Ivy opens with party celebration

Diners in Edinburgh are eagerly awaiting the opening of The Ivy restaurant which has already received 7,000 bookings ahead of its opening next week.

It is part of the famous Ivy restaurant business which is a popular venue for celebrities in London’s west end.

Eric Garnier, general manager of the Edinburgh brasserie, hosted a party for 250 guests including DJ Edith Bowman and the author Ian Rankin, to mark the opening of the Ivy on the Square in the growing ‘cuisine quarter’ in St Andrew Square.

Mr Garnier, the former co-owner of French restaurant Racine in London’s Knightsbridge, said he was “surprised” by the level of interest.

“We thought we would have a big demand but not that much. The bookings take us to December, but there are still tables available,” he said. 

The restaurant will handle 340 covers a day.

“I love it here,” said Mr Garnier who is married to a Scotswoman. “We always planned to live in Scotland and now I can also walk to work.”

Special guest Edith Bowman played a special set, while other celebrity guests included new Homes under the Hammer presenter Martel Maxwell, restaurateur Tony Singh and the comedian Bruce Devlin.

The restaurant opens to the public on 20 September and will be one of six in the new building owned by owned by  Standard Life Investments Pooled Property Pension. 

It will be the new HQ for Aberdeen Standard Investments following the £11 billion merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.

All photos by Terry Murden (copyright)