Cirencester Park Polo Club is the most historic polo club in England and hosts a variety of high goal Tournaments, alongside other fantastic events from balls to art exhibitions. The location is splendid and attracts crowds of people. In the past years the restaurant at the polo club was open only for lunches on weekends and catered by Relish. The food held up the restaurants reputation however the club decided to take the opportunity of the perfect venue and hire a resident full-time chef who can up lift the restaurant to become a popular eatery serving gourmet food. The Ivy Lodge Clubhouse has existed since the clubs founding in 1884 and has been host to many royalties and nobles throughout history (photo left, circa 1920s).

The response to the reopening of the restaurant has been fabulous with so many compliments to the chef and consistently cleaned off plates being returned to the kitchen. A buzzy atmosphere has been prevalent with guests also enjoying our splendid wine and drinks menu. Since opening, careful consideration has gone into the menu due to starting with various sample menus to discover which plates were most popular, a summer menu is now available hand selected from the best dishes. The Head Chef is confident in what is being served and is welcoming both press and critics into the website to enjoy and review the food.

Ethan has previously been a part of The Lucky Onion group and has worked in many locally renowned restaurants around the Cotswolds, building his own impeccable reputation. At the age of 25 he was awarded with his first AA rosette and Bib Gourmand which shows just how naturally talented he is. He started his career and learnt from the best at some of the most reputable restaurants in London including The Dorchester and The Conrad. He has since worked at some of the best Cotswold eateries including taking over from the founder at Made by Bob’s Brassiere, The Bell Inn and The Wheatsheaf (Northleach). Ethan has had some fantastic press including being featured in The Huffington Post and Evening Standard. We are delighted to now have Ethan as part of our team and the leader in all things food at The Ivy Lodge Clubhouse.

What’s on the menu?

There’s plenty of polo-themed dishes to tuck into such as the ‘Chukka’-Cheese Burger and The Bookmaker Sandwich with ‘Horsetard’ sauce. Many ingredients are local including using UK sourced buffalo mozzarella from Laverstoke Farm and wild garlic from the Bathurst Estate in the Acquerello Risotto – picked by the chefs themselves! This lies perfectly within Ethan’s philosophy of ‘using fine locally sourced produce, cooked simply and served in a way that allows the food to speak for itself’ – which Ivy Lodge’s menu certainly does!

For starters you can take your tastebuds around the world with a broad range of internationally inspired dishes such as the wholesome and refreshing Spanish gazpacho soup topped with Valencian almonds or blow your mind and indulge in the Thai fusion bang-bang chicken salad, served with pickled vegetables and a peanut dressing or go with a classic Greek Caesar salad served with Cos lettuce and a soft poached egg. Or taste the tri-colors of Italy with the oozing Laverstoke Farm mozzarella with Isle of Wight cherry tomatoes and Basil.

Within the mains you will find that Ethan seemingly has a way of taking a classic dish and making it in the best possible way and exceeding expectations. One of the most popular dishes on the menu is the ‘Steak Frites’, a dry aged 6oz pave steak served with fries and Bearnaise sauce, this is a truly indulgent and delicious steak with little to no fat.

For those of us who aren’t meat eaters, the Bathurst Estate Wild Garlic Acquerello Risotto with fresh peas, mint, pesto and a free range poached egg is just as divine and indulgent. With a drizzle of pesto and tangs of mint, flavours roar within this dish and the textures of the rice, peas and egg are equally smooth and crunchy.

The ‘Chukka’ Cheeseburger has been described as the ‘Best burger I’ve ever tasted’, as Ethan really went crazy with this classic. A burger is never just about the meat as although the burger itself is homemade, the vegetarian version is equally as good due to the other complimentary fillings and condiments. The tobacco onions, also known as angry onions, are expertly crafted with taste and crunch perfected, they add so much flavour due to the specialised spice mix (which does not actually contain tobacco). Ethan’s famous secret burger sauce one cannot say much about as the ingredients are unknown except the fact it is frankly mouth-watering and the perfect complement to the juicy burger.

Finally the fishy-dishes cannot go amiss with both a Whole South Coast Plaice and Smoked Salmon, Prawn and Mussel Platter giving reminisce to coastal travel. The Plaice is served with marinated heritage tomatoes and Salsa Verde, the freshness of the tomatoes and ‘green’ taste of the Salsa Verde neutralise and pairs perfectly with the saltiness of the fish. On the other hand, The Seafood Platter is really an ocean delight, however in its case with each seafood giving such different flavours, they in turn create a perfect harmony and the addition of caper berries, Bloody Mary dressing and a soft slice of sourdough bread adds the different textures and range of enticing flavours.

The menu doesn’t stop there, we are welcoming critics and press to come and try this delightful menu (see below) which also features selected divine deserts such as Cardamom & Earl Grey Tea Panna Cotta with exotic fruit or the Baked Snickers Pudding which is a hot chocolate mousse with a peanut centre served with vanilla cream.