Ivy Cafe Marylebone

The Ivy, an iconic restaurant group based in the West End of London, opened its doors for a new cafe, Ivy Cafe Marylebone, establishment featuring an all day menu in the heart of Marylebone on 3rd November.

Previously occupied by The Union Cafe, the new opening of Ivy Cafe Marylebone will create yet another local and cosy spot in the area.

Not too long ago, Marylebone was known was a quiet cool backwater in London. Ever since the opening of Chiltern Firehouse and neighbourhood cafes like the Monocle Cafe, this part of the W1 post code is definitely shaping up to be a trendy dining destination.

Tucked behind Oxford Street via a short walk, Ivy Cafe Marylebone is located right next door to an ostentatious yet delightful ribbon shop V V Rouleaux on Marylebone Lane (which I highly suggest you pay a visit sometime to see for yourself).

This little ribbon shop caught my eye on Marylebone Lane. With every type of ribbon badges on offer, maybe a cheeky Christmas gift idea? ????????

A photo posted by L A U R I E W A N G???? ???????? (@lauriewang_) on Dec 15, 2015 at 9:23am PST

The Interior of the Cafe

In contrast, Ivy Cafe Marylebone stands amongst its neighbours in a demure shade of green and the iconic art deco letters proudly spells out its name on the front doors. Large windows are framed with soft linen curtains to provide ample natural light, yet cosy enough to welcome us on a rainy Friday morning in this quieter part of Marylebone Lane.

The cafe’s doors has been shut since the renovation started at this spot. All but except a few soft opening nights to the locals in the area. We were invited for a breakfast tasting preview ahead of the launch.

My favourite meal of the day is the the most important one in my current hectic schedule, the breakfast of champions (of course!). It is very important for me to begin each day with a healthy start. Naturally, when I was invited to discover a new spot in London for breakfast, I couldn’t resist the offer. ;-D

The decor of the interiors in the Ivy Cafe Marylebone were designed by the critically-acclaimed Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, featuring an antique pewter bar and round pendant lighting fixtures. The inside is complete with antique mirrors, eccentric prints on the walls and vintage red leather banquettes, very comfy to sink into at the early hours of the day.

The Menu and Food

On arrival, we were welcomed with freshly squeezed orange juice to top up on our vitamin C. Our preview menu featured some of the breakfast highlights, such as avocado, roasted plum tomatoes, poached hen egg on toasted granary with sesame dressing and baked honey granola with dried apricots, apple and cranberries served with almond milk (complete with coconut shaving). I opted for the former while my blogger friend Elvira tried the granola.

The poached eggs were slightly under cooked to my liking, but that’s just a personal preference. For others, this runny egg was perfect and a foodie Instagrammer’s dream! 😉

There was also a list of healthy juices to try, I opted for the refreshing green juice and beetroot juice blends, all served with super cute picnic straws!

The Bloody Mary at this establishment in Marylebone comes with pungent hit which will definitely awaken your senses if that’s your kind of thing. Otherwise, a lovely pot of Earl Grey did the job for me to get me ready for the rest of the day.

We were given a copy of the full menu at the end of the event. Having glanced through the all-day choices, I had my eyes on the braised lamb shoulder shepherd’s pie and a whole lemon sole in a buttery sauce. They both sound incredible and I’m looking forward to returning to test out some of these dishes. Watch this space!