The Ivy Café

The Ivy – long a louche favourite of London’s bold-faced glitterati, society mavens and pap-shy stars who love the privacy offered by its opaque stained glass windows – has opened an outpost in Marylebone.
Taking over the former space vacated by The Union Café, the small café has been designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio almost like a diffusion line in the sense that the DNA of the Soho flagship skates just below the surface: there is the same chummy clubby Art Deco feel thanks to the row of pendant light running down the length of the narrow room, vintage red leather banquettes, cartoon portraits, and geometric marble floor tiles.
The all-day menus are overseen by head chef Sean Burbidge (ex-Pétrus) and cover every gastronomic pit-stop from breakfast (and weekend brunch) through to cream tea and post-prandial cocktails.
On offer is a comprehensive blend of mod-English and Italian- and French-lite – shepherd’s pie, scones and baked rigatoni Provencal mixing it up with ham hock fricassee, Mallaig kipper with parsley butter, and a chocolate bombe drenched with hot salted caramel sauce.
Meanwhile, the antique pewter top bar is a perfect perch for people watching while sipping a London Spritz infused with Earl Grey gin and prosecco, or a lethal elderflower vodka mixed with cucumber and cider sparkle.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
96 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2QA
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Inside BIG and Nokken’s new sustainable cabin – luxury off-grid camping
The ‘Softshell’ by Bjarke Ingels Group and cabin expert Nokken is a modular, lightweight ‘tent alternative’ for nights amid nature without compromising on comfort
-
Ramzi Mallat’s London Design Festival installation is a bittersweet ode to Beirut
Created as a memorial to the 2020 Beirut Port Blast, Mallat's ‘Not Your Martyr’ installation at the V&A (until 19 October 2025) is made of 260 colourful glass ma’amouls
-
Bocci and Anna Carnick join forces on a showcase of evocative design practices in Berlin
'Crafting Community' is on view at Berlin's Wilhelm Hallen until 14 September 2025
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?
A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
Legado brings a bold Spanish legacy to Shoreditch
Michelin-starred chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s second venture marries design-led interiors with regional Spanish flavours rarely found in London
-
The Macbeth, an icon of indie sleaze, goes from grotty to gastro
An East End legend meets Portuguese small plates in Jamie Allan’s ambitious revival of a beloved Hackney watering hole
-
A complete collection of Phaidon’s ‘Contemporary Artists Series’ is on display in London
A 30-year project reaching 100 volumes is being celebrated with an exhibition at the 45 Park Lane hotel, including limited-edition works by Kaws and Dana Schutz
-
London’s best pizza restaurant gets a new home in Mayfair
Secure a slice of New York-style pizza in central London as Crisp Pizza teams up with the Devonshire pub to set up shop in the relaunched The Marlborough
-
At this east London listening bar, mezcal-fuelled cocktails hit as hard as the basslines
In Bethnal Green, Little Fires pairs vinyl grooves with mezcal margaritas and Oaxacan sharing plates
-
Harry Nuriev’s Noisy Oyster London bistro isn’t quite finished – and that’s the point
A futuristic, work-in-progress aesthetic forms a striking backdrop for a new, sustainably focused seafood bistro in Shoreditch
-
Head to Lupa for a taste of Rome in the heart of Highbury
Ed Templeton, Theo James and Naz Hassan unveil an intimate 28-seat restaurant that balances a cosy, candlelit atmosphere with Roman-style dining