The Ivy is possibly the most celebrity-strewn eating place in London, where actors from the city’s West End theatres mix with politicians and celebrities of every hue. One is advised to book well in advance as it is always very hard to get a table here, but The Ivy is certainly worth the effort.
There is the air of an old gentleman’s club about the place with it’s oak panels, soft lighting and 1920s stained glass windows.
The food is mainly British/European, with a few influences from further afield. But classic British dishes such as Fish and Chips and Welsh Rarebit appear regularly on the menu, giving the place a delightful lack of pretentiousness. It was this atmosphere that encouraged the restaurant to be frequented by Noel Coward, Laurence Olivier and many other of Britain’s finest actors and actresses. Indeed, even the restaurant’s name has a theatrical lineage.
When the Actress, Alice Delysia, overheard Abel Glandellini apologising to customers for the inconvenience of building work in the restaurant when he was enlarging the dining room, she said, “Don’t worry, we will always come to see you, we will cling together like the ivy.”
The name stuck. And a legend was born.
The Ivy,
1 West Street,
LONDON,
WC2H 9NE
Tel: (020) 7836 4751
020 8400 4829
