The Ivy of Sonning

The Ivy of Sonning is a lovely place to eat... parking is however a total nightmare in Sonning so some planning ahead... but the Ivy is worth the effort.

First the food... great selection, nice list of specialities and for sensible prices - overall the bill came to the clubs average for the last year £36 each so perfectly acceptable. The Ivy Special starter was a good way to kick of the meal and priced to please. The Panner Pakora were attractive sounding but pretty rubbery to the taste - avoid those! Everything else was pretty good all-round. The mains are also sensibly priced and we went for a house speciality the lamb Handi Gosht which proved a good choice and popular. The madrass at the Ivy so be wary of those spicy dishes. The secondary stuff is well prepared and seemed freshly cooked so top marks there. The tarka dall and the mushroom dishes excellent tasty additions. Overall the food was voted top marks by us - highly recommended.

The setting - the Ivy has worked hard at this and the decor and general ambiance of the place is top grade and very comfortable but the lack of space shows as although pretty well spaced out the tables in some parts of the restaurant are close together so no secret business meetings here I fear. But the head waiter/owner (who claims the name Bobby) is very amenable and looked after us well with free after dinner drinks, a friendly line in banter with us and overall (despite ignoring one member of our party!) he was efficient.

The service - very good, noticeably quick and neatly and decoratively - a nice touch which many over look for more money ... well done The Ivy. The food was hot, arrived with sensible gaps and carefully delivered... however Bobby did forget a couple of dishes, and was keen to get with everyone but could perhaps have spent a little more time on getting the order spot on... if cost him in the scoring ....

Summing up - great little curry house (emphasis on little) with friendly staff, good service and very tasty food all in a very attractive setting...grab a beer in the Bull nearby (75 metres away down the High Street - limited parking again!) and you have the makings of a fine evening. The Ivy jumps straight in to our top 10 restaurants ... no mean feat for a seven year old club.

What did learn on the night (Nick's request...) that restairants should have toilet police?! That Curry-Oke could be big time entertainment and Nick wears hoodies at weekends! In fairness it was Ralph Lauren... oh and after all this time eating curry Tom finally admitted he can't really taste the differences between the dishes!! You can't make this stuff up.