WATCH: The day I ate a tennis ball at The Ivy in York

As Wimbledon fever reaches a peak this weekend ahead of the singles' finals, one York restaurant is turning tennis into an tasty treat.

The Ivy in St Helen's Square, York, has the Centre Court white chocolate bombe as a special dessert on its menu this week - and it's proving a big hit with diners.

As our video shows - it is easy to see why! There's a touch of theatre to the dessert. The bombe is the double of a yellow tennis ball in size and design. It arrives on a large white porcelain plate - sitting plonked in the middle and looking like a stray ball straight from the All England Lawn Tennis Club in SW19.

Then the magic happens. The waiter pours a warm strawberry (well it had to be, right?!) coulis over the ball - and it slowly begins to melt to reveal the heavenly treasure inside: a to-die-for combo of strawberries, vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream and shortbread.

One word sums this up: ace!

WATCH: The Centre Court Chocolate dessert ball experience at The Ivy

The dessert was the perfect end to an impressive meal at The Ivy, which had invited us to try out some of its summer specials, including cocktails.

Take That frontman Gary Barlow dined there last month (in the private upstairs dining room) with his crew following a performance of his show, A Different Stage, at the Grand Opera House.

Unfortunately on our visit on Monday night, there were no celebrities to be spotted - instead, the stars of the night were what we had to eat and drink.

Two new cocktails for the season are the Bloodflowers Margarita (£11.50) and the Mango Colada (£9.75). The former came in a sugar encrusted coupe glass and brought a slightly sweeter twist to the classic Margarita with its mix of tequila, elderflower liqueur, blood orange, lime and orange juice. The Mango Colada, served in a tall glass with ice, was fruity and tropical with shots of rum, coconut, mango and lime. Close your eyes and you are in the Caribbean rather than Coney Street (we wish!).

The Ivy offers a good-value set-price menu: two courses for £17.95/three courses £22.95 with the likes of fried halloumi and gravalax for starters, plant-based Malaysian curry, cod goujons for mains, as well as steak, egg and chips for a £3.95 supplement. Desserts include ice-cream and blackberry panna cotta and there is a cheese offer too. The set menu is available from 11.30am to close Monday to Wednesday (except Bank Holidays) and Thursday to Friday 11.30am to 6.30pm.

A vegetarian and vegan menu is available too on request.

Or there is the ambitious and wide-ranging a la carte selection - with something to suit every taste and pocket too, with starters ranging from £7.50 to £13.95, and mains from £14.50 to £33.95.

Picking up the tennis theme, for the first set, my doubles partner for the evening and me rallied with the crispy duck salad (£8.95) and the roasted scallops (£13.95), passing spoonfuls of each dish between each other to see which was the winner. We got stuck at deuce - neither had an advantage on the other, and each was a winner in its own right. The salad amounted to shreds of warm, crispy meat, slightly sweetened by five-spice dressing, and cooled with chunks of juicy watermelon, with a welcome crunch from beansprouts, and toasted cashews. The scallops were another piece of culinary theatre, hidden at first sight beneath a white parmesan foam, and nestling in a yummy base of pea puree. The crispy potato cubes on the side were a welcome touch to a knock-out starter.

Lobster linguine at The Ivy in York

For the second set, we had another draw, with nothing to separate the lobster linguine (£29.95) from the monkfish and prawn curry (£18.95) in terms of tastiness. The side of broccoli (£4.75) was elevated to champion status too with the addition of lemon oil and sea salt; it was perfectly cooked and green and glossy as if ready for a magazine shoot.

If there was one note, my partner found his portions (the duck salad and linguine) on the smallish side, while I found mine adequate. Service was excellent, attentive and charming without being intrusive.

For our final set, the tennis ball chocolate bombe had to battle it out with another summer special: the almond and blueberry panna cotta (£7.95), which was a lovely and light set cream flavoured with lemon and almond. Again, we couldn't announce a winner.

In the event of a draw in the match, Wimbledon has a tiebreaker, but The Ivy offers no such resolution.

The answer? It seems a return visit will be needed to settle the score.

Find out more at: theivyyork.com