The Ivy Chelsea Garden - Brunch Spot Review

Although I have not visited every single restaurant in the Ivy Collection, I’m very partial towards The Ivy Chelsea Garden and it is probably my favourite place to brunch. I know this because every time someone asks me for a brunch spot, I refer them there. With the Chelsea Flower Show, the exterior, terrace and garden were transformed into the most stunning floral backdrop. Read all about the inspiration for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

My friend Viv is in the city for the summer and we planned to have a Sunday brunch date so of course, it was The Ivy Chelsea Garden. It worked out perfectly because it was Father’s Day, we’ve both lost our Dads and instead of sitting home to cry and feel sorry for ourselves lol, it turned out to be such a cute day of laughter, reminiscing about our dads, a few tears and gossip!

The Ivy Chelsea Garden is open from 8am to 12.30am on Mondays to Saturdays, 9am to 12.30am on Sundays and Bank Holidays, which is decent by London standards

Location

195-197 King’s Road SW3 5EQ. Located on popular King’s road in Chelsea, the floral exterior stands out and immediately draws you in whether you are interested or not. IT IS STUNNING! The current flower arrangement will be there until 28 July so keep this in mind if you would like to visit!

The closest train stations are South Kensington and Sloane Square, then a 15mins walk to the restaurant. You could probably drive down and park on one of the off streets and of course there is always uber!

Reservations

Via the website

Remember to confirm your reservation. Once you book, you will most likely be sent an email a day or two before the date chosen, this means that you have to confirm that you are indeed going to be there. Be sure to also advice if you would like a Terrace or Garden spot as these are the most preferred in the summer and are snapped up quite quickly.

Ambiance

I’ll let the pictures do the talking. It is such a gorgeous spot.

Walking in, there is a reception where you confirm your reservation; a waiter walks you to your seat which is through the bar, restaurant and in my case, to the terrace. I could see the garden from where I was sat but because we were not sure if the sun would be out all day, the terrace was a perfect option.

Food

Ah this is the best part. I usually go for brunch but this time, we were very hungry so we went for lunch instead. We ordered from the brunch/lunch menuand both had the Monkfish and Prawn curry. This came with Jasmine rice, yoghurt on the side, coriander and sweet potato chips. Very yummy! We were so hungry that we ordered an extra plate of rice lol

For drinks, we both had glasses of prosecco! For dessert, I had the Chocolate bombe and she had the Cappuccino cake!

As usual, everything was perfectly cooked and we enjoyed our meal.

Service

Really exceptional as usual. We mistakenly knocked over a glass and the waiter was by our side immediately, helping to clean up and even got us a fresh glass of prosecco for free! Our meals came on time and we did not feel rushed at all even though it was a very busy Sunday due to it being Father’s Day!

From time to time, we would get asked the occasional “is the food ok” “would you like some more water” “would you like some more drinks”

Our table was cleared promptly after our main and the waiter even helped suggest what to have for dessert!

Value For Money

As I have said before, The Ivy chain is good value for your money. It is a fancy spot so it is not cheap; however, for your money, you get good sized portions of food that are very well made and tasty too. 12.5% discretionary service charge applies as normal and it is one of those restaurants where you don’t feel upset about giving them the extra 12.5% because the service is worth it.

Would I go again?

If you don’t know the answer to this, you have obviously not been reading this post or have not read my review of The Ivy City Garden. The answer is YES YES and YES!

Remember to go before 28th July if you want to see this specific flower arrangement. Although I would not be too worried if I can’t make it, there will most likely be another gorgeous arrangement before you know it.

I do recommend a 100%!

As a little bonus post and another place I recommend, walk down to 350 King’s road and there you will find Bluebird Chelsea! I love this spot A LOT! For drinks and nibbles most especially. We had a little nightcap there before heading home.

Bluebird Chelsea

We sat in the Courtyard (fave spot for people watching and if you are lucky, a cast member from Made in Chelsea could walk by). I had a Ciroc Watermelon Martini and Viv had a Lychee & Rose Martini from the drinks menu, we both had Fries and Crisp Fried prawns from the weekend brunch menu to nibble on.