The Ivy Cafe

Opening on 3 November 2015, The Ivy Café, situated in the heart of Marylebone in the space previously occupied by The Union Café, will offer a local, friendly and neighbourly environment, with accessible all-day dining for those living, working and shopping in the area. Critically-acclaimed Martin Brudnizki Design Studio has consulted on The Ivy Café’s interiors, whose features will include an antique brass top bar, pendant lighting, marble floor tiles and vintage red leather banquettes, creating a more casual environment for all-day dining.

The café-style menu, featuring breakfast, elevenses, brunch, lunch, afternoon snacks, cream tea and dinner, will offer something for every occasion, be it a morning meeting, working lunch, quick snack as succour after a hard day’s shopping or for those seeking a more leisurely lunch or dinner. Just some of the breakfast highlights include toasted crumpets served with Marmite, mustard and parsley butter; and chopped avocado with roast plum tomatoes and poached free-range hen’s egg on toasted granary with spicy sesame dressing. For brunch or an afternoon snack, The Ivy Café’s HLT (grilled halloumi, avocado, lettuce and tomato served with thick-cut chips), and the Croque Monsieur (ham hock, Gruyère and Dijon mustard béchamel) are spot on. Notable on the lunch and dinner A La Carte menu is the chicken liver parfait, served with toasted ciabatta, caramelised hazelnut and a cherry & Szechuan pepper compote; roasted butternut squash with grains, salad of buckwheat, chickpea, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate, with crumbled feta, harissa yoghurt and coriander dressing; and lobster risotto with fennel, lemon and tomato. Desserts can double up for elevenses and tea too, as the dessert menu is available all day. Small sweet cravings can be satisfied with mini salted caramel balls; large ones with the much-lauded melting chocolate bombe with milk foam, vanilla ice cream and honeycomb and hot salted caramel sauce.

The cocktail menu features six specially concocted cocktails, including some classic favourites served with a twist. Executive Bar Manager, Jeremy Evans, is particularly excited about the Negroni tasting set (white, classic & boulevardier); the Espresso Martini (served unsweetened with hot cross bun, amaretto & crème brûlée infusions on the side, for guests to sweeten themselves); and the Bloody Mary Brunch selection (Caesar, Red Snapper & Smoked). “By offering these variations on some much-loved favourites, we’re giving customers a more diverse interpretation of the classics. Style and substance are both satisfied in The Ivy Café’s short, but very sweet cocktail list!” muses Jeremy.

The Ivy Café is bijou and relaxed, holds back 50% of tables for walk-ins, allowing locals to drop in throughout the day at their leisure and brings some of the familiarity of The Ivy brand to ceaselessly chic Marylebone Lane.