The Ivy Asia meets The Savoy London

The Savoy hotel's legendary art deco bar, with classic cocktails and live jazz pianist every night. Whilst The Ivy Asia is a lively & lavishly decorated late-night restaurant and bar serving theatrical drinks and Asian bites.

Myself and my partner heard whispers about the Ivy Collection opening a new Asian influenced restaurant in St Pauls, Central London. We've both always enjoyed Asian cuisine, and last year we actually travelled 16 hours (it was worth it!), to Thailand, in July 2019, to grab an even closer look.

Food stalls in Phuket, Thailand (07, 2019)

We were inspired to visit, and decided to make a booking on Opentable a month after its opening date. As we are regular visitors of the Ivy branches at least fortnightly, especially the Ivy Soho, we expected tasteful decor and an equally impressive menu. Thankfully we were not disappointed.

We were greeted by a mix of fascinating Asian culture, with traditional statues, paintings and ornaments, it was incredible. Sometimes a full meal isn't to our taste, so we often share a few plates so we can experience lots of flavours (I'm also very indecisive so that may also be why...).

Dish no.1 (sharing dish): Prawn tempura with chilli, lime & coriander dip.

The verdict: The tempura prawns were crisp on the outside, and succulent on the inside. Beautifully delicate, the dip added a bit of spice and slightly Asian piquancy to the meal. The only slight downside was the size of the tempura, it was quite difficult to eat and a little bit messy. 4/5

Dish no.2 (sharing dish): Black truffle lobster dumplings with gold and caviar.

Verdict: If you've read my first post on Hakkasan, you'll know I have a soft spot for anything Truffle, so these dumplings were an obvious choice! The caviar added a light layer of seasoning which complemented the meaty flavours of the lobster. 4/5

Overall food quality: 4/5

Overall atmosphere: 5/5

It's good to note...

If you enjoy calamari I would definitely recommend the Tempura prawns. It's a great choice from this Asian infusion menu.

Afterwards...

We fancied a few cocktails, so we popped by The Savoy in West London at the Strand to try their signature 'Songbook' cocktails. Voted World’s Best Bar in 2017, we were excited to witness their live American Jazz pianist which plays daily from 6.30pm to 11.30pm.

A menu was presented with 20 cocktails, which were inspired by 20 iconic songs. My partner opted for Cocktail no.6, 'Fly me to the moon', named after Frank Sinatra's classic, with grey Goose vodka, Martini Ambrato vermouth, violet liqueur, yuzu wine, pistachio orgeat, lemon and Champagne. I tried it myself and it was exquisite. The perfect balance of ingredients, it was smooth and the yuzu was subtle but flavourful.

I chose Cocktail no.12, 'Go Go Go' which was dedicated to Amy Winehouse. A mix of Patrón silver tequila, Avocado, Kumquat, like, mango and passion fruit cordial and ipa beer, it was incredibly refreshing and quite exotic. I usually go for martini's or margarita's but it's nice to shake it up once in a while. The only point I'll mention is that these cocktails seem to be quite alcoholic, just in case strong cocktails might not be for you!

Overall quality: 4/5

Overall atmosphere: 5/5

Our last stop...

We dropped by the Ivy Soho for our favourite Ivy Copper G&T's, which are slightly more delectable than the Ivy Special's as they're a little more zestful. It's a classic gin and tonic with the sublime Belgian Copperhead Gin. Served with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic with juniper berries and orange zest. As the Ivy says, 'One for the purists'.

Then we were off home, feeling joyful and definitely satisfied. Another memorable experience to add to our books.

I wonder where we'll end up next?

Don't forget to follow my instagram @honestlyletsdine!