The Ivy Asia

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

Visit now

The Ivy Asia

The Pavilion, Byrom St,, Manchester, M3 3HG
0161 5033222
  • Monday8:00am - 1:00am
  • Tuesday8:00am - 1:00am
  • Wednesday8:00am - 1:00am
  • Thursday8:00am - 3:00am
  • Friday8:00am - 3:00am
  • Saturday9:00am - 12:00am
  • Sunday9:00am - 1:00am

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Image courtesy of the Ivy Asia.
Book now

New Year’s Eve:

No question, The Ivy is one of the hottest spots on Manchester’s dining scene. And it’s not hard to see why — with four floors and over five hundred covers, this is an impressive place, and the perfect setting if you’re looking for a New Year’s Eve with a bit of dazzle.

This year, the specially-curated menu is themed around Tokyo. It it begins strongly with Poached Lobster with Gochujang Hollandaise & Caviar on Blini, before a sharing menu that features everything from Tuna, Yellowtail & Salmon Sashimi with Truffle Miso Dressing and Yuzu to Snow Crab California Maki Rolls, Black Cod & Miso and Wagyu Beef Fillet, ending with Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Manchester Bee Honey Ice-Cream.

With a glass of Dom Perignon champagne thrown in for good measure, the New Year’s Eve set menu doesn’t come cheap at £175 per person, but nor does the calibre of food it entails. And hey, if you can’t push the boat out on New Year’s Eve, when can you?


 

Restaurant review:

No expense has been spared on this Spinningfields venue. Beautiful marble floors, chandeliers, plush pillows – so many pillows – and practically everything else that screams opulence. As is routine by now, this has led to mixed reports from grumpy locals tutting at the very idea of luxury, implying that Manchester should ‘know its place’. All of which is wearingly tiresome – it’s fine for a meal out to be a special event, dressing up and treating yourself is not a crime.

Buttermilk fried chicken, kimchi mayonnaise

Moreso, a restaurant should be judged largely on its cuisine, decor is just an interesting sideshow, and certainly not the main event. So, onto the food.

Today, we visit The Ivy Asia, the upper floor restaurant that focuses on, you guessed it, East Asian cuisine. Much like Tattu, the restaurant adds a splash of innovation to classic dishes, so while you’ll recognise ingredients and basic elements, there’s always something about each dish that elevates it above the norm.

Crispy duck bao, hoisin and five spice

First, buttermilk fried chicken with a little bowl of deliciously creamy-but-tangy kimchi mayonnaise. The chunks of chicken come in bitesize morsels – soft white meat with a crunchy coating comprising an impressive number of herbs and spices. They’re one of the more simple dishes on offer but a fine way to kick things off.

The raw scallops are where things get interesting. Razor thin slices of high-end seafood, layered with crunchy pickled slices, then dotted with Oscietra caviar and a tangle of subtly-flavoured noodles – it’s an immediate hit for both the eyes and tastebuds. Did we forget to mention the gold leaf? If you’re looking for wow factor, here’s your plate.

Thai sea bass, coriander, lime and chilli

The crispy duck bao is one of the more popular items on the menu, and for good reason. A soft spongy bun holds thick chunks of duck, rich in hoisin and five spice flavours. The Thai sea bass is excellent too, boasting a crispy skin and soft flaky flesh, full of coriander, lime and chilli flavours but never overpowering – plus the low-key addition of Thai basil adds a neatly complex element to the whole plate.

Duck massaman curry, cashew nuts

But the duck massaman curry is the standout dish. You don’t get much for your money – it’s a decidedly small bowl – but the combination of flavours are stunning. The inspired choice of duck meat blends beautifully with the creamy, spicy curry sauce, each mouthful delivering a new flavour, aniseed one minute, cashew nuts the next, shortly followed by an impressive thwack of heat.

If anything the desserts are even better. The creme brulee is a sheer delight, the faintest hint of matcha green tea balanced out with eye-wateringly sweet crushed raspberries and that all-important crunchy sugared top layer.

Matcha green tea creme brulee, crushed raspberries

But the white chocolate sphere is the optimum way to end such an extravagant meal. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, a perfectly round sphere, onto which the waiter pours a hot caramel sauce, which melts away to reveal passionfruit, meringue and yuzu foam. It’s a stunning end to an excellent, albeit pricey, meal.

White chocolate sphere, passionfruit, meringue, yuzu foam, caramel sauce

You probably wouldn’t visit The Ivy Asia on a daily, or even weekly basis, not unless you have endless pockets and a penchant for gout, but when it comes to event dining it’s up there with the best. Ignore the nay-sayers, it’s fine to dress up and treat yourself. Manchester is a world-class city, The Ivy provides food – and an experience – to match.

What's on near The Ivy Asia

FLIGHT at Aviva Studios
TheatreCity Centre
FLIGHT at Aviva Studios

Happening in absolute darkness inside a 40ft shipping container, FLIGHT invites you to board a commercial airliner – and take two possible journeys.

From £10.00
SÉANCE at HOME
TheatreManchester
SÉANCE at HOME

Happening at HOME, SÉANCE transforms the interior of a shipping container into a Victorian séance room.

From £13.00

Where to go near The Ivy Asia

Manchester
Gallery
Black Redstart Gallery

Black Redstart Gallery is located in the Northern Quarter and runs a busy programme of exhibitions from emerging and established artists.

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

texture logo
Manchester
Gallery
texture mcr

Possibly one of the city’s most mysterious art galleries, texture is a small and perfectly-formed independent space in Ardwick.

The Beacon at Cliffe Castle Park
Bradford
Park
Cliffe Castle Park

Cliffe Castle Park hosts the Beacon, a stunning performance space that will be touring the district throughout Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.

Hern Food
Leeds
Restaurant
Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Culture Guides

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Two women stand next to an orange car.
Cinema in the North

August brings a huge LGBTQ+ film festival, plus a reggae classic and a spotlight on Japanese animation.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Blondshell by Hannah Bon.
Music in the North

From Lyra Pramuk’s sacred synths to the sugar rush of YAANG, our latest music picks bring ritual, rebellion and ridiculous levels of fun.

Exhibitions in the North

Monumental sculptures, charcoal confessions and a show of two paintings only - all this and more in this month's exhibition picks.