The Ivy (UK)

Last updated

The Ivy
The Ivy (14136045781).jpg
The Ivy, London
The Ivy (UK)
Restaurant information
Established1917
Owner(s) Richard Caring
Head chefGary Lee
Dress codeSmart casual
Street addressWest Street
CityLondon
CountryEngland
Coordinates 51°30′46″N0°07′41″W / 51.51285°N 0.12808°W / 51.51285; -0.12808
Website the-ivy.co.uk
The Ivy Market Grill, Henrietta Street, London The Ivy Market Grill, Henrietta Street, London.JPG
The Ivy Market Grill, Henrietta Street, London
The Ivy Cafe in Marylebone Lane, November 2016 The Ivy Cafe, Marylebone Lane 01.jpg
The Ivy Cafe in Marylebone Lane, November 2016

The Ivy is a British restaurant founded in 1917 known for its popularity with celebrities. [1] The original restaurant's location in the West End, opposite the Ambassadors and St Martin's theatres, made it a popular restaurant for theatregoers. [2] The Ivy has since expanded into various locations across the United Kingdom and Ireland, known as the Ivy Collection. [3]

Contents

History

1917–1989

The original restaurant was opened by Abel Giandolini in 1917 as an unlicensed Italian café in a building on the same site. Legend has it that the name itself originated from a chance remark by the actress Alice Delysia, who overheard Giandolini apologise to a customer for the inconvenience caused by building works. When he said that it was because of his intention to create a restaurant of the highest class, she interjected "Don't worry – we will always come and see you. 'We will cling together like the ivy'", a line from the then-popular song, [4] 1902's "Just Like the Ivy I'll Cling to You", written by A. J. Mills and Harry Castling. The restaurant expanded into the current premises in 1929 run by Giandolini, with his longstanding maitre d' Mario Gallati as host.

In part due to its proximity to the West End theatres, exclusivity and late closing time, the restaurant quickly became a theatrical institution, with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Lilian Braithwaite, Terence Rattigan, Binkie Beaumont and Noël Coward being habitués, having their regular two-seater tables along the walls. According to the actor Donald Sinden in his Sky Arts television documentary series Great West End Theatres , The Ivy became so famous as a theatrical-celebrities haunt that in the 1943 revue Sweet and Low which ran for almost six years at the neighbouring Ambassadors Theatre, there was a satirical sketch included, updated regularly, entitled Poison Ivy, where the show's star Hermione Gingold "would exchange wicked and salacious celebrity gossip". [5] [6]

In 1950, Giandolini sold The Ivy to Bernard Walsh and the restaurant became part of his Wheeler's group of fish restaurants. Subsequent owners were Lady Grade and the Forte Foundation. After closing in 1989, Jeremy King and Chris Corbin, who owned Le Caprice, bought it.

1990–present

Under its new owners, the restaurant was renovated to a design by American architect MJ Long and incorporated specially-commissioned artworks by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Sir Peter Blake, Sir Howard Hodgkin, Bridget Riley, Allen Jones, Joe Tilson, Patrick Caulfield, Michael Craig-Martin and Tom Phillips. The restaurant opened in June 1990, and seats 100 guests with a private dining room on the first floor, seating up to 60 guests. Mobile phones and cameras are forbidden throughout the restaurant and adjoining club and there is a dress code requiring smart casual attire. [7]

A recipe book, The Ivy: The Restaurant and its Recipes, written by the restaurant critic A. A. Gill was published in 1997. [8]

Fernando Peire was appointed senior maître d', eventually leaving in December 1998, three months after the restaurant was sold to Belgo PLC as part of Caprice Holdings Ltd; Corbin and King departed two years later (whereupon they established their own Rex Restaurants, later Corbin & King).

In 2000, the restaurant was awarded the Moët & Chandon London Restaurant Award for excellence. [9]

In 2005, the entrepreneur Richard Caring bought The Ivy and the Caprice Holdings group (which owns Le Caprice in the St James's area of London, J. Sheekey near Leicester Square, Scotts in Mount Street and 34 in Grosvenor Square). [4] In 2007, Fernando Peire returned to The Ivy as Director of The Ivy and The Club at The Ivy. Gary Lee, who had previously been in charge of private functions at The Ivy, returned as head chef and was appointed executive chef in 2008. Executive chef director of Caprice Holdings restaurants (now Caprice Group) is Tim Hughes since 27 June 2005. [10]

