The Ivy Chelsea Garden: A crowd-pleaser with floral flair

A fine-tuned crowd-pleaser, with a just a few shavings of something to make us all feel a little special - plus a drop-dead gorgeous garden
Ben Norum30 November 2017

Celeb-filled and iconic, The Ivy has been a key fixture on the London restaurant scene since 1917. Some 97 years later, the grand dame began a roll-out, and it’s now spawned more than 20 spin-offs across the country.
 
These sites are more casual, more affordable, and much easier to get a table at. And though they might not have the sparkle or spectacle of the real thing, they draw on its pedigree and do what they do well.
 
Of all of them, this utterly beautiful edition on Chelsea’s King’s Road, which combines Ivy-style splendour with a spacious garden terrace, is almost certainly the best of the bunch.
 
The menu isn’t shy when it comes to quantity, with everything from duck curry to lamb shoulder via fish and chips present and correct. And bar the occasional under par moment, the quality is there too.
 
The Ivy’s famous shepherd’s pie is present and correct - and a wise choice - while a brioche-crumbed chicken Milanese, topped with a fried egg and black truffle, sums up the overall experience rather well: a fine-tuned crowd-pleaser, with a just a few shavings of something to make us all feel a little special.
 
The restaurants serve breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea and everything in between, with a competent cocktail list playing second fiddle to a wide range of accessibly priced wine.
 

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