The Ivy Recensioni 

I am a regular user of The Ivy in London, in Winchester, York and Cambridge. Until now I have been happy with the product, at around 4* level. However, in their West St restaurant (London) there is now a £2 pp Cover Charge. If that is to become standard I will cease being a customer. I wrote to The Ivy to seek advice on the policy, asking what triggered it and their thoughts on whether it will spread to other restaurants in The Ivy Collection. They eventually replied via email, explaining that the Cover Charge " ... was introduced to support the continued quality of service and dining experience, especially during our busier periods". No, I have no idea what that means either. Their Guest Relations person added: " ... this charge is specific to that location, and there are no current plans to introduce it across all Ivy Collection venues". Well, it's bad enough that The Ivy add a 13.5% Service Charge ... I feel that we should all make a stand against this ratcheting up of charges, on top of a menu that is at the higher end of the price bracket. The food and the vibe are great, but one more Cover Charge and I'll cease my custom.

We were extremely underwhelmed with our recent visit to The Ivy, Belfast. From the start, our table by the window was uncomfortably drafty. While our cocktails arrived promptly, our bottle of wine was a completely different story. Despite three separate requests, it never materialised.

The food was equally disappointing. The chips tasted like cheap, frozen ones, and the rice served with the monkfish and prawn curry was stodgy. Even after expressing our dissatisfaction with the poor service, we still had to request a dessert menu.

We decided to try the speciality coffees, which were shockingly small considering their price. Worse, they were overly sweet and lacked any real coffee flavor. To add insult to injury, the bathrooms are located four flights of stairs up, making them inaccessible for anyone with mobility issues.

While the service charge was removed, it didn't make up for the overall poor experience. We would not recommend this restaurant and will certainly not be returning.

Ivy chichester

I recently had breakfast at The Ivy Chichester, and unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory. Upon arrival, there was no one to greet us or seat us, leaving us standing around for five minutes before I had to flag someone down. This lack of initial hospitality set a disappointing tone for the visit.

Once seated, we ordered drinks—a cup of tea and a cappuccino. After waiting another ten minutes and browsing the menu, we placed our orders: a full breakfast with fried eggs for myself and a vegetarian breakfast with a side of smoked salmon for my partner.

We waited nearly 50 minutes for our food to arrive, which felt excessive, especially with the restaurant only at 20% capacity. When my breakfast finally came, I was disheartened to find the fried eggs overcooked; one was so burnt it was unrecognizable, and the other was hard instead of runny. It appeared to have been sitting under a hot plate for far too long. I was offered a replacement for the eggs, but at that point, I had lost my appetite entirely after such a long wait and subpar food quality.

To add insult to injury, the bacon was burnt, and the potatoes were uninviting. My partner's vegetarian breakfast was mediocre at best. As we were leaving, I noticed a hotdog stand outside selling fresh hotdogs for just £4. After the breakfast debacle, I opted for one of those instead.

Overall, my experience at The Ivy Chichester was disappointing. The service was lacking, the food quality did not meet expectations, and the atmosphere felt pretentious for what was delivered. If you're considering dining here, I would recommend exploring other options—perhaps even the hotdog vendor outside, which turned out to be a far more enjoyable choice. Save your time and money; The Ivy is overpriced and trying to be something it’s not.

I’ve now cancelled my reservation for Valentine’s Day after my experience today.

The Ivy Liverpool.The staff are not Ivy trained. Too much over familiarity. They could learn a lot from the staff at sister restaurants.
Front of house and bar staff chewing gum. Disgusting and common at the best of times.
Service extremely slow. There was enough staff for better service.
Eye contact is required at front of house. Don’t ignore the customer if there is more than one person on reception which there is.

Consistently good food and good service. Shout out to Harry Young, the General Manager who is always helpful and goes above and beyond to help out customers with bookings etc.

Frequently use ivy Asia Guildford so use the ivy chain regularly but came to ivy garden Chelsea and can’t believe how bad it was. The burger was genuinely the worst burger I have ever eaten overcooked under seasoned patty and burnt bun to point thought was stale. My 5yr old kids spaghetti came out 5mins after mine crazy. Then we ordered sticky toffee pudding which was brought to the table without the toffee sauce instead of taking pack left on table for 6mins until came back and poured over at table so odd!!!

