Ivy: The Restaurant And Its Recipes

A table at the Ivy is one of the most sought after pieces of furniture in London. The Ivy is unquestionably the city's favourite restaurant. At the heart of its success is the menu, a selection of year-round favourite dishes that are tested daily against the most cosmopolitan and well-fed palates. The cooking is not tied to any type, style or regional cuisine; it is perhaps best described as empire food.

Everyone who has eaten here has a favourite dish: the salmon fishcakes, tomato and basil galette, or the best sticky toffee pudding in the country. After years of giving recipes piecemeal to customers, the Ivy has finally produced a definitive cookbook. 'The Ivy' is genuinely suitable for the home kitchen: some of the dishes are surprisingly simple, others more demanding. All are absolutely dependable recipes ranging from chicken masala and caesar salad to Welsh rarebit and Scandinavian iced berried with white chocolate sauce. This food is made to be eaten week in, week out, for people who have eaten the globe and always come back. As one actress says: Whenever I want dinner with friends at home, I go to The Ivy.