A new collaboration between Brighton & Hove Museums and The Ivy Asia Brighton invites visitors to immerse themselves in a world of myth, art and flavour, while directly supporting the preservation of the city’s cultural heritage.
Running until 27th July 2026, the Royal Dragons experience celebrates the power, beauty and mystery of one of the world’s most iconic mythical figures. Inspired by the new DRAGONS exhibition at the Royal Pavilion, the partnership blends heritage and hospitality into a unique cultural offering.
The Ivy Asia will donate £10 per Royal Dragons experience adult ticket and £5 per child ticket sold to Brighton & Hove Museums to support the charity’s vital work to preserve and share the city’s unique heritage and collections for generations to come.
The Royal Pavilion was constructed as the seaside pleasure palace of King George IV. George hired architect Henry Holland to transform his Brighton lodging house into a modest villa which became known as the Marine Pavilion. With his love of visual arts and fascination with the mythical orient, George set about lavishly furnishing and decorating his seaside home. He especially chose Chinese export furniture and objects, and hand-painted Chinese wallpapers.
In 1811 George was sworn in as Prince Regent because his father, George III, had been deemed incapable of acting as monarch. At that time the Marine Pavilion was a modest building in size, not suitable for the large social events and entertaining that George loved to host. In 1815, George commissioned John Nash to begin the transformation from modest villa into the magnificent oriental palace that we see today.
Queen Victoria made her first visit to the Royal Pavilion in 1837 and this gesture of royal approval thrilled the people of Brighton. However the lack of space in the Royal Pavilion, and its association with her extravagant and indulgent elder uncle, made Queen Victoria feel uncomfortable. She adopted a policy of financial stringency during her residence in Brighton.
As her family grew and the Royal Pavilion failed to provide her with the space and privacy she needed, she finally sold her uncle’s pleasure palace to the town of Brighton for over £50,000 in 1850. As it was thought the building would be demolished, she ordered the building to be stripped of all its interior decorations, fittings and furnishings, for use in other royal homes.
Since being acquired by Brighton, it has seen many restorations. In 1864 Queen Victoria returned many items – chandeliers, wall paintings, fixtures – with further gifts being made in 1899. Queen Mary later returned original decorations, including furniture that had remained at Buckingham Palace. The most recent restoration project has been the Saloon. After years of research and meticulous conservation, the Saloon was returned to its original design in 2018.
The Saloon
The kitchen
The Pavilion really is a wonder. It is very richly and sumptiously decorated and is quite astonishing to visit. Appropriately given the Dragons exhibition, there are original dragons everywhere as well. The Saloon is a very impressive room, and similar in scale and looks to the Durbar Room later designed for Queen Victoria at Osbourne House, except that room has an Indian rather than Chinese theme. The kitchen is vast and very interesting to visit, showing a menu from a visit of a Tsar of Russia with almost a hundred dishes on offer! Other rooms also beguile, including the beautiful Music Room, with its dramatic and vibrant decorations.
The Music Room
The staircase
Upstairs rooms are less dramatic but no less impressive, with more rich decoration and a certain charm as the scale is more modest. The staircase with its bamboo banister and glass ceilings is wonderful. Throughout the house, there are model dragons with games to play for younger visitors, making this a very enjoyable day out for the whole family. From golden guardians to hidden carvings in unexpected corners, discover the dragons watching over this magical palace. Follow their footsteps through myths and legends, where fearsome beasts meet elegant symbols of power and protection.
Starters…
…and mains
After our visit, we went off to Ivy Asia for the set lunch, which offers a choice of five starters and mains to choose from. We picked Gochujang Glazed Chicken and Pork & Kimchi Gyoza to start, followed by King Prawn and Garlic Chilli Noodles with Robata Grilled Miso Chicken. We were offered a welcome glass of champagne, which we had with some wontons and poppadums with lovely dipping sauces. Both the starters were delicious, the chicken was crisp and very well flavoured. The gyoza were large, very generously filled with a lovely light filling and both again had great dipping sauces. The noodles had a good flavour although the prawns themselves, while perfectly cooked, seemed a little bland after all the flavours of the starters. The miso chicken was very moist and juicy, had a lovely crisp skin and was lovely although it could have done with some rice or vegetables to go alongside it. Both the house rose and house red were very decent.
What a lovely taste of the east, both culturally and on the palate! A very enjoyable day which I recommend. And with plenty for the children to see and do at the Pavilion, it makes for a great family day out.
It runs until the 27th July and you get:
- Annual Pass for the Royal Pavilion and admission to the new DRAGONS exhibition
- Two-course Royal Dragons set menu with a glass of champagne or children’s menu at The Ivy Asia Brighton available for lunch or dinner
- Exceptional value at just £58.00 per adult and £36.50 per child (usually £78.50 and £40.40).
- The Ivy Asia will donate £10/£5 to Brighton & Hove Museums for every adult/child experience ticket sold!
Book at brightonmuseums.org.uk/dragons-at-the-royal-pavilion/royal-dragons-experience/.
