The Ivy

The Ivy is a restaurant which is popular with celebrities, people from the arts and media and theatregoers. It is situated in West Street, near Cambridge Circus in London and opposite the Ambassadors and St Martin's theatres.

History

The original restaurant was opened by Abel Giandellini in 1917 as an unlicensed Italian cafe in a building on the same site. Legend has it that the name itself originated from a chance remark by the actress Alice Delysia, who overheard Giandellini apologise to a customer for the inconvenience caused by building works. When he said that it was because of his intention to create a restaurant of the highest class, she interjected "Don't worry – we will always come and see you. 'We will cling together like the ivy'", a line from a then-popular song. The restaurant expanded into the current premises in 1929 run by Giandellini, with his longstanding Maitre d' Mario Gallati as host .

In part due to its proximity to the West End theatres, exclusivity and late closing time (it is still open until close to midnight), the restaurant quickly became a theatrical institution, with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Lilian Braithwaite, Terence Rattigan, Binkie Beaumont and Noël Coward being habitués, having their regular 2-seater tables along the walls. According to the actor Donald Sinden in his Sky Arts television documentary series Great West End Theatres, The Ivy became so famous as a theatrical-celebrities haunt that in the 1943 revue Sweet and Low which ran for almost six years at the neighbouring Ambassadors Theatre, there was a satirical sketch included, updated regularly, entitled Poison Ivy, where the show's star Hermione Gingold "would exchange wicked and salacious celebrity gossip".

The Ivy (Los Angeles)

The Ivy is a restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles known for celebrity sightings and papparazzi. It serves nouvelle American cuisine "in a prettily decorated series of country-cottage rooms, with a flowery outdoor terrace" close to International Creative Management whose employees and clients can often be found eating at the celebrated restaurant.

Celeb hotspot

The area around The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard is crowded with boutiques, paparazzi shooting for Us Weekly, In Touch or Life & Style, and tourists with "the largest herd of bulb flashers... found directly across the street from The Ivy, where stars and stargazers alike dine". An MSNBC article called The Ivy "a celebrity beehive that sees a constant stream of Hummers, Mercedes and Jaguars pull up and discharge folks who pay through the nose to be seen eating in public".

Notable patrons

English actor Patrick Stewart said he likes to go to The Ivy Restaurant because it is open late and "you can sit over a last glass of wine without having people piling chairs on the tables round you" in a 1994 interview. Lil' Kim and her "raucous entourage", "kept the Sidecars flowing till closing at the tony Robertson Boulevard restaurant" while she was in Los Angeles working on her third solo album, according to an 2002 LA Times story.Paris Hilton's brother Barron Hilton II held a birthday "bash" at The Ivy in 2004.

Podcasts:

PLAYLIST TIME:

Latest News for: the ivy

Edit

The Ivy to open Nottingham restaurant

The Business Desk 25 Apr 2025
Iconic restaurant brand The Ivy is set to open a new venue in Nottingham ... The Ivy was ... The Ivy’s only other Midlands restaurant is in Birmingham.
Edit

The Ivy League Is Being Hoist on It's Own Petard

Hot Air 25 Apr 2025
Well, the Ivy League has been using DEI petards against disfavored groups--whites, Jews, Asians--and their chosen weapons are about the blow up in their faces.  ... or face the consequences. .
Edit

Letter to the editor: The Ivy League's long tradition of Jew hatred

The Washington Times 24 Apr 2025
The current antisemitism at colleges is totally unsurprising if one looks back at the admissions policies from 100 years ago ("ADL. Antisemitic incidents hit record high in U.S. as post-Oct. 7 climate fuels harassment," Web, April 22) ... .
Edit

Trump's foolish war against the Ivies is just a smokescreen

The Buffalo News 23 Apr 2025
Let's cut to the chase. Most of Donald Trump's threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ....
Edit

Froma Harrop: Trump's war against the Ivy League is all smokescreen

Reflector 22 Apr 2025
Let’s cut to the chase. Most of Donald Trump’s threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ... .
Edit

Michigan football adds another running back, this time from the Ivy League

Michigan Live 21 Apr 2025
On Monday, graduate transfer John Volker signed with Michigan, the program announced on social media.
Edit

Trump's war against the Ivy League is a smokescreen

Richmond Times Dispatch 20 Apr 2025
Let's cut to the chase. Most of President Donald Trump's threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ....
Edit

Friends of The Ivy community group has big plans for closed pub

BBC News 20 Apr 2025
The Ivy Inn in Heddington, Wiltshire, closed in May 2024 when owners Wadworth put it up for sale ... Dr Paul Moyle-Harris, chair of Friends of The Ivy, said the idea was to "not just save" The Ivy, but "make it more than just a pub".
Edit

Harvard vs. Trump: A high-stakes clash creating financial turmoil at the Ivy League giant

The Times of India 20 Apr 2025
The message from the administration was unambiguous — noncompliance comes with a price.Threat to tax-exempt statusThe escalation didn’t stop there ... The consequences, it warned, would reach far beyond its ivy-covered walls.
Edit

Trump’s war against the Ivy League is a smokescreen

Elko Daily Free Press 19 Apr 2025
Let’s cut to the chase. Most of President Donald Trump’s threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ... .
Edit

COLUMN: Trump's war against the Ivy League is all smokescreen

Tahlequah Daily Press 18 Apr 2025
Let's cut to the chase. Most of Donald Trump's threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ... .
Edit

Luigi Mangione indicted on federal charges in murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO: The health crisis that derailed the Ivy League alum's life

The Times of India 18 Apr 2025
A young adult in the United States of America, claiming to be an Ivy League alumnus, with an impressive resume, has had quite a life – at least what we can derive from his social profiles ... If the ...
Edit

Trump's war against the Ivy League is all smokescreen | Froma Harrop

Corvallis Gazette-Times 17 Apr 2025
Let's cut to the chase. Most of President Donald Trump's threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ... .
Edit

Froma Harrop: Trump's war against the Ivy League Is a smokescreen

Winston-Salem Journal 17 Apr 2025
Let’s cut to the chase. Most of Donald Trump’s threats against Ivy League colleges are an attempt to divert attention away from an economy heading into crisis ... .
×