What do we need to know about the The Ivy Market Grill?
It's the latest from Richard Caring, who has also had more recent successes with establishing new brands like Grillshack and Jackson and Rye. This time he's taking one of London's most recognisable restaurant names and bringing it right in the heart of touristland (aka Covent Garden market).
The Ivy Market Grill is in a building which has restaurant history both good (it was the place of the original Boulestin) and not so good (more recently it's been a Pizza Hut). They're viewing this new two floored restaurant as a "little sister" to the Ivy and it's yet another sign of Covent Garden being rehabilitated food-wise.
Where is it?
It's on the bottom end of Covent Garden Market, nearest to the Strand and close to Shake Shack.
Where can we meet for drinks beforehand?
If you fancy a treat, then the obvious option is a cocktail at Rules, just around the corner. Other places we'd recommend in the Covent Garden area are The 10 Cases for wine (a short walk down Endell Street on the other side of the Market).
Or you could head straight for the small bar at the Ivy Market Grill itself. Whatever you do, if you're a martini fan, make sure that you have one of the "Three Martini Lunch" cocktails. These are three generous tasting glasses of a Plymouth Gibson, a Vesper and dry vodka martini. It's excellent value at £11.50.
Where should we sit?
The room is something of a curious affair. As you come in, the seating area to the left of it is clearly the place to be seen to be sitting at with some booths being ideal for groups. In the other section the best seats, we thought, were the ones by the window, looking out onto the Market. We'd definitely recommend grabbing these if you could. We weren't too keen on the mini booths for two beside the bar which were a little cramped.
The first thing that strikes you about the menu (which you can see here) is how all encompassing it is. Being an all-day restaurant, pretty much everything you'd want to eat is in this menu at some point in the day. For instance, we thought the breakfast menu looked wonderful with a nice mix between the traditional full-English affairs and the more healthy options. And we really wanted to try the truffled chicken sandwich that's only available during the day.
As for the evening menu, it all looks quite traditional at first glance. So there are dishes like potted shrimps, prawn cocktails, a burger, steak, fish and chips and the Ivy's famous shepherd's and fish pies. But it's only when the food starts arriving that you really start to appreciate what the kitchen is capable of.
The beef carpaccio with Cipriani dressing (£8,50) was an early winner - wonderfully tender beef given texture with crunchy pine nuts. The main course of a shepherd's pie (£12.75) was as good as the original Ivy's reputation had led us to believe and the beautifully cooked roast duck (£18.50) also delivered much more than the menu hinted at. We'd also really recommend the truffle arancini for the table while you're looking through the menu - very generously portioned at £5.50. One of this year's standout bar snacks.
Our dinner was topped off with one of the best dessert lists that we've seen in a while. We recommend leaving some room specifically for the chocolate bombe. We know the melting chocolate ball has been a little overused of late but the combination of the milk foam and the hot salted caramel sauce is wonderful and at the very least worth getting to share.
And how about drinks?
The good value continues to the wine list with bottle starting at £19.50 for a Grenache Blanc from Languedoc and there are a further five bottles under £30 and another six under £40. Our Paul Jaboulet Syrah from Cote de Rhone (£32) was a winner too.
Overall thoughts
Rumours of a sister cafe/restaurant to The Ivy have been around for a long time (we first reported on it back in 2011) but it's been worth the wait. Expect to find a showcase of excellent cooking at reasonable prices. It's almost wasted on the tourists that are bound to flock here. Caring has used the experience from his recent successes with other brands to ensure that the Ivy name continues to be synonymous with good British cooking and now it's much more accessible too. It'll be a huge and worthy draw in Covent Garden.
The Ivy Market Grill is at 1 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8PS. Find out more.
Hot Dinners were invited to The Ivy Market Grill. Prices were correct at the time of writing. Main photo by Paul Winch Furness.
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