Should have gone Mc D’s for my burger would have been far more satisfied and saved £70

Shocking

I really wish I could give this a better rating as we were really looking forward to it - and it was a birthday treat. To start with the positives: the decor is sumptuous and dramatic. They have clearly spent a lot of money on this and it is stunning to look at. It is also a bit difficult to look at because they keep the lighting so low that you can barely see someone across the room - but one of the better aspects, nonetheless. The waiting staff are also very attentive despite having to battle to be heard because the music is so very loud. It is, I am reliably informed by a younger companion, the kind of music typically played in clubs. Apparently, they also have a DJ on some nights - although, mercifully, not when I went. Conversation with fellow diners is rendered difficult, if not impossible, by the volume so not the place for either intimate or stimulating conversation - or perhaps any as you start by shouting a bit then get tired and give up. We had a sharing menu consisting of a number of small courses and the staff were very diligent about serving and clearing away throughout. The food was variable in quality, I would say - and definitely not worth the £48 pp price. It is all very expensive with the cheapest wine starting at £50 a bottle escalating to well over £100. Ordering food a la carte or having the more expensive sharing menu would be really expensive also - and not worth the money, really, as it is just little bits of pleasant but not spectacular food. As a dining experience it was overpriced and disappointing. The washrooms (shared with the next-door Ivy) are just as sumptuous as the rest but were crammed with girls taking pictures for Instagram to show off that they had been there. And that says it all, really. It’s not about having a good meal, more about saying you’ve been there and getting the photos on your socials to prove it. Basically, it doesn’t know whether it’s a night club or a restaurant - problematical if you just want a decent meal and they would be better served by making this particular vibe clearer when you booked. I noted a couple of more elderly diners looking completely stunned - and not in a good way! I actually felt more relaxed when I stepped out of the place than when I was in it.

Went to the restaurant last night waited an hour to be served. Everyone kept ignoring us then when our food come it was cold. I had shepherds pie and the mince was awful and I even had a bone in my dinner. I am a regular in all the ivy in London come to this one as I live here very disappointed.

My review would have been 5star had the staff remembered it was my husband’s birthday!
Food was excellent as always. Thank you

Below is a series of complaints and it is now the 15th Jan. Having been acknowledged on the 9th Jan, I have still yet to receive ANY response other than an automated "We have received your email and will respond"

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Please see the message below sent on Thursday 9th January that was acknowledged and received the same day and I am still waiting on any response. It has been almost impossible to make contact with anybody sensible and I am now left with the option of contacting you through Trustpilot with my complaint in full view for all to see which I hope will not be necessary.
I just want to feel that the my custom is valuable to.

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Dear Sirs,
I just wanted to let you know that I'm very disappointed with the shameful service we received when I brought my partner to the Ivy at Cobham this morning for her birthday.
I made a point of calling into the restaurant the day before to explain it was her birthday treat and I selected a table that I wanted us to sit at. All of this was supposedly noted at the reception desk while I was there by two members of staff.

However, when we arrived, we were sat at a completely different table as the one I had selected was occupied and there was no birthday welcome at all. When I spoke to a member of the waiting staff who I believe to be a Manager as she had a different uniform to the waitress who looked after us at our table, she questioned me as to whether I had actually called in the day before. She apologised but repeatedly said well we don't have any record of me coming in. I would have thought a better way to handle the situation would be a sincere apology and say we will have a word with the member of staff that was on the front desk yesterday. The way the whole situation was handled was extremely embarrassing and did not feel like an apology at all.

Furthermore, a cake was bought out with a candle in it but when I had just gone to the washrooms. My partner was left sitting at the table with the cake and candle on her own. The waitress apparently said, 'this isn't good timing but.........' Surely commonsense would prevail and it could have been held back until I returned.
Overall it was a very disappointing experience and I particularly wanted it to be special as my partner has been ill all over Christmas and New Year and this was her first time out.

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Sent:11th Jan having received my acknowledgment.
I am still wondering if you are going to have the common decency to ever contact me ??
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You have received new feedback

Type of enquiry
Feedback
First name
Howard
Last name
Walden
All plus the correct email address to respond to.

The Ivy Cheltenham - you should expect two things from a dining experience, good fresh food and an enjoyable experience. neither of which we received on the 14th January. The food was cold and dried out, a burger bun that you can crumble in your fingers and snap in half isn’t good fresh food, the burger blackened. As for the experience you’re a mark, shove you through as quickly as possible politely, but the staff want to go home by 9.45. Sadly it’s not the first time ive had appalling food and service at the ivy.

