The Ivy – Dining in Beverly Hills
Luckily, Pudding and Ai Reen offered to drive in California, so we headed to where else? Beverly Hills!
We arrived at The Ivy, an absolutely stunning restaurant in the middle of downtown Beverly Hills. It’s a restaurant that celebrities frequent, so it’s really a celebrity spot if you are hoping to catch a glimpse of George Clooney during your vacay. Celebs that have dined here before include Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston, Ciara, and Paris Hilton.
As you can see (click to enlarge), the prices here reflect the ambiance and location.
What we all LOVED about this location were the bouquets of fresh multi-coloured roses on every table! Clearly they spare no expense in making every customer feel luxurious.
How beautiful is this? Honestly, if I had the money, I’d come here every Sunday for brunch. It’s just the perfect spot to have a mimosa and chat with your girls, am I right?
Complimentary bread to start. The bread was surprisingly quite cold and mediocre.
If there is only one drink you should get, it’s the Virgin Strawberry Mojito ($10.75). It is the most refreshing, fruity drink you can have and trust me, you don’t need any alcohol added to enjoy this.
I opted for the Grilled Fresh Vegetable Salad ($41) with Asparagus, Zucchini, Corn, Avocado, Tomatoes, Baby Lettuce, and Scallions. So… I actually wanted to order the salad with shrimp, which would have been $28, but the waiter upsold me on salmon and I didn’t know it would be $13 MORE expensive until the bill arrived… Never doing that again. Killed me and my wallet after tax and tips.
The salad was absolutely delicious however because it was grilled and slightly warm. I also enjoyed the (ironic) Vancouver wild salmon as it was cooked to perfection.
The Linguini with Fresh Clams, Mussels, Crab, Scallops, Shrimp, and Calamari ($29.75) was a bit hit and definitely recommende. The fresh tomatoes and garden basil really brought out the flavours of the rose sauce.
The Mesquite Grilled Natural Pork Back Ribs with Ricky’s Homemade Barbecue Sauce ($31.75) was very tender to the touch and Pudding finished the whole plate.
This is the bill for 6 people. Much collateral damage done for dining in such a hot spot in Beverly Hills. However, I had an amazing time because the service, ambiance, and food made up for it. I will definitely be coming back again, next time for the (much cheaper and tastier) Seafood Linguini.
