The Ivy

The Ivy is not what is was after a short stop over in London after being out of the capital for way to long I made a reservation at my favourite table and was disarmed to see the state of what the place had become. I ordered my starter and main, lets just say that I never made it that far.

Starter over I left, never to return.
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Tony silvas - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

An unforgettable experience. We will not be going back to the Ivy in a hurry!

Cramped bar with no seating available: On arrival we were ushered to the pokey bar, standing room only. Were presented with some half eaten bowl of nuts, already ravaged by the hungry diners who had clearly been stuck in this stoppover for some time before us. Drinks were slow to come. 3/4 drinks had just arrived - 20mins later - at which point we were ushered to our table.

Special requests: health warning. Asking for anything bespoke in this place, seemed much too challenging for them. We requested a gluten free variant on devilled kidneys. This ended up being three devilled kidneys on a plate. Neither appetising nor tasty.

Hit and miss mains: really enjoyed the Poulet for 2 stuffed with foie gras. Tasty and well presented. Unfortunately our guests were no so lucky! The cod was remiscent of an average chip shop meal, sloppy not crispy or fluffy batter.

Creme brulee: lovely.

They were kind enough not to charge us for the fish course, but that did not detract from the feeling we had just had a spot to eat in an allso ran brasserie.
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Gary R
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Sunday, August 15, 2010

Last night the Hubby took the 9yo and I to The Ivy, before we went off to see Chicago the musical. The 9yo has wanted to see it for some time, and the Hubby thought the treat would be complete if she ate somewhere lovely first - she is a bit of a foodie already, and The Ivy was arguable the closest good restaurant. It's also part of the Caprice Holdings which owns, amongst others, J Sheekey's and Scotts - two of my all time favourites!

It's been some time since we ate at The Ivy, and we'd remembered being distinctly unimpressed on previous occasions, but, you can get carried away with the hype of some restaurants and here we were again.

The doorman leapt to open our cab, but didn't really look at us and was on a mobile phone - perhaps someone inside the restaurant was giving him instructions? We encountered chatting staff at every stage until we reached our table. Little details like this niggle me - you don't get it in well-run restaurants.

We were actually given a decent table for The Ivy - I have often felt that there was a distinct division in the room - and this seemed less apparent last night. Gradually though it became apparent that there was no division in the room, because most of the people in the room were food tourists... This is the second time in a month that I've been in a very well-known dining room and felt that I was part of some art installation - there were people in tracksuits (?), groups of girls who looked as though they were on a hen night (?), large Americans prodding their food, and random groups of business people openly talking about their deals...

I distinctly remember the first time I went to The Ivy about 15 years ago - it really was full of luvvies. The food had been good, but we had been placed in Siberia and felt very much that we were on the outside looking in. Last night felt quite different. The atmosphere had really changed, there was no tinkling laughter, and chinking glass...

But enough of the room - how about the food? The staff knew that we were on a fairly tight schedule, and took our order promptly - we opted to go straight to mains, so that the 9yo could fit a dessert in. Drinks were ordered, some didn't arrive. The tables on either side of us managed to get through at least two of their courses and we sat patiently waiting for our main courses. After over 30 minutes, a member of staff said that dishes were just being plated up - now the 9yo had chargrilled chicken, the Hubby had a veal chop, and I had yellow-fin tuna - I could have turned this out in 30 minutes... Finally after over 45 minutes our food arrived... It was cooked proficiently, but it's difficult to say it was good when you've waited so long for it. It looked as though it could have come out of any kitchen.

The veal came with anchovies, capers and a fried egg on top - perhaps an unusual combination, but the Hubby said they went very well together. The 9yo's chargrilled chicken came with broadbeans and artichokes, and looked very nice. My tuna was actually a very large chunk - perhaps more reminiscent of a piece of fillet steak - and was medium-rare. It was served with bok-choy, and noodles - the noodles were undercooked and weren't slippery with the sauce, more a staccato counterpoint to the tender tuna. We also had a herb green salad, the parmesan courgettes, and the 9yo had a portion of chips. These arrived separately to the main course.

Main course over, we waited about 10 minutes for someone to clear the plates, despite indicating that we were finished. We ordered the 9yo a selection of sorbets (passion fruit, strawberry and lemonade), and I ordered a coffee. The sorbet came... We waited... No coffee... By now the Hubby was getting quite agitated. We considered abandoning it altogether, but it appeared just as we were signalling for the bill.

When it arrived the Hubby complained - the food had taken far to long to arrive - things had arrived in parcels, some items hadn't arrived until we had pointed out their absence... Given the reputation of The Ivy, and the prices they charge, it really wasn't acceptable. They apologised, but took no responsibility - we should have been told that if we didn't intend to eat a starter, our main course would be at least 30 minutes.... We weren't told that, and frankly, for a restaurant of this repute I think that's utter rubbish. The kitchen can't cope with orders coming in randomly? When we arrived at 6.15 practically the whole restaurant was packed - most people were already on their first courses, and within minutes, their second courses. And why had someone apologised to us for the absence of food after 30 minutes, promising its imminent arrival? It really isn't good enough.

