Review: Lunch at The Ivy Bath Brasserie

As I am on maternity leave from my company Total Guide to, I decided to spend the day in Bath with baby Florence and my mother. After a truly wonderful lunch and dining experience at The Ivy Bath Brasserie and as I had one of Total Guide`s reviewers with me (Patricia Ledger), I requested her to write a review. Normally when we review a restaurant the establishments know in advance, but this time we went incognito! Here is her review:

We entered the restaurant with some trepidation as it was obviously very busy and we had my darling granddaughter - 10 week old Florence with us. On asking the Maitre D if it was ok to dine with the baby his response was `oh, we love babies` and he then queried whether we had booked to which we had to reply in the negative. However, he could not have been more helpful requesting his staff to try and find us a suitable table with room for Florence`s pram beside us without encroaching on other diners. This was accomplished very quickly and efficiently and we were shown through the sumptuous dining area to our table. Immediately we were offered still, sparkling or tap water and shown our menu. We declined alcoholic drinks as we still had more shopping to do and Florence to look after. However we requested sparkling elderflower and the waitress informed us that although they didn`t have this they could bring us sparkling water with elderflower cordial - this was served promptly with the elderflower cordial being presented in beautiful little silver jugs - a lovely touch.

      

We chose from the set menu - a very reasonable £16.50 for two courses or £21.00 for three courses. See their website for the full menu and times this is served.  For starters, we chose the smoked haddock and salmon fishcake with fennel and apple salad and horseradish creme fraiche dressing. The fishcake was delicious with the mingling of the two ingredients and the accompaniments were an unusual and mouthwatering addition.  My daughter had the Bang bang chicken for her starter - crispy chicken, peanut, cucumber, baby gem and radish salad with sweet chilli and peanut dressing - she said it was a delight to her taste buds!

For my main, I had the chargrilled minute steak with garlic butter, thick cut chips and watercress. This was perfectly cooked - tender and flavoursome and the chips were to die for! Liz, my daughter had the roast salmon with red pepper, olive and pesto fregola with lemon and baby basil. She said the salmon was beautifully moist and tender and perfectly complimented with the red pepper, etc. We skipped the delicious desserts as we were so full.

 

The all day menu is truly tempting and on my next visit, I will definitely go for the whole grilled lobster which at £34 in a top notch restaurant is a very excellent price. Again for the full menu and times check out their website. They also have a breakfast menu.

The staff here are extremely helpful and friendly and the whole atmosphere adds to the enjoyment of this establishment. The decor is really quite sumptuous - I imagine you would describe it as a mixture of art nouveau and art deco. I cannot praise this dining experience highly enough and would recommend it to anyone living in or visiting Bath. Huge thanks to the Maitre D, the waiting staff and the chefs.