We tried the Christmas menu in Birmingham with a smoking chocolate Santa floating on a cloud of cream

There’s no mistaking, The Ivy Temple Row restaurant is one of the most popular venues to eat in Birmingham.

The classic restaurant oozes timeless charm with its beautiful decor, iconic British heritage and exquisite service.

It regularly gets booked up and its Christmas menu is one of the most popular in the West Midlands.

But does the 2025 offering live up to expectations?

Each year the restaurant chain, which is borne from the London celebrity hotspot which opened in 1917, chooses a seasonal theme to inspire guests.

There’s been a Polar Bear Christmas, Narnia and this year it is the Polar Express.

There's a big green train model to welcome you outside the front door, so we reckoned the team inside would be all set to make sure we were chuffed with our visit (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun).

Anyway, we visited on a Sunday afternoon and really were charmed as soon as we entered the restaurant.

Elegantly beautiful, buzzing with atmosphere, it’s always a pleasure to visit the venue next to Pigeon Park which is now hosting a Christmas market. 

The Christmas tree inside The Ivy was fabulously festive and the team were so welcoming.

The Christmas menu is a mix of classic Christmas dishes served alongside plenty of alternatives if you don’t fancy turkey and stuffing. And the desserts appeared particularly alluring.

It’s been ages since Christmas last year, so I went straight in for the classics - beginning my meal with a Prawn Cocktail.

It came with plenty of theatre, served upon a giant silver shellfish. The prawns were huge and juicy complemented by smoothly nourishing avocado and the crunchiest goodness of lettuce. The tang of the Marie Rose sauce finished the dish perfectly.

My mum chose The Ivy 1917 Cured Salmon served with slices of dark rye bread which she was equally as pleased with. 

For mains I opted for the perfectly portioned Turkey Ballotine. The apricot, cranberry and pork stuffing was a delicious accompaniment to the moist and plentiful helpings of meat, although a tad more seasoning could have made my dish even better.

A pig in blanket provided a tasty hit of fatty savoury sensation, with plenty of vegetable wholesomeness served up with sprouts and parsley mash, cranberry chutney and red wine sauce.

We also ordered a side of Buttered Green Beans which came with hearty roasted almonds.

My mum opted for the Crisp Sea Bass Fillet with Wild Mushroom Velouté which she highly recommended, especially with a side order of the most-more-ish mash potato served with extra virgin olive oil.

Our dinner so far was impressive. However it was the desserts that raised it onto an even higher level.

I chose The Ivy Santa and was once again presented with dining theatrics as the giant lid was taken away and plume of white smoke surrounded a (relatively) huge Father Christmas. He was made from vanilla parfait and a rich, white chocolate blondie and sat atop a delicious cloud-like sea of creamy milk chocolate mouse.

It was difficult to know where to start with Santa - but I finally decided to dig into his belt first and was rewarded with sweet riches of crunching chocolate and smoothly gorgeous parfait.

It’s a good job I’ve been good lately, otherwise I might not have been able to use my belt either.

My mum chose the Classic Christmas Pudding. It was flambéed in brandy and accompanied by red currants and vanilla cream which she was delighted with.

It was a most charming Christmas meal with such impressive desserts.

So does The Ivy Christmas menu live up to its expectations? 

The Christmas Set menu is priced at £60 for three courses and £55 for two courses.

For a city centre restaurant in Birmingham this is fair price - especially with the quality of service and ambience. 

It's well worth a treat for Christmas, although you may want to book early to avoid disappointment.

For more information go to: The Ivy Temple Row Christmas Set Menu