The festive winter menu is back at The Ivy, and with a polar bear theme and food of dreams, it’s not one to miss.

The Ivy has always been one of my favourite places – you can go there and just know that whatever time of day it is, whichever restaurant you’re in and whatever you’re eating, it’s going to be good.

The Ivy has just released its festive menu for this Christmas, and there’s an adorable polar bear theme running through all the offerings.

It’s three courses for £55, and A Polar Bear Christmas is running until January 3.

Ham & High:

I went to try it at the St John’s Wood branch, and I had a lovely evening with my best friend with lovely food.

Not only were we greeted by a huge festive polar bear at the front door, but the waiters and waitresses were as kind, helpful and welcoming as always.

Ham & High:

We started our meal with a Gin-gle Bells Fizz cocktail, which had a fruity, sweet flavour and came with candy floss on top which is a personal favourite.

For starters my friend chose the Ballotine of Duck Parfait which had a hazelnut crunch with cranberry chutney and toasted brioche, while I had the Laverstoke Park Farm Buffalo Mozzarella which came with beetroot, hazelnuts, blackberries, mixed leaves and a pomegranate dressing.

Ham & High:

It’s safe to say we both could probably have stopped after that, seeing as they were both so tasty and generously portioned.

For mains I had the baked fillet of seabass, with the mussels on the side as I’m not such a fan of those.

The seabass was cooked to perfection with a crispy, edible skin and a soft, melt-in-the-mouth fish. I also asked for no sauce, which they catered to perfectly, and a small dish of spinach came on the side.

Ham & High:

I asked for some mashed potato as my side with it, and my meal was absolutely divine. The food always comes piping hot, cooked well, and with well-matched flavours.

My friend had steak and chips which she also devoured, and loved at the same time.

We were both full to the brim but it’s hard to resist a menu of Christmas-themed desserts, and so we didn’t even try to.

After a small break we were ready for another Gin-gle Bell Fizz cocktail, which is on a menu among other festive themed drinks such as A Polar Bear’s Christmas, Rudolph’s Red Nose Martini, a Merry Spritzmas and a Whiskey Wonderland.

I rate the names, and whoever decided those has got something to be proud of.

For dessert my friend went for the Christmas Crème Brulee which was the delicious Ivy classic with a winter berry cinnamon compote and shortbread on the side.

Ham & High:

I went for the new dessert – a polar bear Christmas, which was pretty much a white chocolate and clementine version of the infamous chocolate bombe.

Put it this way, let’s hope they decide to add a white chocolate bombe to the menu for good, because this one was far too tasty to just be for Christmas.