It wasn’t quite the storm forecasters had predicted (is it ever?), but it felt pretty chilly as we made our way along Church Street in Inverness to The Ivy Bar and Kitchen.
Until last year, the venue was The Joy of Taste restaurant and had previously been a pancake joint. Now it’s a swish, modern bar restaurant, a rather nice up-market place to enjoy cocktails, explore Scotland via its large selection of local gins, or have lunch or dinner.
Heading out of the storm into the warm restaurant felt like we’d found a wee oasis. I was impressed by the decor, cool greys combined with vibrant orange or cream seating and wooden tables, plus soft lighting, big Rococo-style mirrors and lots of greenery and candles creating a hip, trendy but relaxed atmosphere.
It’s owned by Amin and Dolina Elsabry. Amin had years of experience in hospitality and prior to opening The Ivy was assistant manager at The White House, a bar/restaurant also on Church Street. Opening The Ivy has seen them fulfil a lifelong dream to have a restaurant of their own, and I wish them every success.
When passing previously, it’s always been busy but on this cold night, we were, initially, the only diners. I’d phoned earlier to book a table for two but we were shown to a table for four, with the table only being re-set just before our starters arrived.
And while our greeter was friendly, he was a tad laid-back and pointed out a coat stand in the corner without offering to hang up our wet coats.
The restaurant offers fixed price and a la carte lunch and dinner menus, along with daily specials.
We plumped for the early dinner fixed price menu – two courses for £13.95 – along with a bottle of Short Mile Bay Shiraz.
The waiter took our order but didn’t write it down. I’ve noticed this trend in a few restaurants recently. It makes no sense to me as there’s often a query on the order at some point.
Nevertheless, we ordered the vegetarian option of bean and corn bruschetta for himself; haggis and steak meatballs for me. Both starters exceeded our expectations.
The bruschetta was a generous portion of two large slices of grilled bread topped with garlic and chilli marinated beans and sweetcorn, served with a lovely balsamic glazed salad.
Totally different to the usual tomato bruschetta, it was full of flavour and interesting textures while the dressed salad was knockout. A lovely taste of summer on a winter night.
My starter also hit the target. Three large haggis and steak meatballs with a nice, dense texture and steaky flavour served with a superb rich, creamy very moreish whisky sauce, accompanied by thick slices of bread and a flavoursome crisp salad.
We were off to flying start.
From a choice of four main courses my other half selected wild mushroom risotto while I felt the autumn spiced beef stew would be the perfect dish for a cold night. I don’t think I could have made a better choice.
Served with baby potatoes and garlic-buttered haricot beans, this was a delicious, melt-in-the-mouth warming beef stew that was tender and sweet with just the right amount of heat from the spices. I was almost tempted to pop into the kitchen and ask for the recipe …
The risotto, topped with crispy kale and sweet, roasted cherry tomatoes, was also delicious, but lacked any sign of mushrooms or mushroom flavour. A few more forkfuls in and it was clear this wasn’t what was ordered.
A quick word with the waitress who by now had taken over, and the matter was solved – he’d received a butternut squash risotto in error.
Apologising profusely, she whipped the original dish away and after a short wait, returned with the mushroom risotto which was full of flavour and cooked perfectly.
However, this added fuel to my argument about the silliness of the trend for not writing things down.
Having unexpectedly had one and a half main courses, I couldn’t persuade him indoors to have a pud – he has more willpower than me – so instead we shared a cheese board and tucked into a fine selection of cheeses including a Scottish brie, tangy blue cheese and two types of cheddars, paired with sliced apple, green grapes, a sweet chutney and fine, thick traditional oatcakes.
A fine addition to the ever-growing Inverness dining scene, I’m sure The Ivy will do well – we’ll certainly be happy to return and take advantage of the good value fixed-price lunch and early-bird dinners.
