A swish fine-dining restaurant, like The Ivy, probably isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think about vegan and vegetarian options for dinner. But I’m here to tell you that you’d be wrong. The Ivy has their own separate Vegan/Vegetarian menu (so make sure you ask for it!) and once again I was impressed at how well-thought their dishes were.
I previously dined at the Ivy from their 2018 vegan menu in November and it was delightful. So I was excited to see what would be different, and also to set Sam the challenge of joining me on the Vegan/Vegetarian menu.
And what an easy challenge it was. We both settled on having a cocktail to ease us in to lunch. (We’d also both gotten up early that day so that we could do extra work enabling us to clear the afternoon to be work free.) I had the English Spritz (£7) again because it is just too delicious to pass up. It’s a combo of Earl Grey gin, lemon and orange oleo-saccharum, Cocchi Americano, prosecco and soda that I could drink all day long. Sam opted for the Classic Daquiri (£8.50), which was a 3 year old aged rum, lime and grapefruit zest. It was delightfully tart and zingy (I prefer tart to sweet any day.)
Starters:
We then shared a portion of some of the tastiest, wonderfully crunchy-crusted but warm and soft-centred sourdough bread (£3.95) that I’ve ever had. What I also applaud is that they bring you a whole loaf of sourdough. Which is exactly the kind of serving size for bread that I like to see.
For a starter I had the Warm Asian Salad (£7.50) which consisted of a beautifully plated combination of watermelon, pak choi, broccoli, edamame, and cashews with a sesame, coriander and hoisin sauce. I was really unsure about how I was going to feel about watermelon in a warm salad but I loved it. This little salad was absolutely bursting with flavour and I would 100% order it again. For his starter, Sam ordered the buffalo mozzarella with crispy artichokes, pear and truffle honey (£8.95) from the vegetarian menu. He said that it was so good that it made him sad that he ever buys mozzarella in the normal grocery shops as this was just so much more creamy and flavourful.
Then as it was a special occasion (Monday lunch), Sam and I shared a bottle of South African Acacia Tree Chenin Blanc (£23).
Mains:
For my main, I had the Dukka spiced sweet potato with baba ganoush, coconut “yogurt”, sesame, mixed grains, almonds and a Moroccan tomato sauce (£13.95). It was incredibly tasty with some complex flavours. The smokiness of the tomato sauce, paired perfectly with the gentle heat of the sweet potato and then the coolness of the coconut yogurt. And there was just so much of it! Sam and I also shared a portion of thick-cut chips (£3.75) because we are absolute gluttons. The chips were cooked just like I love them, extra crunchy and salty on the outside, hot and fluffy inside.
For his main, Sam had the Wild Mushroom Risotto with Vincenza cheese, toasted pine nuts, sage, and a rocket salad (£12.95), again from the vegetarian menu. He said that his risotto was perfectly creamy whilst still being nicely al dente and the crispy sage really added something special.
Dessert:
At this point in time, I was absolutely stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite even if I had wanted to, but Sam took one for the team and managed to fit in a dessert. He ordered the Cappuccino cake with milk mousse and warm chocolate sauce (£7.75). As with many of the desserts at The Ivy, this one came with a bit of theatricality; your server will pour the chocolate sauce over the warm cake and mousse, deflating it slightly, but making it look all the more inviting. Dessert was the only portion of the meal that is slightly limiting as a vegan. At the moment, there are few options other than fruit and fruit sorbet. The menu is so creative and thoughtful for vegans in all other aspects, that a little bit more time could perhaps be put into the dessert section.
The Ivy York is located at 2 St. Helen’s Square, York YO1 8QP
***I was a guest of The Ivy, but all thoughts and opinions are forever my own. ***
Have you visited one of The Ivy locations before? What was the best thing that you ate?
