"Tonight we went to the fanciest restaurant I've ever been to. The chairs were very comfy, and there was a lot of art on the wall I liked, especially the spiral rainbow, and they had real candles on the table."
Mollie's first experience of The Ivy will probably never be bettered. The sense of wonder in a child's eyes was evident throughout her evening, although that's not to say she was happy about everything - she's definitely a restaurant critic in the making!
Beginning with cocktails - passionate spritz for Mummy and a massive lemonade for Mols - before moving onto her favourite snack of chilli, coriander and lemon olives (although our server kindly steered her away from the chilli!), which she described as "super big and juicy" and scored them 9/10.
We shared some Ivy-cured salmon with dark rye bread for starters - a very generous serving of delicate fish - "Just like the one we have at home," Mollie smiled, which is actually the biggest compliment she could offer. I was quite glad there was more black pepper than Mollie could handle as at one point I think she was planning on eating the lot. She scored her starter 8/10 (the black pepper cost it two points).
"Humongous!" she cried when she saw her main course of fish and chips, although even her cuddly toy Bunny didn't want the mushy peas (I gobbled them up gratefully as they were amazing!). She loved the big and chunky chips, and the fish was "really good" but the batter was a bit too salty for her palate. I thought it was actually really, really good, although maybe a bit too grown-up for a six-year-old, but the fish was divine. From Mols, a mathematically impossible 80/10.
My main course was chargrilled halloumi, and I was the happiest I've ever been to have a giant plate of my favourite cheese served up with courgette tapenade, Gordal olives and a rustic tomato sauce. The cheese was soft and melting, but well-grilled and far from the "squeaky" halloumi you get in some restaurants. The sprouting broccoli I had on the side was perfectly cooked, with a delicious lemon oil and sea salt dressing.
We couldn't fit in pudding, although we were sorely tempted by the Black Bee Honey and white chocolate cheesecake, which featured UK honey accompanied by mango sorbet, honeycomb and edible flowers, but after polishing off Mollie's leftovers I was done, and Bunny needed to get home for her bedtime.
Spring has truly sprung at The Ivy, with some exceptional seasonal dishes spotlighting some of the best British ingredients, including garden pea and nettle soup, grilled asparagus with Szechuan mayonnaise, capers, flaked almonds, quail's egg and watercress, and of course the usual extraordinary feast of steaks, all truly capturing the essence of the changing seasons. I'm certainly planning on returning soon with some grown-up company!
But if you're looking for an excellent restaurant which provides quality, delicious food for your children, it'd be hard to find somewhere to match The Ivy for choice, cookery, atmosphere and wow factor. Get your Father's Day booking in now!
"What I liked best was the chairs and our server," Mollie said as we made to leave, scoring the latter 85/10 for her attentiveness, adding: "It was a good, fun girls' night out with Mummy! It was the poshest restaurant I've ever been to, and I can't wait to go back!"
High-praise indeed.
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