My interest in The Ivy had nothing to do with stargazing at that famous celebrity haunt in London’s West End. I had asked Dino Joannides, whose passion is gastronomy and not astronomy, to meet me there for lunch to help answer a single question:
Was The Ivy burger good enough to justify its £13.75 (about $21) price?
The Ivy burger was every bit as good as it looks in the photo: Nice shape and proportions, terrific bun (see the air pockets), the model of medium rare. The gentlest squeeze released deep reserves of juice. BP’s best engineers would not be able to seal its leaks.
But was it worth £13.75? Not at first bite. The Ivy burger was a middleweight with no premium accessories. Forget foie gras or truffles: this baby didn’t even come with cheese, bacon or chips (fries). Pale chips were £4 extra. For what you do and do not get this had to be the most expensive burger in London.
Or maybe not. Three-quarters into The Ivy burger I discovered the house secret: The waiter brought me a finger bowl. That’s right, a finger bowl. Without my requesting one. Without charging me extra for the fresh lemon, most likely organic, and the water expertly warmed to the ideal temperature. Bet you can’t name many burger joints that do that. Begins to make £13.75 seem like a bargain, doesn’t it?
Only later did I realise the waiter had not given a finger bowl to my companion, who had also had a burger. This could only have meant one of two things: Either the waiter had recognised me as the founding director of burgermonday meatups and thereafter afforded me the special treatment The Ivy only gives to A-list celebrities or I just had a lot more grease on my hands than my companion did.
“The Ivy burger was every bit as good as it looks in the photo”
I must admit it looks absolutely revolting in the photo. I’m sure you didn’t mean that.
Steve – I did mean that. What’s wrong with that picture?
That does look a very nicely executed plain burger. Definitely on the punchy side for price though.
Or perhaps it was mess limitation to the surroundings
Sic ha ha 🙂
Dan , I think the finger bowl was delivered to you by mistake it should have gone to a minor celeb on another table who was eating his bangers and mash with his hands 🙂
Do you think they make their own buns, or bring them in? The top looks a bit supermarket-y, but the inside looks nice!
Looks delicious, but I’m sure most of the price tag is for the actual experience of being in the Ivy, rather than the burger itself. 🙂
Do you remember in the ’80s when KFC used to give you finger bowls when you “dined in”? Classy.
Jennifer – As you suspected they bring in their buns, from a good source. I’ve never actually dined inside a KFC, so wouldn’t remember the classy bowls. If only I’d known…=)