IVY has replaced Vizard’s, a local fine dining place that “The Chef” and I still love to this day. Unfortunately, Vizard’s is no longer, but in memory, click here for my post of their closing meal: Vizard’s. It was a successful and delicious fine dining restaurant until the owner’s made a personal decision to close the doors.
Now that Ivy has replaced one of our favorite restaurants, we had to try it and see if it was worthy of the location…
There wasn’t much to revamp on the outside, but they put a trendy touch on the inside. It’s a very small restaurant and we felt it was a bit too modern feeling on the inside so we opted for outdoor seating.
Swiss Chard, Beet, and Feta Empanadas. Mint Crème fraiche.
Warm Snow Crab claws. Truffle Butter.
Parker House rolls. Fleur de Sel.
Apple and Endive Salad. Candied Walnuts. Buttermilk Herb dressing.
Panéed Rabbit. Buttermilk biscuits. Pickles. Spicy Honey Butter.
Oxtail gratin. Gruyere. Carmelized onion. Grilled Ciabatta.
Wedding Cake for two. Ice cream.
With the weather cooling down South, dining outside was perfect! I felt the inside was a bit stuffy and that night they had some too-cool-for-me type elevator music. The food? DE. LISH. The menu is divided into small plate portions, which are perfect for sharing. Of course, each small plate is good to share between two, so order accordingly.
One notable dish was the Warm Crab Claws in truffle butter. I mean, how can you say “no” to truffle butter. There were actual chunks of the truffle in the butter. This wasn’t your ordinary truffle-infused oil. It had real truffle! If you get the Crab Claws, I HIGHLY recommend that you order the Parker House rolls. Yes, you do have to order them, but it’s SO worth it. I spread some butter on the roll and dipped it in the truffle butter…What a memorable bite!
Next, I loved the Oxtail gratin. It was perfectly crisped Ciabatta with the most epic combination of cheese and moist Oxtail.
The Paneed Rabbit was a great protein dish as well. The flavors were well-balanced and the pickles just added to the dish. Against our waiters recommendation, we ordered the wedding cake. It was good, but the icing was a bit sweet just like he warned us. His actual recommendation was the Apple-Pear Crisp and Ginger Ice Cream so I would recommend that over the cake.
With so much to the live up to, Ivy did really well! I love the French/New Orleans tapas-style menu. It’s a taste of everything as opposed to the boredom one large entrée. It’s a small restaurant so small groups are recommended, however, if reservations are made in advance, I’m sure they can accompany larger groups too.
Rating: 4/5 spoons
