The Ivy Asia St Paul’s Review

One New Change, a stone’s throw away from Bank and St Paul’s underground stations, is a smooth concrete slab of a shopping mall and virtually deserted. We only spot two other people and they’re dining somewhat sadly inside Zizzi’s. Outside The Ivy Asia, however, we’re surprised to see a queue. It’s a small queue. Three women. A little excited, a little boisterous. Things take an even more unexpected turn when the receptionist explains they’ll have to wait at the bar until a table frees up. This might take up to an hour. The women are surprised too, but after some back and forth, they decide that a few drinks before their meal can’t be such a bad thing. 

The Ivy Asia’s visual liveliness couldn’t be more of a stark contrast to One New Change’s grey drabness. The reception floor glows red with imprints of what could be exotic fruit or oysters from another dimension, geodes or rocks split in half and polished. On the wall, a large, colourful warrior or kabuki interpretation thereof, pulls out a sword. Above him, herons fly over a black backdrop. A darker passageway leads past a bustling open-plan kitchen to an expansive dining space, the floor of which glows a nuclear green and with more geode imprints. A red and gold dragon twists and twirls across the ceiling and, towards our opposite end, two cherry blossom trees sprout out of the floor in, one imagines, an eternal state of pink blossom. Happy house club music is spun by the long, blonde haired in-house, seven nights a week DJ and if our female friends aren’t quite dancing on the bar yet, it wouldn’t surprise if they suddenly started, the atmosphere convivial and inviting. The only reminder that, yes, we still are in a shopping centre in the heart of the City is the towering presence of the nearby, always spectacular St Paul’s Cathedral. 

Colourful cocktails match the ambience. The Pineapple & Cherry Negroni retains the drink’s traditional burst of red and, as you’d expect, its bitterness is partially offset by the fruit, especially the cherry. The Yuzu & Mango Whisky Sour is a more muted yellow, and if the matcha dust might be in short supply, it’s a longer short drink in which the fruity mango dominates the whisky, and some egg yolk-type froth adds texture. An entire Sushi menu could work either as a starter or a main and ranges from basic maki and nigiri up to a ‘Volcano Roll’ with wagyu beef, fatty tuna and black truffle. We take two Small Plates, however. The Pork & Kimchi Gyoza are served with twirls of spring onion and coriander, watercress and mustard seeds. They swim in a spicy, slightly fruity sauce and work well with the Ebi Tempura King Prawn Nahm Jim, which is served with chilli lime and ginger dressing.

From the Large Plates, the Wok Fried Lobster and Duck Fried Rice is generous in portion as are the chunks of lobster and duck in size. Fragrant herbs add an extra dimension and every so often, tomato paste slithers. The Tiger Prawn Bendang is spiced up by lemongrass and ginger but doesn’t blow the roof off my friend’s mouth and he’s pleasantly surprised by some special guest appearing lychees. As nourishing as these all are, it’s the Roasted Aubergine that pleases the most. Super slick and silky soft, the aubergine is practically viscous. The miso has caramelised for an umami rich, toasty, toffee flavour and it’s all covered in Masago Arare, basically crispy rice balls shaped like fish roe and snippets of chive.

The original Ivy was opened in 1917 on Covent Garden’s periphery and has been synonymous with showbiz ever since. In Extras, Ricky Gervais illustrated the highs and lows of being invited into and then disinvited from its hallowed grounds with melancholic cringe and everyone from Sir Laurence Olivier and Stephen Fry to Sir Elton John and Kate Moss have, at one time, been considered regulars. Iconic restaurateur Richard Carling took over the space in 2004 and in 2014 initiated the Ivy Collection of spin off restaurants/brasseries. There are currently over 40 such locations in the UK, including Ivy Asia of which the St Paul’s branch was the first to open in November, 2019.

For dessert, my friend takes the Green Lantern. It’s a dense white chocolate and honeycomb cheesecake with raspberry pearls, children’s tidbit confectionery and a Swallowtail-inspired white chocolate decoration on top to appeal to the latent lepidopterist in us all. My glowing white and perfectly rounded Sphere might look sci-fi in appearance, but once tasted, it comes over like a child’s memory distorted by an adult’s craving for a dessert he/she never had as a child. Hot caramel is poured over a white chocolate dome, which melts slowly to reveal a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which hides chocolate popping candy. After the pouring, it all mixes together in a cooling slop of sweet deliciousness with some fun, slightly unidentifiable froth. If the Green Lantern is a rich and satisfying way to end our meal, the Sphere is more dramatic and the undoubted showstopper.