The Brighton bar and brasserie is generally reckoned to be one of the best among the restaurant groups sites, and was reassuringly welcoming on a grim night at the end of January.
Beautifully-lit, as always, and this time around soundtracked by a jazz trio.
London-based Midnight Music provided some smooth syncopated sounds that were as comfortable as the elegantly-decked out and remarkably packed out venue.
They were definitely at the easier end of the jazz spectrum, delivering some nice old standards (The Lady is a Tramp, Ain’t Misbehaving) with quite elan and plenty of lush guitar licks.
The night also coincided with the more than reasonable A Taste of Winter menu, priced at £24.95 for two courses and £29.95 for three.
It included a complimentary glass of The Ivy Cuvee sparkling wine, a crisp fizz which had made the relatively short journey along the coast from Kent.
The starters on the ‘more than reasonably priced’ menu were both more than reasonably delivered – chicken skewers nicely cooked on a Japanese Robata grilled and healthy-sized slathering of bang-bang sauce, and a stilton and walnut cheese souffle, twice baked in a cream sauce that will help to retain the necessary level of fleshy padding to get through a tough winter.
My dining chum was a clear winner in the main course choices, following the lead of ex Tory MP and squillion-selling novelist Jeffrey Archer, in choosing the Ivy’s Classic Shepherd’s Pie – the best of all sumptuous shep’s pies and an excellent option for the set menu.
I had a craving for some claret on my plate and chose the 8oz sirloin (a £4.75 supplement) and a was a little disappointed with the lack of tenderness from Himalayan salt wall dry-aged steak, although I did spend a little too long faffing about taking photos of the band after the plate had arrived on the table.
As the polished trio’s tunes took on a more soulful tinge, we enjoyed two rather marvellous puddings, a cracking crème brûlée (literally), and another Ivy favourite in the form of a gorgeous groan-inducing stick toffee pud, with the extra Gallic flourish of a salted caramel sauce.
Our flourish came in two cocktail glasses – one tumbler of Tatin Old Fashioned, a sweeter than usual old fashioned, with syrup and bitters chicanery mixed with the single malt, a chocolate and martini which featured Rubis Chocolate wine, double cream and popcorn syrup, described succinctly in the menu as ‘indulgent, rich, morish’.
A final word goes to the ever impressive front of house and waiting staff at The Ivy in Lanes, who can always be relied upon to to provide an immaculate level of service.
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