The Club at The Ivy

In September 2008, The Club at The Ivy, a private members' club with a hidden entrance via an adjacent flower-shop, was opened on the three floors above the restaurant, with membership (drawn primarily from creative industries and the arts) "as hard to get as a table at The Ivy itself" according to the author A. A. Gill. [11] [12]

It has a Piano Lounge; a dining room ("The Drawing Room"), open for breakfast, lunch and supper; a wood-panelled library "of books that reflect many of our members' interests in art, literature, film, theatre, architecture and design"; a film screening-room and entertainment space known as the Loft; a further private dining-room seating up to 14 people and a cigar-terrace. [13]

Its former director was Fernando Peire who left in June 2021, the former senior maître d' (star of the Channel 5 TV series The Restaurant Inspector). [14]

The Ivy Asia

The Ivy Asia is a restaurant coming under the Ivy Restaurant group, offering Asian-inspired food and drink. [15]

The original Ivy Asia restaurant launched in May 2021 in the Ivy Manchester Spinningfields branch. [16] Multiple branches have opened across the UK since, including Cardiff, Brighton, London (Chelsea, Mayfair and St Paul's) and Leeds. [17]

The Ivy Collection

In 2011, the company planned to open the first Ivy Café, in London's Mayfair; [18] however, this did not take place. [19]

Since 2014, the company has opened over 30 spin-off restaurants, the Ivy Collection, known as Ivy Cafés and Ivy Brasseries. [20] [21] Caprice Holdings opened the Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden in 2014. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Ramsay</span> British chef, restaurateur, and TV presenter (born 1966)

Gordon James Ramsay is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall and currently holds eight. His signature restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, London, has held three Michelin stars since 2001. After rising to fame on the British television miniseries Boiling Point in 1999, Ramsay became one of the best-known and most influential chefs in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PizzaExpress</span> British restaurant group

PizzaExpress (Restaurants) Limited, trading as PizzaExpress and or Pizza Marzano, is a British multinational pizza restaurant chain, with over 500 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot. In July 2020, the business was taken over by its bondholders under a debt-for-equity swap with previous owner Hony Capital. In November 2020, Hony Capital left the business and the group restructure was completed, helping to cut the casual dining chain's debt by more than £400 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claridge's</span> Hotel in London

Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. Claridge's Hotel is owned and managed by Maybourne Hotel Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobster Thermidor</span> French dish

Lobster Thermidor is a French dish of lobster meat cooked in a rich wine sauce, stuffed back into a lobster shell, and browned. The sauce is often a mixture of egg yolks and brandy, served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. The sauce originally contained mustard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Yau</span> Hong Kong-Chinese restaurateur

Alan Yau is a Hong Kong-born British restaurateur who founded the Wagamama chain in the United Kingdom. Of Hakka ancestry, he was born in Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong and moved to King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1975 with his family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The River Café (London)</span> Restaurant in London, England

The River Café is a restaurant in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, specialising in Italian cuisine. It was owned and run by chefs Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray until Gray's death in 2010; since then, Rogers has been the sole owner and has run the restaurant.

Luke Oliver Johnson is a British entrepreneur. He is a former chairman of the Pizza Express chain, the Royal Society of Arts and Channel 4. Johnson calls himself a "projector", in line with the 17th century term for a man involved in many different businesses. He is currently the Chairman of Gail's bakery and Brighton Pier Group, among other businesses. He is a former owner of The Ivy, Le Caprice and J Sheekey restaurants and a former part owner of Giraffe Restaurants.

Mark Ernest Hix is an English chef and restaurateur whose traditional English menus often feature foraged and local foods. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hix was based in London, but announced in January 2021 that he would be relocating to Dorset permanently after five of his restaurants were put into administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Café de Paris, London</span> Nightclub in the West End of London, England

The Café de Paris was a London nightclub, located in the West End, beside Leicester Square on Coventry Street, Piccadilly. Opened in 1924, it became one of the leading theatre clubs in London. After being hit by a German bomb in 1941, when at least 34 people were killed and around 80 injured, it was closed until 1948.

Richard Allan Caring is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. In 2004 he diversified his business interest into property, restaurants and nightclubs. He is the chairman of Caprice Holdings, which owns and operates The Ivy chain of restaurants.

