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February 16, 2019

Busy and Bright The Ivy Manchester

 

The Ivy Manchester

Busy and Bright are the words I would definitely say were the first impressions I got for my first visit to The Ivy Manchester. Read my review for further thoughts. If it’s your first visit to my blog – Welcome! I use the same template for all my reviews to provide consistency. You may want to read what my criteria is.

Name of Restaurant

The Ivy Spinningfields Manchester


A warm welcome awaits

A warm welcome awaits

Time of Visit

7pm on a Thursday evening – we were walk ins and were lucky enough to get in without a booking on this occasion. But we wouldn’t recommend doing it again.

Pin for Later

Restaurant Review The Ivy Manchester

Reason

for Visit

As we are big foodies my lovely niece and her husband gave us a £50 voucher for the restaurant at Christmas. Our visit was to take up this lovely treat.

First Impression

Busy and Bright!

Busy and Bright! What a busy vibrant place! Wowee! The decor is Art Deco with a modern twist in bold bright colours with lots of gold and brass look trimmings.  There were few empty tables, if any, we may have been fortunate enough to have got the only free one. The volume of conversation was loud, but that to us was a negative thing. It added to the fabulous vibe. Even though I have described it as busy and bright that is more an observation of the decor. There was secluded lighting and the tables were far enough a part to maintain privacy if you are having an intimate date.

Art Deco interior - bold and bright

Art Deco interior – bold and bright

 

The interior of the Ivy Manchester

The interior of the Ivy Manchester

The bar of The Ivy Manchester

The bar of The Ivy Manchester

Time To Get Served/Attention

We were taken to our table swiftly and efficiently. The drinks and food orders were also taken swiftly but not hurriedly.

Food

Mr Fitz and I chose from the A La Carte Menu.  There is an extensive choice. For starters I chose Zucchini Fritters and Mr Fitz went for the roasted scallops. My fritters were unusual – I expected 2 fritters on a plate but instead I got a dish of battered shreds of zucchini accompanied with a spicy mayonnaise dip. It was lovely but too much for one person. I would suggest this is adequate for 2-3 people to share. Mr Fitz said his Scallops were delicious – and I can agree as he gave me a taste! They were cooked to perfection in a fabulous oil.

Our main dish choices were Crab Linguine Pasta and courgette linguine with Devon crab, chilli,
smoked garlic, lemon and rocket for Mr Fitz – this is one of his favourite choices in any restaurant. He said that this one at the Ivy was probably the tastiest he has ever had! High praise indeed from him! I decided to try the  Blackened cod fillet Baked in a banana leaf with a soy and sesame marinade, citrus-pickled fennel, grilled broccoli, chilli and yuzu mayonnaise . I rarely cook fish at home and like to choose a fish dish when dining out. Again this was delicious – so many flavours on a plate without being overpowering.

Blackened cod The Ivy

Blackened cod

Service

Our server was excellent, attentive and helpful without being cloying. He was obviously watching discreetly as he leaned over and whispered in my ear that I didn’t have to eat all the Zucchini, not many people finished it! I appreciated that reassurance as I was struggling but didn’t want to leave a large amount of the dish and give the impression that I didn’t enjoy it!

Drinks service was swift and advice given about our choices.

Bold decor in the ladies toilet

Bold decor in the ladies toilet

Evaluation

Busy and bright , buzzing atmosphere. We absolutely loved it. There is a mix of ages in the clientele. There was retro background music, it was from our disco era and we found this so enjoyable, an example was Backstabbers by The O’Jays.  A very varied menu with delicious choices.

 

The decor is so different from the sparce Industrial Urban look that is popular today. I totally approve of the Ivy decor and vibe. You really felt you were somewhere special. Our final bill was around £97 – with a 12.5% service charge included. The food was probably covered by our voucher, the extra was probably for drinks, Mr Fitz had 3 small bottles of beer, I had a glass of house red and a Baileys in place of a dessert.

Would I Visit Again

Oh Yes! It will be our go to restaurant for special occasions. You may have read my review of Hawksmoor Manchester, that is fabulous too but a different type of restaurant experience.

As I write this I have in fact made a further booking for lunch with one of my oldest friends. We’re both retired nurses and think we deserve a nice treat now and again!

If you’ve enjoyed reading this please subscribe and read more. Do you have any restaurant recommendations for me. I love to try new places.

I also have a sister blog EarlyRetirementRocks about loving life after taking Retirement from the NHS at the age of 55. You may wish to pop over and have a nosey to see what a 58 year old gets up to!

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Filed Under: facts about Manchester, Food and Eating Out, Lifestyle, Manchester, Manchester Bars and Restaurant reviews, Things to do in Manchester

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Naomi says

    February 17, 2019 at 10:42 am

    I’ve always wanted to go to the Ivy in London, I’m so excited that there’s one here now too! It’s definitely on my list!

    Reply
    • ht3vo says

      February 20, 2019 at 8:13 am

      I’ve walked past the London restaurant in the past and it did not have the bright frontage like Manchester. I’m going again for lunch with a girlfriend this week. They have a reasonably priced set menu. Thanks for your comments

      Reply
  2. Simmy says

    February 17, 2019 at 3:01 pm

    This is also on my to-try list, so thanks for the review. I’ve heard nothing but good things so far!

    Reply
    • ht3vo says

      February 20, 2019 at 8:14 am

      Thank you for your comments. I’m happy to say that I’m payingcanother visit this week – lunching with a girlfriend on their set menu. Hope you get to go soon.

      Reply

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I’m Elaine a Neonatal Nurse who retired from the NHS at age 55. I’m loving the 3rd age of my life – Retirement is the best job I ever had. Being married for 35 years I am lucky to have someone to share life with.

I’m a foodie who enjoys travel, football and my home.

I love to share over 50’s lifestyle tips including age appropriate beauty reviews, coping with the trials and tribulations of the Menopause, weight gain around the middle, fashion, travel and food including recipes and restaurant reviews.

I want to challenge the myth that life ends at retirement.

Feel free to get in touch earlyretirementrocks@gmail.com

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