Local Lunch – Ivy Bar & Kitchen

In the past few months it seems that there’s been a few new resturant/bar openings in Inverness. This week, local fellow blogger Shauna and I took a trip to one of these new additions; The Ivy Bar and Kitchen for a spot of lunch.

I really should have taken pictures of the interior, as it was classy, fresh and welcoming, with a variety of seating options (tables, comfy sofas and high bar tables) and music playing at a loud-but-not-too-loud level. I can imagine groups heading here for some relaxed post-work/pre-theatre drinks and dinner.

Blackboards display the specials and desserts, but the single page menus (which can be found on the Facebook page) are served on wooden clipboards.

Vegetarian, meat and fish/seafood tapas options fill most of the page, with steaks and beef burgers being the only main course options. I wondered if it might be prudent to have a veggie main course too available, but since that doesn’t apply to me, I’ll happily move on to what we did choose! I should confess that I did take ages to choose, there were many good options. In the end we got 4 dishes and a side salad to share.

Smoked Mackerel Pate with Seaweed and Black Pepper Oatcakes (£4.95)

Cullen Skink Tortilla with local peat smoked haddock, potatoes and leeks topped with sour cream and chives (£6.45)

Crispy Chicken thighs marinaded in buttermilk and thyme, deep fried in lightly spiced seasoned flour (£4.95)

Macaroni Cheese with grilled sourdough bread sticks (£4.95)

The side salad (£2.50, not pictured) was nicely dressed with mustard, but afterwards I thought it was quite a meagre portion for the price.

We were really impressed with all the other dishes though. We both loved the crispy chicken thighs which were steaming hot, crispy as advertised and possibly the highlight of our dishes. The Mac n Cheese rivalled some that I’ve tasted in the USA, oozing with cheese (and no doubt calories!).  A large portion of mackerel pate was smooth, and well seasoned. The tortilla was impressive too – three large cubes of haddock and potato topped with the sour cream and chives were tasty too.

The bill came to £25 which included one soft drink – which seemed reasonable for the quality and quantity of food we ploughed through!

We were in and out in about 50 minutes, so it’s a good lunchbreak stop for workers in the city. We also got talking to the general manager who said that she hoped the Ivy would be a place for women to enjoy as there’s a lot of “old man pubs” in the centre of Inverness, which is definitely a fair observation. Shauna and I couldn’t think of anywhere ele which is a bar serving top quality food, so the Ivy Bar and Kitchen is definitely plugging a gap in the market!

If you’re local, we’d recommend that you take a trip here!

This is not a sponsored post.We enjoyed our meal and would take a return visit!