I ate dinner in an old bank where the waiter poured caramel all over my plate

The Ivy's Christmas paper is priced astatine £55pp for 3 courses

Stepping successful from a caller wintertime evening to the lukewarm glow of Liverpool's caller Ivy edifice is simply a treat. I person walked passed the aged bare slope connected Castle Street that the Ivy present calls location each time for 10 years.

It was breathtaking and satisfying to yet spot what lies down those immense doors, to spot however The Ivy had transformed a stunning gathering that had lain bare and unloved for truthful long. And it is everything I imagined.

Beautiful stained glass, soft, intimate lighting, fantastic gangly plants, everyplace gleaming with accents of gold. It is vintage and timeless each astatine once.

After checking our coats we were rapidly shown to our array and offered water. The unit are each professional, good trained and attentive.

We were to sensation The Ivy's Christmas paper which has immoderate twists connected classical Ivy paper regulars (like the cottage pie) and immoderate inviting festive goodies. Priced astatine £50pp for 2 courses and £55pp for 3 courses, I felt this was reasonable, though you tin meals for cheaper.

While we ordered, we sipped connected the Christmas cocktails. I had the highball spritz, which was crisp, refreshing, and had conscionable the close magnitude of sweetness. My sister opted for the After Eight Julep, which packs a boozy punch, acceptable to lukewarm you up this December.

For starters I had the robata grilled chickenhearted skewers successful a bang bang peanut sauce. It was delicious, saccharine and sticky with a bully footwear of heat. The crunch from the peanuts and the zing of the pickled veg was a mouthwatering moreish premix of flavours.

My sister had a creamy, twice-baked stilton and walnut food soufflé which was airy and airy but deliciously cheesy. It was hard to take a main, but I yet settled connected the turkey ballotine with a broadside of plot peas with wide beans and babe shoots portion my sister had the pan-fried fillet of oversea bass connected a furniture of creamed murphy with samphire, herb concasse and saffron sauce.

Both dishes looked stunning, and we wasted nary clip diving in. My sister said the bass had a wonderfully crisp tegument but was inactive melt-in-the-mouth flakey and the murphy was creamy and indulgent.

My main was simply Christmas connected a plate. There's nary request to messiness with a classic; the Ivy has conscionable elevated it. Creamy mashed potato, sprouts, a comforting truffle gravy packed with flavour that I wished I could container up and instrumentality location and the popular of a caller pea, I could devour it each again now.

I volition say, my turkey was a tiny spot dry, but with the apricot and pork stuffing, jammy sweetness from the cranberries and the affluent condiment it was a tiny issue. The information sizes are perfect, leaving you country for dessert, oregon truthful I thought.

My sister had her oculus connected The Ive Snowman (you person to wage £3.95 supplement for this dessert), and erstwhile helium came retired I was truthful jealous due to the fact that helium was adorable. That was until I realised my Ivy cocoa bombe had arrived, but the waiter wasn't finished.

As if the cocoa dome filled with crystal cream, honeycomb and sprinkles of popping candy wasn't enough, the waiter brought implicit a tiny copper cookware filled to the brim with pipping blistery caramel condiment to determination implicit the dome, melting it into a luxurious, gooey vessel of sweetness.

The caramel was acheronian and sticky, but it started to acceptable rather quickly, truthful my proposal is to get your spoon ready. If you bash spell for the snowman, a airy vanilla parfait fills the centre, arsenic the snowman sits connected apical of an aggravated brownie surrounded by beverage foam and an airy, caller pandan sponge.

If you person been to an Ivy edifice before, you person an thought of what you are going to experience: the opulent decor, the attentive service, and the delicious menu. If you are looking to publication successful to effort their Christmas menu, you won't beryllium disappointed.

To publication The Ivy visit their website here.