So, people - if you have been to The Ivy recently, I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about... If you haven't - foodies - please go to J Sheekey's - the food is better - the atmosphere is better - the staff are more efficient! If you do want to go the The Ivy, make sure it's to impress someone who really doesn't eat out in London. Rather damningly, the hubby compared it to Garfunkels, and it's got to be 20 years since we ate at one of those! I fear it's going to be as long before we'd eat at The Ivy again.
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Nick Roe
2 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Went to The Ivy for lunch on Tuesday 20th July, had a fantastic meal. I had the duck, watermelon and chilli cashew nuts salad to start and was the best starter I have ever had, followed by the scallops which were to die for, then the peanut dessert which was also fantastic, plus lovely wine. Service was good but felt abit hurried at times.
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Sarah from Jsy C.I.
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, August 02, 2010

Ate there Monday 19 July 2010, duck starter over cooked, grilled chicken main course dry and over cooked, after complaining manager deducted cost from our bill, poor food at great cost.
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S E Gibson
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, July 23, 2010

I took my wife to the Ivy for our 10th Wedding Anniversary as a pre theatre treat and I have to say that it was superb. We were shown to our table upon arrival and served like we were film stars. The waiting staff were very attentive and pleasant. We each had a 3 course meal and drinks, could'nt believe my bill was under £100.

I do have to be a little critical of the Ivy's booking system. I was not allowed to book more than 8 weeks in advance, which I think is a nonsense, but still a very enjoyable experience.
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Ralph Anderson
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 12, 2010

I went to The Ivy with my brother to celebrate my birthday. The waiters were fantastic, and very attentive. The food was brilliant, we both had burger and fries, the burger was cooked brilliantly, the sauce was to die for. Our dessert was lovely.

On hearing that it was my birthday we were celebrating the head waiter gave me a menu which he signed as a momento. The doorman also took our photos outside for us.
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Sonya Bennetts
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, July 04, 2010

Anyone who thinks this isn't great is an idiot.

I own several restaurants in London myself (that you have heard of) and aside of course from my own loyalty the Ivy is absolutely the finest example of restaurant poetry in motion.

Leaving aside the staggering number of covers they do every single day the food is head and shoulders in the top 3% of what you can get in London. The menu is vast and the execution about 95% all of the time.

To be honest most people reviewing here aren't qualified to comment. It's popular to knock the Ivy. I suspect they don't care because they know how good they are.

On behalf or restaurateurs all over; the general public can get lost when they come to writing reviews, they by and large have mediocre and meaningless work lives and this is the hardest business in the world. I think we all know that if we could do our restaurants as well as the Ivy we'd be very happy people.
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Anon
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A very poor value for money deal - it would be over-priced at half the charges being made here. The food is plain in content and in presentation and the restaurant very overcrowded and too noisy. £4 for a side dish of small quantity and not very well cooked vegetables to go with main course prices that are already too high for the quality provided. We had a zabaglione pudding which was a travesty of what this dish should be - a few raspberries in a wet sloppy custardy substance, whereas zabaglione should be a light airy whipped and very much (Marsala) tastier dish. And if you want petit fours with your coffee you pay extra for them. Of all the so called quality restaurants we have been to this was the worst experience.
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J.K.Smith
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dear oh dear oh dear oh dear. What a bland, uninspiring place this is - with food to match. 'Understated' some say. 'Undertaker required' says I. I was expecting faded art deco grandeur, but it's rather like being in the executive canteen of a large company unable to adapt to the modern age, which actually sneaks the food in from the staff canteen.

No complaints about the waiting crew who were bustlingly efficient and helpful. Our Italian waiter, Alain, was smart and amusing without being intrusive - cheeky indeed, without overstepping the mark.

So .. the food. Perfectly nice bread, with perfectly nice butter ... so far so good (to the lady from Cheshire, fine dining rarely involves side plates). The starters: courgettes in Parmesan crust with salsa ... more like turkey twizzlers without the turkey. Not the vaguest hint of Parmesan or crustiness ... onion rings from Burger King are crunchier and tastier, don't settle for these unless you'd be happy eating Kermit's forearms. The beetroot soup with a whallop of fish in the middle looked quite nice, and the chopped salad with walnuts and general debris, looked okay, but uninspiring. I'd been recommended the Risotto Primavera - it was waaaaaay too salty ... an unforgiveable mistake. My three companions had fish and chips, some sort of Asian fish thing and eggs Florentine. The slab of fish in batter was just plonked on mushy peas and the chips ... they were like small potato Flumps, flaccid fingers of fatty limp spud. Very, very poor. There were no comments about the food from my fellow diners.

Puds. Okay, better. We shared four. We had the Cru Virunga chocolate nonsense. Much crowing about rare chocolate from the Republic of Congo *yawn*. Three dollops of chocolatey stuff on a plate: chocolate ice cream (good), meringue with a sort of chocolate scab stabbed in it (not bad) and a little mousse tart thing with sour cream (very good). Sorbet: blackcurrant (good). Peanut ice cream with hot chocolate sauce and a sort of chocolate covered Jordans crunch bar (bloody gorgeous). Again, we'd had recommended the iced berries with hot white chocolate sauce. A flat plate with frozen berries sprinkled on it arrives (with Happy Birthday inscribed in chocolate around the edge for the friend we were treating - nice touch) and the waiter poured a rather thin, viscous pus over the berries. It tasted okay, but it really wasn't anything special.

As it was a birthday outing, my friends and I all said what a lovely evening it was - interestingly, none of us commented on the food ... which I suspect meant we all had a strange empty feeling despite being stuffed to the gills.

If it weren't for the excellent company, this much-anticipated, eagerly-awaited evening would have been unrelentingly dull and hugely disappointing. If you want art deco surroundings, top-notch imaginative grub and an exceptional dining experience head for Rogano's in Glasgow.
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Roadrunner131
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Saturday, June 05, 2010