An iconic dining room, fabulous cocktails, and a welcome reunion with an old favourite: The Ivy’s Cool Britannia launch gave our Deputy Editor Chris Golds plenty to celebrate.
There are some restaurants I am always happy to return to, and The Original Ivy on West Street is firmly among them. However many times I visit, it still feels like an occasion. I make it sound like I am always there but, sadly that isn’t the case. So an invitation to lunch to celebrate its Cool Britannia menu was particularly welcome: a chance to revisit a place I love, catch up with friends, enjoy some wonderful food and raise a glass to a decade that helped shape a bit of its story. There is the added pleasure of being reunited with a dish I have ordered and enjoyed so many times: The Ivy’s shepherd’s pie. More on that later.
The setting plays its part from the outset. Those distinctive harlequin stained-glass windows, the oak panelling, the contemporary art, and the gorgeous bars give this London institution its unmistakable character. There is glamour here, but also it is also familiar, particularly when you have happy memories of previous visits. I love that combination. A restaurant can have a famous name and a beautiful room, yet the real test is whether you look forward to being there again. With The Ivy, I always do. Whenever you tell someone you are going to The Ivy it never fails to get an ‘oooh’.
Cool Britannia is the ideal subject for a restaurant so closely associated with the cultural life of the capital. The new menu celebrates 30 years since the heady spirit of the mid-nineties, (what a time to be growing up) when British music, fashion, film and art commanded international attention. Britpop filled the airwaves, the Young British Artists challenged conventions, and a generation of creatives became real household names. The Ivy was an iconic part of that world, welcoming actors, musicians, artists, designers and the media figures who helped define it. Its tables offered a meeting place for people whose influence reached well beyond London as the city herself has always done.
The Original Ivy, which opened in 1917, has witnessed rather more than one fashionable decade, yet the nineties remain a particularly evocative chapter. And I love exploring memories through food. A familiar dish can take you just like a song can. For this menu, Executive Chef Sean Burbidge (who we were lucky enough to meet) and his team have looked to the generous, classic cooking associated with that period, bringing those flavours into the restaurant’s present.
The wider menu offers plenty to tempt anyone who enjoys classic restaurant cooking. Potted shrimp comes with seasoned brown shrimp butter, dill-pickled cucumber and toasted granary bread, while ham hock and parsley terrine is paired with mustard piccalilli. There is crispy cod cheek with tartare sauce and cornichons, too.
Then there is the shepherd’s pie. I have devoured The Ivy’s version so many times that it holds a particular place in my affections, and having it again was a highlight of the lunch. The Cool Britannia menu offers it in its classic form or topped with Mayfield cheese, giving returning admirers another reason to consider their usual order carefully.
Desserts maintain the nostalgic mood with sticky toffee pudding, blackberry posset and a poached pear frangipane tarte. It is a menu that makes a strong case for allowing yourself three courses. Not that I need much encouragement.
The cocktails deserve their own moment, because they were amazing and kicked things off in the best possible way. Created with Cointreau, the two limited-edition drinks carry names perfectly suited to the theme. Champagne Supernova combines Cointreau, cherry and lemon, topped with Champagne. Spice Girls brings together Cointreau Spicy, The Botanist gin, rhubarb, hot honey and cranberry. As delicious as the girls themselves.
There is good news, too, for dear readers whose nearest Ivy is outside London. The Cool Britannia celebration extends to Ivy Collection restaurants around the country, bringing the theme to a much wider audience. The Collection’s offer has its own menu and pricing, including two courses for £19.96, a very cute and neat reference to the year being celebrated, with dessert available for an additional £8.95. Just an FYI, dishes, dates and serving times should be checked with your chosen restaurant when booking. I think it is a lovely excuse to arrange a local lunch and enjoy a little nineties nostalgia yourself. All the details are here: The Ivy Collection’s Cool Britannia.
For me, the launch captured much of what makes returning here such a pleasure. We ate well, enjoyed fabulous cocktails and had a thoroughly lovely time in a venue that still feels special on every visit. The long lunch is synonymous with the era, and that is what we had. `The nineties provided the inspiration, but my happiest memory of this lunch is wonderfully immediate: being back at The Ivy, enjoying that shepherd’s pie again.
At The Original Ivy on West Street, the menu runs from 2 September until 10 November 2026, available all day, seven days a week, at £39.95 for two courses or £49.95 for three.
Article and some images by Chris Golds – some supplied by The Ivy.
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