The start of my day was somewhat more glamorous than usual today … The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie kindly invited me to a bloggers’ breakfast. This was exciting on two counts. Firstly, I’ve been watching the restaurant take shape and looking forward to stepping inside on opening day and tasting their food. And secondly, it was lovely to meet some other local bloggers (blogging at your kitchen table being quite a solitary pursuit!).
The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie is a really chic addition to the city’s restaurant scene. It’s bright and colourful with emerald green, mustard yellow and burnt orange velvet furnishings complementing the vivid wall to wall artwork. With its art deco style lighting and beautiful plants and flowers, this feels like a place to linger.
And you can linger as The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie offers dining through the day from breakfast to dinner, serving British food including Ivy classics like their famous Shepherd’s Pie. Or you can just come for a drink, maybe enjoy a cocktail, at the well stocked bar where the white jacketed bartenders and acres of sparkling glassware amp up the wow factor.
So, what did we eat? Well, our menu offered delectable pastries alongside freshly pressed juices and I enjoyed a pot of really good Darjeeling tea.
Then on to Eggs Royale with smoked salmon and two perfectly poached hen’s eggs on a toasted English muffin with a creamy yet tangy hollandaise sauce. Other dishes at my table included avocado, roast plum tomatoes and poached eggs on toasted granary bread with a sesame dressing and a stack of hot buttermilk pancakes with berries, yoghurt, lemon balm and a warm strawberry sauce. The presentation of each dish was impeccable as was the discreet yet efficient service.
There’s also The Boat Room, a really beautiful private dining room downstairs which would be the perfect space for a private party or corporate event. This room seats sixteen people on one long table or holds forty guests for a stand up reception and has its own seasonal menus for lunch and dinner with breakfast and canape menus too.
When you’re planning to visit, it would be wise to book a table in advance as I reckon this place will be very popular indeed but they do hold a number of tables each day for people who don’t have reservations. For myself, I’m looking forward already to returning with friends and family who, I’m sure, will enjoy The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie’s vibe as much as I do.
http://www.theivycambridgebrasserie.com
16 Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TB
New in Cambridge 