Instagramable – The Review Studio

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There’s nowhere better than The Ivy this Christmas to meet up with friends, celebrate with family or finish off a joyous evening at the theatre. With The Ivy’s new festive menu, you can take the work out of Christmas and dine on their sumptuous, all-Christmas menu. We visited The Ivy Market Grill at Covent Garden this week to see the Christmas lights turned on and start the celebrations with a gorgeous meal!

All venues of The Ivy throughout the country are decorated from now until New Year with an Alpine theme of snowmen, skiing and winter chalets. Here in Covent Garden, we couldn’t move for the amount of people stopping to admire the snowmen, skis and the festive trees at the front door and have their photo taken. As you enter, the restaurant is dotted with fully lit Christmas trees throughout the floor, providing a backdrop to each of your yuletide photos.

We were also privy to the luxurious private dining rooms which were set up and ready for guests that evening. There are two private dining rooms at The Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden, one which can sit 18 on a long table or more on 3 round tables, and the other room comfortably seats 10-12. Each room had a Christmas tree and lots of candles to create the Christmas mood, with each table laid with candelabras and floral centre pieces. A perfect setting for your department outing, or to meet up with family without the hustle and bustle of the bar and other patrons.

Upstairs, the Covent Garden level tables are split between outside dining (with appropriate heating and throws to keep warm!) or indoors with booths, tables or at the bar. The atmosphere on this Tuesday night was much like a Friday with lots of people dropping in for after work dinner and drinks. We tried out some of the staples on the menu including this Stilton salad and then the smoked salmon and rye bread. For mains we had seabass and duck curry then ice cream with shortbread and I tried the Birthday Dessert Box – a luxurious dessert of a golden orb, vanilla ice cream, honeycomb pieces, chocolate strands and a hot caramel sauce poured over, with a taste of birthday cake and a huge amount of calories! It’s presented in a ‘box’ which reveals the dessert underneath.

This Christmas, The Ivy have a special festive menu which includes some of your favourites like The Ivy 1917 Cured Smoked Salmon like we tried above, plus some takes on the usual dishes. There’s the Goose, Turkey and Duck Shepherd’s Pie which is a step-up from the Shepherd’s Pie you find on the menu all year round, and of course being Christmas, there’s the obligatory Turkey Ballotine with all of the Christmas trimmings. There’s also some new cheeky extras – like the Pigs In Blankets side dish! Two courses (served until 6:30pm) are available for £55 or 3 courses (available 11:30am until close) is £60.

It’s not just the A La Carte menu that’s been updated but this year, you will be able to sample the Boxing Day Brunch with The Ivy, complete with a Bloody Mary and brunch served all day.

The Ivy is open on Christmas Eve all day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day as well where there’s a great 3-course menu for £87.50 per person. For dinner on the 2^nd quarter of the 21^st century, you can sample all of the delights of The Ivy without any of the leftovers!

Finish off your meal at any of The Ivy’s bars. We were treated to the Nyetimber Classic Cuvee and there are some delicious Christmas-inspired cocktails to try including the Christmas Mojito, Fig Leaf & Pear Negroni and Ginger & Honey Margarita.

I cannot wait to go back to The Ivy later this month when I meet up with friends for our annual Christmas dinner. We love the food, and the service is always so special plus the atmosphere at this time of year is exactly as you dream it should be – Alpine Christmas all the way.

A La Carte Festive menu is available now until New Year: https://ivycollection.com/christmas/

Gift Cards are available for The Ivy here: https://gifts.ivycollection.com

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I’m a lover of afternoon tea. I also love Indian food, so when they mentioned Indian afternoon tea, there was no way I wasn’t going to try it!

Colonel Saab, located at the Holborn Old Town Hall at 193-197 High Holborn, London WC1 was only opened in October 2021 but is already winning awards. Just walking through the door, you can see all the accolades, including the Forbes top 40 Indian restaurants in London.

Inside, the 134 covers restaurant is situated over the ground floor and a cut-o mezzanine floor. As soon as you pass the bar, it’s the giant multitude of rose glass Indian chandeliers which leave you fascinated with the décor. Photos of owner Roop Partap Choudhary’s family, antique paintings and at the back, a photo each of his parents, Colonel Choudhary and his wife, Binny Choudhary. The restaurant is named after Colonel Choudhary and is a love letter to their relationship since their marriage more than 40 years ago.

We were there to review the Indian Afternoon Tea, a specialty of Colonel Saab which takes a bit of explaining as India isn’t known for their own Afternoon Teas. Firstly, Champagne was brought out to each of us before the tea arrived. You don’t have to have the typical English Breakfast Tea to accompany your meal, so I tried the Massala Chai tea whilst my guest had a latte coffee. Massala Chai is a special blended tea, with milk, which has spices such as cinnamon and a touch of sugar to give a full bodied, slightly sweet tea that challenges the usual English Breakfast. I ordered a second pot of Massala tea in the end as it was so delicious!

The beautiful afternoon tea cage was brought over to our table with the familiar three tiers, but with an Indian twist. The first tier of sandwiches were cucumber and yoghurt, and dhokla fingers. If you’re not familiar with dhokla, it is an Indian cake-like fermented batter that is savoury but flavoured through the middle. The middle layer had the familiar scones with cream and jam, but their added Indian twist here was a vegetable samosa!

The final layer at the top were the cakes! Carrot cake, Lemon Meringue, two different flavours of macaron and a chocolate truffle each. If, like us, you were particularly full by this time, you can always ask for the cakes to be boxed for you to take away. However, they are so delicious, it’s easier to just have another cup of tea and work your way through them!

With the delicious afternoon tea finished, I was given a tour of Colonel Saab to show where the idea came from and the facilities beyond just the restaurant floor. The bar, on the ground floor, is available at any time and doesn’t need booking. Around the corner are the family photos of Roop Partap Choudhary [the founder] and love letters between his parents. Behind the front door, there are the private dining rooms, which were beyond magnificent! One large room, or a divider makes them two smaller rooms, the area is dominated by a huge canopied fireplace. You can’t miss the enormous mobile bar though – which although made by Aspreys of London, belonged to Colonel Choudhary and travelled around with him whilst on campaign. It is stunning, and still looks as if it could serve drinks today.

Going upstairs, there’s more tables, all of which have different styles. At the far end of the mezzanine there is a quiet ‘nook’ area of a canopied table for four. A perfect hideaway and position to watch the restaurant downstairs!

I was also told to walk downstairs to the bathrooms as this is one of the most ‘Instagramable’ areas of the restaurant. Dark red walls festooned with family photos and even more of the beautiful rose glass chandeliers. The bathroom itself was also very beautiful with carefully designed soft furnishings and retro sinks.

Don’t forget the two portraits of Binny and Colonel Choudhary in the main restaurant, with so many decorative plates around them, and the 6^th centuries old painting between them that is an Indian traditional and takes literally years to paint.

By the time we had finished, we had been there nearly two hours and didn’t want to leave. The atmosphere of the restaurant and the friendliness of the staff, all of whom said hello to us whilst we were there made this a hidden treasure. Just outside of Covent Garden but not quite in theatre land, it’s easier to get to than you think and as well as the fantastic food, it’s fascinating to visit.

Afternoon tea is £25 per person or £48 for two. Champagne afternoon tea starts at £41 per person.

https://colonelsaab.co.uk

Holborn Town Hall, 193-197 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BD

020 8016 6800

reservations@colonelsaab.co.uk

Tag: Instagramable

Christmas at The Ivy Market Grill

Afternoon Tea at Colonel Saab, Holborn Town Hall, London WC1