the linguine was also incredibly good; flavoursome with a hint of chili but not too oily, which I find can be an issue with fish dishes.
It certainly did not hang around.
Dessert
For dessert, the set menu offered a raspberry heart mille feuille, made with white chocolate and puff pastry and filled with fresh raspberries. Again, you had to share it which worked out well for me because I’d eaten most of it before he’d picked his spoon up.
This came with a raspberry source which was poured over the top before I’d a chance to photograph the impressive looking heart-shaped dish.
It was, of course, absolutely delicious and gone in no time at all.
At which point, they offered coffee/tea and a small bowl of truffles to complete the meal. Because why wouldn’t you load yourself up with a load of caffeine at ten at night?
Dining at The Ivy Soho Brasserie
The Ivy Soho Brasserie offers a unique and stylish dining experience with a warm, buzzy and energetic atmosphere.
The restaurant is wonderfully decorated in a roaring twenties style, with good use of mood lighting, lots of live plants, and interesting artwork inspired by the Soho music scene filling every wall.
In the centre is a spectacular large marble and onyx bar, where diners can sit to have a cocktail or two before or after their meal.
It really does have the wow factor as a space, and even the loos have intricate wallpaper and a flower ceiling. Obviously, I had to get a selfie…
Service in The Ivy Soho Brasserie
When we arrived at the restaurant, a little early, we were greeted and lead to the bar to get a drink, and then when our table became available taken to our table. So far, so good. The cocktails we’d ordered at the bar were really good too.
The waitress who was serving us did not utter a word. It was really, really weird. We both noticed it and quite honestly I’ve never experienced anything like it. I don’t want my waitress to be over friendly in the phoney and unsettling American-style but I do want them to talk, and seem to care just a little bit. She didn’t stop by the table at all, not to see how things were or to ask us if we wanted more drinks. I guess on the plus side we ended up spending a lot less than we probably would have as I do like a drink or two with my meal and was planning to get more cocktails, and wasn’t given the opportunity. When my boyfriend ordered a beer, he was brought a glass of red wine instead. Who knows.
I understand everyone can have bad days, and maybe someone cut her car up before her shift or something, but it made us feel quite uncomfortable. We aren’t annoying or loud restaurant customers, no weird PDAs or anything, they weren’t aware we were there for a review and we weren’t snapping endless pictures or being obnoxious, and I don’t think it was just us she was cold with.
When the bill arrived and they’d added 13.5% as a gratuity, I was really rather put out given that the waitress was clearly annoyed we’d bothered to turn up. The bill also had extra charges on it for coffee and tea which (a different, talking) member of the wait staff had been a pains to tell us was free, and if I hadn’t checked carefully I would have ended up double paying.
The lack of service was such a shame because the food was top notch; absolutely no complaints at all where that’s concerned. But the staff just didn’t seem to want to be there and made a fairly expensive meal (around £215 plus a 13.5% tip) feel at a premium venue feel less than special.
Would I return to The Ivy Soho Brasserie?
Probably not to the specific Soho Brasserie branch of The Ivy, no. The food was great and I really enjoyed the cocktails we managed to order, but the service we experienced and chance of getting the same waitress would put me off. If I want to be ignored I can just stay at home with my kids. I’ve had so many great meals out in other places that I’d take my custom elsewhere next time.
How to book
If you fancy trying out The Ivy Soho Brasserie, or want to browse meals out in London, check out the OpenTable website to see what’s available and book! You can see special offers and reviews to help you decide what to book, and you’ll receive confirmations and reminders about your reservation for free!