The world-famous London eatery, The Ivy opened in Dubai amid much hype several months ago. Having only recently taken the time to visit, I embarked on the restaurant having heard mixed reviews.
First impressions were good - the restaurant is dark, cosy and in-keeping with it's predecessor in London. However to my disappointment, our party was swiftly walked through this part of the venue into the bright and un-atmospheric 'tent' section, an add-on to the original room with tarpaulin roof.
We ordered a few starters to share, both meeting expectations. The Calamari was well battered and perfectly cooked, the accompanying dip was delicious. The Parma ham and figs was very well received by the meat eaters in our party and the figs a surprise hit.
Now to the mains, the Fish and Chips with mushy peas, were as you would expect decent fish and chips. It would be difficult to get this very wrong and a crime at a British restaurant. It was well battered, not too heavy or greasy and came with fantastic chunky chips.
The Fish pie was unfortunately the low-point of the meal for me. I was hoping a creamy, hearty, flavoursome dish and ended up with a burnt Parmesan crust on a dish that was so hot it was impossible to eat for 10 minutes. The fish inside was cooked well but the smoked variety they used overpowered any other flavours and was quite unpleasant, especially when mixed with the burnt Parmesan. Also disappointing was the lack of potato in the dish, if it was there I struggled to find it. The only redeeming element of the main course was the side of creamed spinach I ordered - beautifully flavoured and cooked. If only they had given us a bigger portion!
In a desperate bid to please my palette I succumbed to the dessert menu. The Banana Sticky Pudding was fantastic! Generous portion and heavenly taste, the butterscotch sauce was on the right side of sickeningly sweet and the vanilla ice cream the perfect antidote. The Apple and Blackberry Pie was also a winner - sweet and tarte in equal measures and washed down with a jug of cream.
Service throughout was excellent but the general consensous on the food was that it was good, but not worth coming back for.
It was always going to take a lot to live up to 'The Ivy' name - but they really need to try harder, good is not good enough in Dubai where 5* food is available on tap.
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