A table at The Ivy, according to AA Gill, is still one of the most sought-after pieces of furniture in London - a considerable achievement for a restaurant that opened in 1917, in a city where restaurants open and close as frequently as Gordon Ramsey utters obscenities.

In fact Dubai was a mere spec of humanity when the establishment first opened its doors, an obscure footnote in National Geographic - which itself had been in existence for a mere 29 years.

A boring historical meander, but for one thing. The Ivy is coming to Dubai.

Delivering the institution is Tatweer, who want to add a bit of glam to its Dubailand project. The Ivy, where celebrities usually clamor inelegantly to secure an evening spot, should do just that. It will certainly bring out those in Dubai who want to be seen in all the right places…

Tatweer will also bring in sister restaurant, Le Caprice, which is located behind the Ritz in the St James’s area of London. Like The Ivy, it should do well in the emirate as a place to be seen.

No news yet on Caprice Holdings’ J. Sheekey’s, a wonderful, old style fish restaurant which is less a place to be a star, and more a place to eat.

For those of you who want a taste of the future, herewith The Ivy’s Roasts and Grills menu. Prices are in sterling - despite its celebrity, it’s still remarkably good value - and down to earth.

Roasts and Grills

11.50 The Ivy hamburger with dill pickle and club sauce
*
13.75 Pork sausages and mash with onion gravy
*
16.50 Grilled chicken breast with smoked aubergine and chickpea relish
*
16.75 Slow-roasted Blythburgh pork belly with black pudding hash
*
19.75 Grilled calf’s liver and dried-cured bacon
*
24.75 New season Cornish lamb with minted vegetables & madeira sauce
*
24.75 Veal T-Bone chop with anchovy butter
*
26.75 Bannockburn rib steak served on the bone with allumettes and bèarnaise sauce
*
38.50 Roast poulet des Landes with Madeira jus and dauphin potato for two persons

One restaurant I hope they never bring to Dubai is ‘Rules’, London’s oldest and most welcoming restaurant, which first opened in 1798. Not because it’s not fabulous, it is, but because infused with the food is its history, and local produce from its own farm, which unlike celebrity, could not survive new world translation.