see the ivy los angeles . this article s lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . july 2015 the ivy the ivy london restaurant information established 1917 current owner s richard caring head chef gary lee dress code smart casual street address west street city london country england website official website the ivy market grill henrietta street london . the ivy is a restaurant which is popular with celebrities people from the arts and media and theatregoers . citation needed it is situated in west street near cambridge circus in london and opposite the ambassadors and st martin s theatres . 1 contents 1 history 2 the club at the ivy 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the original restaurant was opened by abel giandellini in 1917 as an unlicensed italian cafe in a building on the same site . legend has it that the name itself originated from a chance remark by the actress alice delysia who overheard giandellini apologise to a customer for the inconvenience caused by building works . when he said that it was because of his intention 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 a line from a then popular song . 2 the restaurant expanded into the current premises in 1929 run by giandellini with his longstanding maitre d mario gallati as host . in part due to its proximity to the west end theatres exclusivity and late closing time it is still open until close to midnight the restaurant quickly became a theatrical institution with laurence olivier and vivien leigh marlene dietrich john gielgud lilian braithwaite terence rattigan binkie beaumont and no l coward being habitu s having their regular 2 seater tables along the walls . according to the actor donald sinden in his sky arts television documentary series great west end theatres the ivy became so famous as a theatrical celebrities haunt that in the 1943 revue sweet and low which ran for almost six years at the neighbouring ambassadors theatre there was a satirical sketch included updated regularly entitled poison ivy where the show s star hermione gingold would exchange wicked and salacious celebrity gossip . 3 4 in 1950 giandellini sold the ivy to bernard walsh and the restaurant became part of his wheeler s group of fish restaurants . subsequent owners were lady grade and the forte foundation . it then closed in 1989 and jeremy king and chris corbin who owned le caprice bought it . the restaurant was totally renovated to a design by american architect m.j. long incorporating specially commissioned artworks by sir eduardo paolozzi sir peter blake sir howard hodgkin bridget riley allen jones joe tilson patrick caulfield michael craig martin and tom phillips . fernando peire was appointed senior ma tre d . the restaurant opened in june 1990 and became a sensation . peire left the ivy in december 1998 three months after the restaurant was sold to belgo plc as part of caprice holdings ltd. ; corbin and king departed two years later and went on to establish their own rex restaurants now corbin & king . the restaurant seats 100 guests and there is also a private dining room on the first floor of the restaurant seating up to 60 guests . mobile phones and cameras are forbidden anywhere in the restaurant or adjoining club and there is a dress code gentlemen are not required to wear ties . shorts singlets and micro skirts are not acceptable forms of attire at the ivy . 5 a recipe book written by the restaurant critic a. a. gill and titled the ivy the restaurant and its recipes was published in 1997 . 6 the ivy was the inspiration for the restaurant of the same name in los angeles though they are unconnected . citation needed in 2000 the restaurant was awarded the mo t & chandon london restaurant award for excellence . 7 in 2005 the entrepreneur richard caring bought the ivy and the caprice holdings group which also owns le caprice which is located behind the ritz in the st james s area of london the fish restaurant j. sheekey located near leicester square scotts in mount street and 34 in grosvenor square . 2 in 2007 fernando peire returned to the ivy in 2007 and was appointed director of the ivy and the club at the ivy . gary lee who had previously been in charge of private functions at the ivy returned as head chef and was appointed executive chef in 2008 . executive chef director of caprice holdings restaurants now caprice group is tim hughes . the club at the ivy edit in september 2008 the club at the ivy a private members club with a hidden entrance via an adjacent flower shop was opened on the three floors above the restaurant with membership drawn primarily from creative industries and the arts as hard to get as a table at the ivy itself according to the author a. a. gill . 8 9 it boasts a piano lounge ; a dining room the drawing room open from 7.30 am for breakfast lunch and supper ; a wood panelled library of books that reflect many of our members interests in art literature film theatre architecture and design ; a film screening room and entertainment space known as the loft ; a further private dining room seating up to 14 people and a cigar terrace . 10 its director is fernando peire the former senior ma tre d who is also widely known from the channel 5 tv series the restaurant inspector . 11 see also edit list of restaurants in london references edit matthew fort 4 november 2010 . the ivy dine with the stars . the guardian . a b matthew fort . the ivy dine with the stars . the guardian . retrieved 9 december 2014 . great west end theatres episode 5 . st martins theatre morley sheridan 1986 . the great stage stars . london angus & robertson . isbn 0816014019 . dress code . the ivy.co.uk . retrieved 9 december 2014 . a a gill . the ivy the restaurant and its recipes . hodder.co.uk . retrieved 9 december 2014 . the ivy . londoneats.com . retrieved 9 december 2014 . the club at the ivy . the ivyclub.co.uk . retrieved 9 december 2014 . talk of the town the ivy club s entrance is so white that it feels as if you re walking into a huge ipod . the independent . retrieved 9 december 2014 . the club at the ivy london private club interiors martin brudnizki . mbds.com . retrieved 9 december 2014 . the restaurant inspector . five . retrieved 9 december 2014 . external links edit the ivy official site club at the ivy official site coordinates 51 30 47 n 0 07 42 w 51.513020 n 0.128402 w 51.513020 ; 0.128402 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the ivy & oldid 732288694 categories restaurants in london1916 establishments in englandrestaurants established in 1929buildings and structures in the city of westminsterhidden categories wikipedia introduction cleanup from july 2015all pages needing cleanuparticles covered by wikiproject wikify from july 2015all articles covered by wikiproject wikifyall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from may 2014official website different in wikidata and wikipediacoordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 30 july 2016 at 22 38 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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