Wining and dining in London.

What’s the point of working with restaurants if you don’t go and visit them every now and again? A couple of weeks ago, we headed into London to try out The Ivy Chelsea Garden and Drake and Morgan King’s Cross, two sites we’ve worked on in the past year or so and just hadn’t had chance to visit. We weren’t disappointed.

The Ivy Chelsea Garden has been on my ‘restaurants-to-visit’ list for a very long time and looking at the menu had become part of my daily routine. So you can call me a keeno but even before stepping into the restaurant I knew exactly what I wanted to order. The casual British restaurant and garden is located on the sweeping ground floor of a glamourous Georgian free house on King’s Road; it’s clear to see why it’s consistently busy.

What better way is there to start off the night than order a bottle of bubbles? Needing something to absorb the alcohol, I ordered mushrooms on toast for starters followed by the famous Shepard’s Pie. Right I get it, it’s only Shepard’s Pie but it was the best Shepard’s Pie I’ve ever had. To follow it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for…dessert. Being a chocolate lover, I was naturally drawn to ordering the chocolate bombe. Hot salted caramel sauce is delicately dribbled over the chocolate dome until it melts away, revealing the vanilla with a honeycomb centre. Heaven.

Our next stop was Drake and Morgan King’s Cross. Since 2008, Drake and Morgan has opened nine bars and restaurants across London, each with its own unique atmosphere and style. The group have just revealed that it will be opening its first airside bar and restaurant at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 this summer. To our shame, we immediately started noticing the ductwork and over door heaters, and like true Chapman employees (some might say losers…) noticed that our equipment forms an integral part of Drake & Morgan’s design. Drake and Morgan at King’s Cross is the latest offering from the group with an extensive wine and cocktail list as well as a mouth-watering, wallet and waistline friendly menu.