Average brunch in a delightful grand space

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LOCATION

I used to live just off high street Ken and it’s a funny ol’ place; an affluent area, so I was always somewhat baffled at the dearth of decent eateries and in particular lack of mid to high end food spots. It’s all Wagamama, Giraffe and such alike.

Pavilion is a business members’ club offering luxury workspace to its members and used to have a restaurant of the same name within the building but that was replaced by The Ivy Brasserie last year. No doubt, this should be a welcome addition to the area for residents looking for a glamorous dining space.

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THE SPACE

The space itself has got an old school Art Deco vibe about it. A formal look, with white table cloths adorning tables. It’s got over a 100 covers and you don’t need to book, as they keep 40% of the tables available for walk ins apparently.

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FOOD & SERVICE

It’s an all day dining spot. I went here for breakfast with a dear old school friend of mine. She got there before me so justifiably took the better seat looking out over the restaurant. We surveyed the menu and decided fairly quickly what we were having.

I ordered Eggs Benedict without the ham; I don’t really have much to say about this apart from it was a little bit meh and looked wayyyyyy better than it tasted – looks sure can be deceptive.

We also had a stack of griddle buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and berries – again these were distinctly underwhelming – dry and a bit bland if I’m honest even when doused with lots of maple syrup.

So, overall while it’s a fine looking establishment, for me the food didn’t quite stack up. The service was also somewhat odd – it’s not that our waitress did anything particularly wrong but there was just an air of coldness and this coupled with the very average fare didn’t make me think gosh I need to revisit this place in a heartbeat. I will probably come back at some point as I’m in the area fairly often and as I said High Street Ken ain’t a part of town abundant with great food spots – beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

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VIBE

As you would expect, it attracts a fairly upscale crowd because of its location. The place was bustling with people when we went and I expect this is typical of the weekends.

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MOOLAH

Prices ain’t crazy – you can get a Full English for £13.50. For our eggs and pancakes, it came in around 16 quid per person, so overall it’s affordable.

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THE TAKE OUT

This spot didn’t rock my world but I will probably go back because it is a nice setting, I’m often in the area and it’s conveniently located. 

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Cuisine: Modern European

Cost: c.£15 for breakfast

Address: 96 Kensington High St, London W8 4SG

Reservations: Yes but walk ins welcome

Hours: Open Mon-Thur: 7.30am – 11pm Fri: 7.30am–11.30pm
Sat: 8am–11.30pm Sun: 9am – 10.30pm

Phone: +44(0)20 3301 0500

http://www.theivykensingtonbrasserie.com

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Restaurant layout  image from Ivy Brasserie website