Going out with some of my longest and dearest friends Queen Viv and Miss America is always an adventure. They’re adventurous enough and always appreciate a good meal, no matter how unusual it is or how far we have to venture. Tonight, we’re headed somewhere a little closer to home, Japaz in Neutral Bay. A Japanese version of Tapas with a Japanese chef and Spanish ingredients. The chef Hiro Takagi’s CV reads like a dream: Tetsuya’s, Bilsons, Ampersand and Restaurant Taillevent Robuchon.

We walk into Japaz, a newish establishment this Saturday night. We let the front of house gentleman know that we have a booking and he greets us with my name. We’re seated in the dark brown panelled room next to the sandstone brick printed wallpaper (an odd touch to me but one that Queen Viv likes) and are offered our menu. Tuesday and Wednesday it’s BYO whilst the rest of the week they’re licensed so they offer to stow Queen Viv’s bottle of wine for her so that it stays chilled.

White Anchovies in Rosemary Oil $7.00

Our dishes come out fast and in the order in which we asked for them precisely. The first dish, White Anchovies in Rosemary Oil has Miss America swooning. She’s in love with these plumped little critters, milder and sweeter and less salty than their hairy browny pink cousins.

Sobrasada on Sourdough Toast $6.00

The Sobrasada on Sourdough Toast is a tomato and sausage mix smeared onto a thick wodge of white toast. Despite its somewhat unamazing look, the Sobrasada, a pork sausage made from a porc negre (a black pig related to the famous Jamon Iberico), is flavoursome against the diced tomatoes.

Scallops with a Sweet Soy & Onion Butter $5.50 e.a.

We ordered three of the Scallops with a Sweet Soy & Onion Butter, one for each of us, and they come in the shell with the roe on. The delicate soy and onion butter is delicious and never overwhelms the delicate scallops which are cooked well and succulent. I don’t usually like scallop roe finding it too strong but it’s lovely against the sauce. We’re finally seeing a Japanese ingredient find its way onto a dish.

Twenty-Second Smoked Swordfish with Preserved Lemon Sauce $14.00

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Inside the Ikea cafe

Ikea is one of those amazing places that everyone has visited at one time in their lives. I don’t get out to Ikea as much as before and I was rather upset when they moved from the closer by Moore Park out to Homebush. It was however impossible to get a park at the Supacenta on weekends and now that parking dilemma have moved to Homebush where we’ve trolled and stalked for 3 floors finally getting a park.

Slices of Daim and Almond tortes $3.95

We’re peckish this afternoon and looking forward to some Swedish food Ikea style. We go upstairs and find a large area packed with people sitting down and ordering food cafeteria style. We get our trays and set about choosing whatever looks good. Of course I am taken with the open face sandwiches as I loved these in Finland so I choose the meatball one (fortuitous it turns out, as we learn a little later that there is a half hour delay on the meatballs).

Portuguese tarts $2.50 and Lingonberry mousse slices $1.95

My husband likes the look of the lingonberry yogurt and in an effort to try as many things as possible without stretching our belts, we order the children’s version of the fish and chips (kid’s meals, all $2.50). There is also a salmon fillet with apple but the salmon look unappetising sitting in a bain marie of cloudy water so we give that a miss. We are told that there’s no meatballs with a 30 minute wait so we decline as I already have a meatball sandwich.

Our tray of food $14.40

We also try the Mazarin (a little Swedish cake) and the Daily Dish: chicken kebabs with butter sauce and couscous. As we have a kid’s meal, we can help ourselves to a complimentary piece of fruit, either an apple or a not so great looking orange. We choose the apple. I bypass the slices of Daim torte and the Princess cake as I’ve tried both before (Daim torte-not Daimey enough, Princess Cake-delicious!)

Kid’s Fish and Chips $2.50

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There’s a reason why there are only two photos of my visit to the Ivy. The celeb count at the Ivy is apparently so high, that they do not allow photographs to be taken inside the restaurant. So all I have to offer you is a picture of the bread basket and the napkin. The Ivy is in an odd location, in the theatre district but down what looks like a back alley, right near L’atelier de Joel Robuchon. Outside of opening hours, the outer belies the mystery about this restaurant and why exactly it is so sought after as a place for celebrities to congregate. Getting a booking is not easy, one has to book weeks ahead to secure a table.

The doorman is a very genial fellow, designed to make your entrance way smooth and welcoming. The staff too are friendly and polite, with perhaps the exception of one waiter who although isn’t rude, is just in the wrong business. The predominant colour is of course green in various shades and there are stained glass accents and the seating is mostly one sided banquettes. We are seated at one, both of us seated at the banquette side with the table pulled out for us to slide in so that maximum “gawking” is achieved as neither of us has our back to the restaurant.

We’re handed the enormous 1 sheet menus. My sister, whilst not a regular, has been here several times and has never liked the food. However some that she has been with have so perhaps it’s extremely bad luck with food choices. And you may be surprised to learn that prices are very reasonable with some very English foods like Fish & Chips, Shepherd’s Pie £16.50 and Bangers & Mash £13.75 to more Asian fare. Having been told by my sister that the Shepherd’s Pie, the item that the waiter tells us is their signature, is in fact not great, we opt for two dishes, the Slow roasted Blythburgh Pork belly with black pudding hash £16.75 and the Salmon fishcake with sauteed spinach and sorrel sauce £15.75.

While we wait for our meals, the bread arrives with butter and it’s pretty good, the butter at the right temperature for spreading. And it’s not long after doing a subtle check around of the restaurant patrons (mixed: some “chav-like” but not quite Vicki Pollard, mostly middle class) that our mains arrive.

You’ll have to trust me about the descriptions but it seems we are in luck. Both of our meals are very good, particularly the Slow cooked Blytheburgh pork belly which is in 4 rectangles and has a delectable crackling on it. The black pudding hash complements it wonderfully.

Salmon fishcake £15.75

Similarly, the salmon fishcake is substantial for a single but thick fishcake, full of salmon and not filler. The spinach layer underneath is also substantial and the sorrel sauce delicious. The photo above is from The Ivy’s own website which is a fairly accurate representation of the dish, although I think I could’ve taken a better one

We’re not tempted by the desserts, indeed the “star” item is the Scandinavian iced berries with white chocolate sauce looks like frozen berries with chocolate sauce poured onto it at the table. And being a good food blogger, if I can’t photograph it, I’m not as interested.

And as for celebrities? I am not familiar with English celebs but I may have seen a soccer player. Well you know the kind, someone fairly good looking with a fairly good looking girlfriend that looks like they might be famous. Speaking to the staff there, they have also been briefed to be discreet although one does reveal that they are surprised at how different they look in real life - without the hair and makeup.

The Ivy

1-5 West Street
London
WC2H 9NQ
Tel: 020 7836 4751
Fax: 020 7240 9333
Dinner: 5.30pm till 12 midnight Monday to Saturday
5.30pm till 11pm on Sunday
http://www.the-ivy.co.uk
Vegetarian options: extensive, both vegetarian and vegan (see separate menu on website)