Bobby Chinn is an American international chef, television presenter, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is a culinary celebrity across Asia and the Middle East, thanks to his role as host of Discovery TLC's World Cafe, and as a judge on MBC's Top Chef Middle East. He opened two award-winning restaurants in Vietnam – Restaurant Bobby Chinn in Hanoi (2001) and Bobby Chinn Saigon in Ho Chi Minh (2011), then relocated to London in 2014 and opened the House of Ho Vietnamese restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sticks'n'Sushi</span> Copenhagen-based restaurant and take-away chain

Sticks'n'Sushi is a Copenhagen-based restaurant and take-away group specialising in sushi and yakitori. It consists of 12 restaurants in the Greater Copenhagen area, 12 restaurants in the UK and three in Berlin.

The Big Table Group Limited, formerly Tragus Group and Casual Dining Group (CDG), is a hospitality company in the United Kingdom. The Big Table operates restaurants primarily under the Bella Italia, Café Rouge, Frankie & Benny's and Las Iguanas names. It also operates sites under the Banana Tree, Chiquito, Coast to Coast, Firejacks and Filling Station brands. It is owned by Epiris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Sirieix</span> French maître dhôtel and trained chef (born 1972)

Fred Sirieix is a French maître d'hôtel best known for appearing on Channel 4's First Dates, and BBC Two's Million Pound Menu. Sirieix grew up in Limoges, France and trained to work in front of house in a Michelin-starred restaurant in France before working at La Tante Claire in London. Until 2019, he was the general manager of Michelin-starred restaurant Galvin at Windows at the London Hilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dishoom (restaurant)</span> Chain of Indian restaurants

Dishoom is a small Bombay (Mumbai)-inspired restaurant group with locations throughout the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Côte</span> British restaurant chain

Côte Restaurants Group Limited, trading as Côte, stylised as CÔTE is a French-style British restaurant chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London in 2007. There are now over 84 restaurants in the UK.

Le Caprice was a restaurant in London's St James's area famous for being frequented by celebrities. It was originally opened by Mario Gallati in 1947 at 20 Arlington St. Famous patrons included Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Kate Moss and Princess Diana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Reid (chef)</span> British chef

Mike Reid, is a British chef known as a co-host of two Australian cooking television series, My Market Kitchen and Ten Minute Kitchen. He is also starring as a judge on Five Star Kitchen on Channel 4 in the UK and Netflix globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bread Ahead</span> British bakery chain

Bread Ahead is a chain of bakeries that also provide baking classes in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 2013 by Matthew Jones in London's Borough Market. Under Jones' guidance as founder and head baker, it has specialised in doughnuts, using British sourced ingredients from traders in Borough Market and Chelmsford in Essex. It also sells sourdough breads, cakes, pizza, coffees and pastries.

References

  1. ↑ Pewsey, Guy (29 January 2016). "The Ivy: why the iconic restaurant will always be a celebrity hotspot". Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Matthew Fort (4 November 2010). "The Ivy: dine with the stars". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ "Our Locations | The Ivy Collection Restaurants" . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 Matthew Fort (4 November 2010). "The Ivy: dine with the stars". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Great West End Theatres episode 5. St Martins Theatre
  6. ↑ Morley, Sheridan (1986). The Great Stage Stars . London: Angus & Robertson. ISBN   0816014019.
  7. ↑ "Dress Code". The Ivy. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  8. ↑ A. A. Gill. "The Ivy: The Restaurant and its Recipes". Hodder.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Ivy". Londoneats.com. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Timothy HUGHES personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Club at the Ivy". The-ivyclub.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Talk of the town: The Ivy Club's entrance is so white that it feels as if you're walking into a huge iPod" . The Independent. 10 October 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "The Club at the Ivy London – Private Club Interiors – Martin Brudnizki". Mbds.com. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Restaurant Inspector". Five. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "The Ivy Asia | Asian Restaurants" . Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  16. ↑ bighospitality.co.uk. "The Ivy Collection to launch Asian restaurant in Manchester". bighospitality.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Restaurants | The Ivy Asia | Asian Restaurants" . Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Caprice Holdings To Launch Ivy Cafe". Food Service News. Caterlyst. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Richard Caring to launch Ivy Market Grill".
  20. ↑ "The Ivy Collection sees turnover double amid expansion drive".
  21. ↑ "The Ivy Collection moves into the big league". 4 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Caprice Holdings Reveals Opening Date fo The Ivy Cafe". caterlyst.com. Foodservice News. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.