Does the new Ivy restaurant live up to the hype?
Lucinda’s verdict
It’s big, it’s brash, it’s in-your-face, but I began to wonder if The Ivy Dawson Street was all fur coat and no knickers, as our lovely waiter told me that the kitchen wouldn’t crack and de-shell the claws of the lobster I’d ordered.
The original legendary London restaurant started life in 1917 as an unlicensed cafe in the heart of the West End’s theatre land, and The Ivy soon became the spot for actors to refuel and unwind post show. The ‘smell of the greasepaint, roar of the crowd’ clientele attracted the stage-door Johnnies and socialites of the day.
It was never about the food, which was middle-of-the-road Italian for many years; instead, it was all about the celebrity buzz — the chance of possibly rubbing shoulders with everyone from Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, to the modern-day Beckhams and Clooneys.
Fading in the late 1980s, The Ivy was revived by dynamic duo Chris Corbin and Jeremy King. The pair met while Corbin was working at Langan’s Brasserie, which was then owned by the outrageous Dubliner Peter Langan and actor Michael Caine. Corbin and King also went on to open one of London’s most popular restaurants, The Wolseley, which I love.
Making an entrance
The Ivy is now owned by Caprice Holdings, which broadened the concept, opening 27 other restaurants, cafes and brasseries since 2014, with Dublin being the first outside the UK. They arrived in Dublin in a whirl of PR overkill.
However, in the past, branded big boys like Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes and Jean-Christophe Novelli have stormed in with their reps for celebrity and exclusivity, but all crept out without a whimper. Just as the Queen smiled at Trump, having seen off better than him many times in the past, Dubliners aren’t blown away by posturing and flash.
Set in the new One Molesworth building on Dawson Street, The Ivy Dawson Street is a 150-seater brasserie in the style of the lavishly embellished classical Parisian greats such as La Coupole and Bofinger, but here the extravagantly lush jungle decor screams Carmen Miranda — she of the tutti frutti hat — with music to match.
All-day eating
Opening for breakfast from 7am, the full-Irish costs €15.95, though eggs Benedict are a modest enough €9.95. An All Day Menu starts at 11.30am, with a list of G&T cocktails (€10-€13). Starters (€6.95-€16.95) include oysters; duck liver parfait; smoked salmon; scallops; and steak tartare. There’s something for everyone, with mains (€14.50-€42.50) including fish & chips; hamburgers; crab linguine; monkfish and prawn curry; steak; and the grilled whole lobster.
There was a bit of a push on nibbles ‘for the table’ — olives, truffle arancini,
et al (€3.75-€6.75) — while we had a glass of house Champagne (€13 each). However, we kept our hand on our halfpenny, ordering our starters of crispy duck salad (€9.75), pictured below left, and crab and watermelon (€6.50).
The Asian-style duck salad looked well, and was served with toasted cashews, watermelon, beansprouts, coriander, ginger and five spice dressing, but could weigh in more heavily on the spicing. My friend Mary’s lovely tiered watermelon and crab starter was on the excellent lunch and early evening set menus (available Monday to Friday, 11.30am to 6.30pm; two/three courses, €19.95/€24.95).
Just for the crack
To follow, Mary had The Ivy shepherd’s pie (€15.95) which was a delicious, if delicately sized, rondelle of slow-braised lamb shoulder, topped with Dubliner cheese mash. Taken aback that my request to crack and shell the claws on my lobster (€42.50) was refused “by a manager”, I told the waiter that it would be done in
“Just as the Queen smiled at Trump, having seen off better than him plenty of times, Dubliners aren’t blown away by posturing and flash”
my local bistro without fuss, never mind The Ivy, and I asked to see the relevant manager.
‘The suit’ appeared, saying it would be done. One needs to be shoreside in jeans, or in a crab shack with a bib, to be cracking lobster claws, not messing around through garlic butter on a small table in a citified restaurant that considers itself smart!
Anyway, it was pleasant enough, and came with truffle chips (€1 supplement). We shared a lovely Rum Baba (€9.75) with Plantation rum, Chantilly cream and raspberries. A number of lower-priced white wines were sold out, so with a glass of Languedoc Grenache rosé (€6.75), water (€4.50) and service, our bill came to €134.97.
Though the flash was blinding, and the lobster business crazy, the food was good, our waiter a delight, and the famous Ivy ‘buzz’ had attracted the glam brigade — the music thumped and a saxophonist was cruising the aisles as we left…