The Ivy Kensington Brasserie
The Ivy Kensington Brasserie in London, located at 96 Kensington High Street across from the tube station, is a grand restaurant designed by Martin Brudnizki that features a covered garden terrace overlooking St Mary Abbots church. Opened on December 15, 2015, in a 1920s building formerly occupied by Pavilion's Restaurant, it carries the legacy of Abel Giandolini's original 1917 West End Ivy café.
London · from the walk “Kensington High Street: Shop, Eat & Explore” · audio ~3 min · Generated
96 Kensington High Street, London W8 4SG
- Abel Giandolini opened the original Ivy in 1917 as a small Italian café in London's West End.
- Actress Alice Delysia inspired the restaurant's name by quoting a popular 1902 song about clinging like ivy.
- The Ivy Kensington Brasserie officially opened at 96 Kensington High Street on December 15, 2015.
- Martin Brudnizki Design Studio created the interiors inside a restored 1920s building for The Ivy Kensington Brasserie.
How did The Ivy restaurant in London get its name?
Now take a look at that beautiful building right across from the Kensington High Street tube station. That's The Ivy Kensington Brasserie... and it carries one of the most storied names in British dining.......... The original Ivy was opened by a man named Abel Giandolini in nineteen seventeen... as a humble, unlicensed Italian café in London's West End. Picture this: lino floors, paper napkins, one cook, and no drinks licence. If you wanted a glass of wine, one of the two waitresses would have to dash out to the nearest pub to fetch it for you!......... But here's the story that gave the restaurant its famous name. Legend has it that the French actress Alice Delysia overheard Giandolini apologizing to a customer about building works. When he explained his dream 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." That line was borrowed from a popular nineteen-oh-two song. And the name... stuck.......... The restaurant quickly became a theatrical institution, with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, and Noël Coward all having their regular two-seater tables along the walls. By the outbreak of World War Two, it was attracting everyone from Hollywood stars to Prime Minister Winston Churchill.......... Now, fast forward to twenty fifteen. The Ivy Kensington Brasserie opened on the fifteenth of December, twenty fifteen, right here at ninety-six Kensington High Street. It took over the space where Pavilion's Restaurant and Bar used to be. The building itself dates back to the nineteen twenties, and has been completely transformed.......... The critically acclaimed Martin Brudnizki Design Studio consulted on the interiors... think antique pewter-top bar, vintage-style green bar stools and leather banquettes, striking brass light fittings, decorative mirrors, and marble flooring. The art nouveau look of the original Ivy carries through here... with checkerboard flooring, suspended globe ceiling lights, and mirrored walls.......... And here's a little insider tip. The restaurant has a large covered terrace at the rear that overlooks the tranquil gardens of Saint Mary Abbots church. It's one of Kensington's best-kept secrets... a hidden garden oasis just steps from the bustle of the High Street.......... Whether you pop in for a coffee on the terrace or settle into those leather banquettes for the famous shepherd's pie... you're sitting in a small piece of a dining empire that began over a hundred years ago... all because of one actress and a catchy song lyric.