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Irish Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Famed Ivy to open second restaurant on Dawson Street
Having earned the distinction seven years ago of being the Ivy Collection's first location outside the UK, Dawson Street is set to become home to another of the group's restaurants. While the details of its arrival on the street have yet to be confirmed, The Irish Times understands that the Asian-inspired Ivy Asia has signed a deal to occupy the 12,500sq ft restaurant/retail space on the ground-floor and basement level of number 12 Dawson Street. The letting was handled by Savills, who declined to comment on the matter. Better known as the former, longstanding headquarters of New Ireland Assurance, number 12 Dawson Street was redeveloped in recent years by Paddy McKillen jnr's Oakmount and its partners, Core Capital, and is home today to Goodbody Stockbrokers. The space being taken by the Ivy Asia had, at one point, been earmarked for a restaurant to be operated by McKillen jnr's Press Up hospitality group. Number 12 Dawson Street is located immediately adjacent to the block occupied by the Ivy Collection's existing restaurant, the Ivy Dawson. Both the Ivy Dawson and Ivy Asia form part of the wider Ivy Collection, a diverse group of restaurants, cafes and brasseries under the same ownership as the original Ivy restaurant in Soho, in London. READ MORE They are part of Richard Caring's Caprice Holdings, which operates a string of high-profile restaurants and hospitality outlets across London and the UK, including Scott's, J Sheeky, Daphne's and Sexy Fish. According to its website, the Ivy Asia aims to bring diners through what it describes as 'a journey of the senses with a dining and drinking story inspired by Asian influence'. As is the case with its sister restaurants in the Ivy Collection, the Asian-themed venues 'offer a luxurious and theatrical setting in both design and decor'.
Telegraph
29-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The best pink crémant for spring
When Darren Ball, group head of wine for Caprice Holdings, was putting together the wine list for the Manchester branch of the restaurant Sexy Fish, which opened in autumn 2023, he had an important conundrum to solve: what sparkling wine would he put in the entry-level 'by the glass' slot? He contemplated prosecco. 'But to champion a prosecco we feel is good-quality, worth selling by the glass… [it would go on the list at about] £60 a bottle… A small percentage [of customers] will appreciate you've found them a great prosecco, the majority will think you're ripping them off.' Going 'super-cheap' but low quality would have been an option, but that's not Ball's vibe. So he decided to go with crémant. But not just any crémant – a high-quality rosé crémant. This pink fizz has been wildly popular, even among those customers who haven't been following the crémant trend. 'You tick two boxes: [customers think] 'Great, I get to drink rosé and it's got bubbles.' And there's no price expectation,' says Ball. Quite so. If you're a long-time reader of this column then you will have known about crémant for years. The gloss, for anyone who has missed it: crémant is sparkling wine made in France using the same method as they do in Champagne. Sales have been climbing for ages but two things made me realise we had reached a tipping point. First, crémant has moved beyond the realm of 'good-value alternative to cheap Champagne'. The word now has cachet and luxe associations of its own. Second, my mum called to ask about 'something called crémant' that someone in her West Yorkshire Pilates group really likes, and was annoyed not to find on the drinks list when she went out recently. Rosé crémant is not as widely available as the white version we have come to know and love, but it is made in the same places, which include Limoux (in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France), Alsace, Loire and Bordeaux. And, similarly, it varies a lot in style, not just because different grapes are permitted in different regions; as ever with rosé, it also comes in a range of shades and flavour intensities. Some rosé crémant is so pale and similar to its white counterpart that I am not sure I'd call it for a rosé if I were tasting with my eyes shut. Others are quite intensely fruity or floral with flavours of wild strawberries or redcurrants overlying a biscuity richness. The quality range of the wines I tasted to make these recommendations made things a little tricky. On tasting the first (and largest) batch, I wasn't sure I wanted to recommend any of the cheaper or mid-priced supermarket bottles because one from The Wine Society (at £15.50) and one from Yapp Brothers (at £18.75) were so vastly better than those priced at a similar level and a few pounds below. Then, fortunately, I opened a second tranche of wines and found a couple of value supermarket options. Of those higher-end bottles, my mum's favourite was the Antech Crémant de Limoux Rosé Emotion from The Wine Society (see Wines of the Week). I agree it is delicious, but for me the winner of the entire tasting was Domaine Collin Cuvée Prestige Rosé Brut NV, France (12.5%, Yapp Brothers, £18.75), which is sophisticated, dry and delicate with a gentle fragrance of red berries with subtle florals. I really loved it and felt it more than delivered for the extra cost. Either way, with these rosé sparkling wines all we need is a little spring sunshine. Wines of the week
