Harrogate Eats: The Ivy Harrogate
What’s your perfect weekend? As the blog has recorded, there’s nothing I like more than strolling through town, stopping for a coffee and then enjoying a lovely dinner in the evening. This Sunday I lived my best life, with my husband and I took a trip to Harrogate. We strolled through the shops, stopped for a coffee in one of our favourite places. And for dinner? There was nowhere else I wanted to go for a spot of food other than The Ivy Harrogate…
Trust me when I say that if there is a time to visit The Ivy Harrogate, that time is this week. In honour of the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, the restaurant front is adorned with a gorgeous floral installation. Designed by Helen James flowers, this front door is giving me serious garden inspiration. It’s also the perfect place to take a picture for your Instagram (just head on over to my feed to see the many pictures I took and my new profile picture.)
Harrogate Spring flower show…
As part of the celebrations, The Ivy Harrogate has created two cocktails that capture the essence of Spring. The Floral Dance was the one I tried; a refreshing yet satisfying combination of Kew Organic Dry Gin, Elderflower cordial, egg white, lemon juice and fresh mint. The cocktail is also decorated with edible flowers. It’s the perfect cocktail, it was light and delicious- the perfect Spring cocktail. Grab one while you can they are available for a limited time, they are worth travelling up North for…
THE IVY HARROGATE.
The decor of The Ivy Harrogate is opulent and glam. It’s very 1920’s with a hint of modern- just look at the artwork on the walls. The mixture of leather seating and embroidered chairs add to the glamour of the restaurant. A central atrium has large urns of ferns and flowers (another lovely Instagramable spot.) It has a very Great Gatsby vibe to it and I imagine if he was around today, we would be hanging out here, along with his man bun and velvet suit jacket. Whoever designed this restaurant deserves an award- they have a serious eye for detail.
Food wise was an unexpected surprise. The menu has a lot of fish dishes (not something you see dominating a menu of a restaurant up North) and there is a focus on locally sourced produce which is a nice touch. The prices of the dishes are quite reasonable. I was expecting the prices to be on the higher end of the spectrum. Granted the lobster is priced at £30.00, but you’re looking at between £6- £9 for a starter and £10- £30 for a main. Again, another reason to visit, it’s not going to break the bank!
STARTERS, MAIN COURSES AND DESSERTS.
When you go to dine at The Ivy Harrogate, I would 100% recommend going for a fish dish. The scallops in pea puree are a perfect digestive to start your meal off with. Lee recommends the tempura prawns, the matcha tea sauce is amazing! For a light but filling main dish, I can’t recommend the crab linguine enough. It has both pasta and courgette linguine, chilli, smoked garlic and lemon and rocket. It’s so incredibly tasty and the perfect Spring dish.
Pudding/ dessert wise; you’ll be spoilt for choice. Not only do they have a sweet cart (100% should have taken more advantage on the night) but there are some true show-stoppers. For a real wow factor, you have to go with the chocolate bomb. A vanilla and honeycomb centre that is revealed when the hot salted caramel is poured over the top of it. If you’re wanting something a little lighter, the vanilla pannacotta is highly recommended by my husband.
The Ivy Harrogate is the perfect place to go for a special celebration and when the new one opens in Leeds, I’m definitely going to be organising a birthday dinner there. However, it’s also the perfect place to dip into for a lazy lunch on the weekend. If it was a little closer (seriously cannot wait for the Leeds franchise to open) it’s somewhere I would love to just meet a girlfriend after work to enjoy a cocktail or two with mid-week. If you were also looking to impress someone, The Ivy Harrogate would be the perfect place to take someone to on a first date.
Have you been to The Ivy Harrogate?
I hope when you go, you have a lovely time like I did. Honestly, it was such a treat and well worth the visit. Check out my other lifestyle posts here on the blog.
This dinner at The Ivy Harrogate was complimentary in exchange for a review. All thoughts & opinions are still my own.