A few days ago, I had the chance to get a preview of the soon-to-open English Restaurant: the Ivy. Hosted by the Vu's Restaurant on the 50th floor of the Emirates Towers, the Ivy's team was happy to welcome their guests in order to give them a foretaste of their savoir-faire.

Although the Ivy Royal cocktail looked very tempting with it's pink fuschia colour, I have to admit that we did not really like it. I am guessing we misunderstood it: it was thick, too many strong flavours at the same time and a salty after-taste. It looked very stylish but was not what I was expected, and hoped for.

This being said, the wine was excellent, my Hamachi Sashimi was very subtle, the Dressed Dorset Crab was just what it ought to be, and the main courses (we had the Lobster Salad and the Seared Yellowfin Tuna) were very tasty. 

The Ivy's signature starter is the Bang Bang Chicken, their main course speciality is the Salmon Fish Cakes but they also do Fish'n Chips and Shepherd's Pie, so as you can see, we did not go for the regular dishes, which was tricky for the chefs who were not in her own kitchen. But it is also a very good reason for us to come back!

Nonetheless, my Sweet Tooth HAD to taste their signature desert: the Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding. Very British, very sticky, very very nice. It is by far the course I prefered: not too sweet but with an incredible texture, comforting but at the same time elegant. The kind of desert your grandmother could have cooked for you but dressed in a designer's outfit. I could easily come back just to have a coffee and that Pudding. 

Another thing we really enjoyed: the service. The staff were smiley, approchable, fast, discreet, they knew the menu and gave good advice. As always, I appreciated it and thanked them for that. As I said earlier, details are not just details.

Finally we were touched by the partnership the Ivy organised to make the most of this event and support START (all proceeds of the evening were donated to the charity), a non-profit organisation established by Art Dubai and the Al Madad Foundation which applies the universal language of art to heal, educate and enrich the skills and opportunities of children in the poorest areas of the region. 

I am definitively looking forward to their opening!

Click to here learn more about START.

The Ivy should open on the 9th June 2011.

The Boulevard, Ground Level

Jumeirah Emirates Towers

Tel: +971 4 3198767

http://www.theivy.ae/