Food Review: Brunch at The Ivy, Temple Row, Birmingham

The opening of The Ivy, Birmingham, is one of the most exciting to happen in the city this year.

Located on the former Louis Vuitton site overlooking the Cathedral and park, we’ve been longing for the opening of those iconic green doors.

I was invited to an exclusive blogger brunch in the private dining room, the Spencer Room on the opening weekend.

Walking into the reception area, guests are greeted in the hallway before being able to pass through to the main restaurant. Here, you’ll be given a wait time or told if you can head straight through.

The bar is the first thing you’ll notice, a chic little hotspot for cheeky drinks and rendezvous.

From here, there is a ground floor seating area, leading up to a mezzanine space, which overlooks Fumo.

If you continue up the stairs, you’ll find the private dining room. Beautifully laid out and ready to host any number of formal occasions and celebrations, the room is large enough to seat around 20 guests. The corner houses a very photo ready backdrop of a large palm, two stunning blue velvet chairs and a side table. The walls are adorned with botanical art, mirroring the lush green of the park it overlooks. The lighting is spectacular, overflowing with natural light from the windows.

Onto the food and service, as soon as I sat down I was attended to with an offer of a drink. Between Beet It Juice (beetroot, carrot and apple) and Green Juice (avocado, mint, celery, spinach, apple and parley), I chose the former.

There was also a selection of pastries, which I declined on the basis that they weren’t gluten free, but I did enjoy some tea whilst I picked from the menu.

We were offered a selection of treats from the breakfast menu, including hot buttermilk pancakes, avocado tomato and sesame on toast, eggs royale, eggs benedict, avocado on toast or coconut yoghurt with berries. Had I been in the mood to count calories, I should have opted for the yoghurt. However, I picked the Eggs Royale on gluten free toast instead.

Everything miraculously arrived at the same time, and was gracefully served to the table so that we could start papping each others meals quickly before eventually digging in.

My Eggs Royale did of course look different to everyone else’s as it came on gluten free toast and not a muffin. It was however, delicious. The salmon was fresh and plentiful and the Hollandaise sauce was tasty but not too heavy or overpowering.

We then had an opportunity to sit and chat around the large table, and make use of the beautiful lighting to take pictures by the window and in the “made for instagram” chair corner!

Overall, I cannot fault the service and experience at The Ivy, Birmingham. The service was polite but friendly, and exceptionally professional.

The food itself was good quality and not at all overpriced compared to what you’d expect to pay for a similar meal in any of the city’s many brunch spots.

For me, the stand out element of The Ivy is not just the perfect service, but the beautiful interior. I would describe it as an Art Deco jungle, with metalwork, art and plenty of greenery, it’s a very chic jungle in there.

I can’t wait to go back, in fact, I already have.

*With thanks to Rewired PR and The Ivy for the complimentary meal