The best dessert in London? This is a bold statement, I know. But when I recently went for lunch at the Ivy Market Grill, in Covent Garden I was mesmerised by a particular dessert which blew me away.
If you know, you know!
I’ve been to a few of the Ivy restaurants across London now and was given a gift voucher as a Christmas present so I was super excited to go to one of my favourite restaurants in London as a treat.
We’d booked a couple weeks in advance and I recommend that you do book before you visit – I once went on a Saturday night in November without booking and amazingly, we were able to get a table but it was right by the door so it was incredibly draughty and a bit chilly. Moral of the story: book before you go!
Our Meal:
My boyfriend and I decided to go the weekend after I started my new job – changing jobs can be exciting and daunting so it felt like a good idea to celebrate with a nice lunch. We were shown to a lovely little table for two near the bar which was like a mini booth and had a cute little lantern by the side. A jug of tap water was provided straight away and we ordered two glasses of Prosecco while we looked at the menu. We decided to get the Truffle Arancini balls to share (£5.50) – anything with melted mozzarella and I’m there! These were only small but I thought the portion size was good – we had five each and they were delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside with a lovely truffle flavour that wasn’t too overpowering.
For mains I ordered The Ivy Shepherds Pie (£13.95) which is the softest, scrummiest shepherds pie I’ve ever had, albeit, a little bit small on the portion size. This is a mixture of lamb and beef with cheesy cheddar mashed potato and rosemary. It usually comes with a tiny gravy boat on the side where you can pour your own gravy but on a previous visit, the waiter poured all of the gravy straight in for me which made it a bit too saucy and runny. The only disappointment is that the Shepherds Pie doesn’t come with any vegetables so you’ll need to order these separately if you want anything else.
My boyfriend ordered the Steak, Egg and Chips (£14.50) which looked huge compared to my Shepherds Pie. The rump steak was super soft, cooked perfectly and was covered in two large fried eggs with a portion of chips that were served in a metal cone.
I loved the way that all of the plates were served with the Ivy logo at the top, this attention to detail is nice to see and our tap water was topped up regularly without having to ask. A big tick in my eyes! It did feel a little a bit cosy in the restaurant – the tables are quite close together and the gaps between the tables quite narrow for making your way to your table but it gives an intimate vibe without feeling like you’re on top of the people at the table next door.
Onto the most important course, the dessert!
The Dessert:
Every time I’ve come to the Ivy Market Grill I get the same dessert and insist that whoever I’m with has it too. It’s called the Chocolate Bombe. It’s a great name isn’t it?
The menu says “Melting chocolate bombe with a vanilla ice cream and honeycomb centre with hot salted caramel sauce” but what it doesn’t say is that when it arrives, the ice cream and honeycomb centre are hidden underneath a chocolate dome and the waiter pours over the hot salted caramel sauce on top of the chocolate dome which melts, revealing the ice cream and honeycomb inside which is now covered in molten chocolate. SO GOOD. And on this occasion, I love it when the waiter pours my sauce, the more hot salted caramel sauce, the better!
The price: £8.50. Yes, it’s expensive but it’s worth it! If you’ve got a willing companion, you could share this dessert.
Overall, we had a lovely meal, the food and atmosphere were great and my favourite dessert didn’t disappoint. I’d say its mid priced which is pretty normal for a London restaurant and it’s in a great location on the corner of Covent Garden.
If you haven’t been to one of the Ivy Restaurants, why not give the Ivy Market Grill a try! Feeling Inspired? Check out my London restaurant hit list!
The Ivy Market Grill
Covent Garden
1A Henrietta Street
London
WC2E 8PS
