If a restaurant is filled with diners on a rainy Monday evening, it indicates high standards of food, ambience, and service; this is the case with The Ivy Asia.

Since this opulently styled restaurant opened, it has become the hottest ticket in town to enjoy Pan-Asian classics with a twist, cooked with real passion and presented so beautifully.

From the moment you step through Ivy Asia’s heavy wooden doors, you know that your evening is going to be really special.

There’s a beautifully designed reception desk in pagoda style with a welcoming receptionist who will take your coats and make you feel like a truly special guest.

As we had had a very long walk to the restaurant, we decided to take the lift, and when its doors opened, a mystical fantasy of oriental splendour unfurled and literally took our breath away – this place has an ambience like no other.

The décor is striking and decadent, to say the least, with murals, art-inspired gilded wallpaper, tasteful golden statues and a sculptured ceiling that wouldn’t look out of place in some oriental palace. The lighting is mood-matched, but it’s the green gemstone floor that is lit from underneath that really impresses.

Seating and tables at Ivy Asia are expertly choreographed so wherever you sit you are guaranteed privacy. There are tables for two or four plus velvet upholstered banquette seating in semi-recessed positions filled with gloriously matched cushions. And if you want to enjoy an aperitif before or a cocktail afterwards, you can gravitate to the restaurant’s bar.

The receptionist had met us as we exited the lift and took us to our table, which was beautifully set with embellished napkin rings, a choice of cutlery or chopsticks and sparkling crystal glasses.

Our server then appeared as if by magic and introduced herself, presenting us with the menus and offering any help, suggestions or advice about the various dishes.

While we perused the menu, we decided to indulge ourselves with a glass of Ivy Asia Cuvée, which came beautifully chilled and was very reasonably priced for its quality.

The wonderful thing about this restaurant is that you never feel rushed, and we took our time not only to peruse the menu but also to savour the atmosphere.

We chose our starter from the small plates collection. My choice of prawn har gow dumplings was a good one. Dumplings can sometimes be tasteless, but these oozed flavour.

The dumplings were piping hot with a crispy crust made of sesame seeds that added a delicate flavour to the dish. They were filled with a generous filling of juicy prawns and served with chives and ponzu, a citrus-based thin sauce, which made a wonderful combination.

The crispy duck spring rolls my colleague chose were, she said, like ‘no other’. The portion was generous, and the three large rolls were packed with meat and vegetables and accompanied by a very tasty hoisin sauce.

We chose our main course from the large plates section.

My colleague opted for the Robata Chicken Satay and certainly was not disappointed. The dish, which came piping hot to the table, consisted of a very tender chargrilled half chicken beautifully carved into fillet chunks. The sauce of coconut, ginger, coriander and lime was beautifully blended and complemented the meat, and you could really taste each of the ingredients.

I decided on the honey- and soy-glazed stone bass. What a great pairing this was. The stone bass fish steak had a mild, buttery sweet taste, and its white flakes were meaty, moist and succulent, with the honey and sauce glaze adding the perfect unique flavour. It was complemented with wok-fried pak choi and crispy lotus and lime.

We shared what has now become our favourite Ivy Asia side dish. The Cucumber, Peanut and Coriander Salad. This is a very generous portion of a wonderfully blended mixture of salad which has to be seen and tasted to be believed.

Desserts at the Ivy are on ‘another level’ and a must to end your feast. Their arrival is almost like a magical piece of theatre.

My colleague chose the White Lotus dessert. This arrived dramatically – no spoilers here, but if you choose it, you will be delightfully surprised. The dessert included Yuzu Cake, which was moist, light, refreshing and tangy with a coconut and white chocolate mousse.

My heaven on a plate was the Coconut and Panna Cotta. I just loved the combination of flavours. There was pineapple and passion fruit in the dish, making it really sharp and tangy, with toasted coconut and pandan to give it its green colour.

By the end of our meal, we didn’t realise just how long we had been in this haven of oriental splendour, but enough to say that we had to hurry to catch our respective last trains home.

Taking the staircase this time, our exit was as pampered and gracious as our entry, with the receptionist helping us into our coats and wishing us a very pleasant journey home.

Ivy Asia has several packages, including set menus and an afternoon tea.

The menu is clearly marked with vegan and vegetarian choices, and a red dot appears at the side of dishes that are spicy and hot.

The Ivy Asia Leeds,55 Vicar Lane, Leeds
Tel: 0113 531 7990
website theivyasia.com/restaurants/the-ivy-asia-leeds/
Open Mon/Tues/Wed 11:30am - 10:45pm
Thurs/Fri/Sat 11:30am - 1:00am
Sunday & Bank Holidays: 11:30am - 10:45pm