Lovely breakfast experience at the Ivy Bournemouth, great food and amazing service, beautiful decor , and they brought out birthday little cakes when I mentioned 2 of our party had birthdays, highly recommend

I recently dined at The Ivy Asia (Brighton), and while the overall experience was positive, there are a couple of areas that could use improvement.
Let me start with the highlights: the food was absolutely excellent—delicious, beautifully presented, and clearly prepared with care. A special mention goes to our waitress, Jamie, who was wonderful throughout our visit. She was incredibly attentive, helpful, and genuinely made us feel welcomed and valued as customers.

However, there were a couple of issues at the front of house that detracted from the experience. First, we had to wait 15 minutes outside in the cold (-1°C) before being signed in and seated. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining, but if the weather had been worse, this would have been even more uncomfortable.
Second, the cloakroom situation was a mess, causing unnecessary congestion in an already small and cramped reception area. It was chaotic and made the whole process of being seated unnecessarily stressful. With four front-of-house staff present, it was surprising to see such confusion about seating customers efficiently.

While these issues didn’t ruin the evening, they did feel out of place for a restaurant charging premium prices. Improving these operational inefficiencies would not only enhance the customer experience but also make things easier for the hardworking waitstaff like Jamie, who are left to handle grumpy customers as a result.

Despite the hiccups, I’m giving this restaurant 5 stars, primarily because of Jamie’s exceptional service and the quality of the food. I wouldn’t want the inefficiencies at the front to overshadow the great work being done by the kitchen and waitstaff. I hope these points are taken into consideration to elevate the overall experience moving forward.

I arrived after Xmas for a father and son lunch meal. On arrival 3 staff members at reception. No hello just talking amongst themselves. No welcome greeting. No offer of taking coats off us, had to ask waitress once we'd sat down. Waiting staff much better (otherwise 1 star would've been given). Had asked not to be placed near front door before hand...but guess what...

I know the food comes from a central kitchen but normally tastes good and don't mind. Having been to a number of Ivy's. This was a massive disappoint. Both had fish N chips as it was a Friday! Which frankly weren't fit for purpose. Greasy, overcooked, horrible lifeless. Should've just gone to a cheaper fish N chip shop.

Not sure will come to Richmond again, normally have biz breakfasts in the past.

IVY Canterbury. Booked a table for my wife’s birthday on the 6th Jan. received a phone call from Orla apologising and that they were actually closed that day. Well, went to canterbury anyway and they were definitely open. Ah well, went to the Korean Cowgirl and had an amazing birthday meal 👍

The Ivy - Bournemouth
Birthday breakfast for my partner, booked for 6 people 3 weeks ago. Arrived waitress took our order, 45 minutes and still waiting for our order. A member of staff came over to say that there had been a problem and our order hadn’t reached the kitchen. I thought this was now a priority but customers who had arrived after us were receiving their food. Went to find a manager as we were close to leaving. He came over and apologised and said our order would be on the house. The service was very poor and I will not be revisiting this restaurant again. A shame as I’ve eaten at other Ivy’s and never had an issue.

Had New Year’s Eve breakfast with my family and is was fantastic. Food was delicious ambience was very festive and very reasonably priced. Will definitely be back.

Great experience // sensible use of gift voucher !
First visit and using birthday gift voucher . Excellent ambience and looked after so well as “Ivy Freshers” by ELLA (Helen).
The place is run like a good cruise ship in VIP class restaurant so congratulations to all on duty including the duty manager overseeing the customers and the ambience

A new Ivy has opened in Canterbury and we have been there 3 times so far. We went on NYEve with friends and all had a fantastic evening. The theme was Circus, the staff were all brilliant, especially Phoebe who served us throughout. The whole evening was great inc the food and the menu in the form of a big top was very clever. The only comment would be the music could have been a little less loud but would recommend and will definitely go again especially at NY.

December 2024
I booked NYE dinner through their website advertised as 75pp with complimentary glass of champagne.
On arrival no champagne and we saw that the menu in table said 85pp. I queried both these things and was told that the menu I was referring to was last years. I got the menu up in my phone which was clearly on their website as the 2024 NYE menu. I showed it to the waitress. There was absolutely no great area- it was on The Ivy website as their 2024 NYE set dinner.
She said she would speak to the manager.
She returned saying that the menu was wrong and that would not be doing anything to make things right.
Staggered doesn’t quite cover it.
Needless to say, we declined to pay the service charge.
The food was poor and it all felt like a conveyor belt.
No tips from us and we will certainly never return!