THE IVY COMES TO MANCHESTER What a lovely email to receive - would I like to review and feature one of the most exciting restaurant openings in Manchester? I didn’t take much persuading! Located in the heart of Manchester, The Ivy Spinningfields, set across four fabulous floors, offers Mancunians a totally new dining experience. The restaurant, the largest to open in the UK in 2018, features a ground floor brasserie, first floor private dining room, an opulent Asian bar and restaurant on the second floor and a sumptuous roof garden featuring fire pits and lush foliage on the top floor. From the minute you are greeted at the door, you know the evening is going to a good one. The stylishly-attired staff greet and escort you everywhere you go in a very friendly, courteous but not over-formal manner. Any concerns we had about dining in an empty restaurant on a Tuesday evening were soon dispelled. We’d walked down from Piccadilly, passing many deserted bars and eateries, but The Ivy had a buzz about it as good as you’d expect at the weekend. Our evening started with a cocktail in the first ever Ivy Asia – a glamorous bar and restaurant, serving Asianinspired cocktails alongside dishes such as Wagyu beef with truffle sauce, salmon fillet teriyaki, and avocado, crispy tofu, lime and ginger dressing. The entire floor is illuminated with a show-stopping green, semiprecious stone flooring, set against a striking antique gold mirrored bar, gold-gilt ceiling and luxurious Asian fabrics. It was a stunning setting to enjoy our unusual and delicious cocktails!
We’d opted to dine in the traditional Ivy brasserie, open all day, seven days a week, serving ‘modern British classics’ to suit all occasions. If I chose to criticise anything, I’d say the tables are quite close together so if you’re a couple, sitting alongside a table of four or six, it’s not what you’d call an intimate dining experience. But to be honest, the buzzy feel of the place is what made it for me, so this wasn’t an issue - I’d choose this atmosphere any day over the very formal, superattentive service you sometimes encounter when you’re out for a ‘special’ meal! The menu is extensive and wide-ranging; we eventually settled on starters of Roasted Scallops with grilled chorizo and roasted butternut squash, and Smoked Salmon and Crab with dark rye bread. Both were sensational. For main course, I was slightly disappointed with the classic Ivy Shepherd’s Pie if I’m honest – nothing wrong with it, just not a very inspired choice on my part. In contrast the Monkfish and Prawn Curry with jasmine rice and sweet potato crisps was an absolute winner; it was fragrant and sublime. The cheeseboard was awesome and ample to share but obviously we had a dessert each and the proverbial icing on the cake for me was the Apple Tart Fine with vanilla ice cream and Calvados flambé, an elegant and totally delicious way to round off the meal. For variety, for quirkiness, for delicious and reasonablypriced food in unique surroundings, The Ivy Spinningfields would be hard to beat. Tel: 0161 503 3222 www.theivymanchester.com By Claire Hawker
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