The Ivy Reviews 

We went to the Ivy in Winchester for a celebration meal on Friday 11th April, the front of the house was fine however as for the meal one of the gust meal was cold. When we were asked how out meals our guest stated it was fine without consulting the other guest. It is apparent that the Ivy management pay more attention to the front of the house rather than concentrating on the kitchen being operated properly. It was clear that the food had been sat on the PASS far to long and even the side orders were cold. We have been to many of the Ivy establishments but this experience was very poor, and even when we mentioned it the reduction of the said meal spoilt the whole evening. If nothing else I would avoid the Winchester branch.

Contact for support got completely wrong answer .

Had lunch at the Ivy Birmingham. Lovely food, excellent service. Best of all the Manager Alexandra, was so helpful in assisting me in using a voucher code. Really appreciated the effort she made.
Definitely will visit again .

We visited the Ivy in Oxford for dinner. Given the prices, the food and menu were, at best, mediocre. What really let it down was the slow service and poor customer focus, and some (not all) rude, very disinterested staff.

The ivy exeter
We’ve visited several ivy’s over the years but our last visit to exeter will be our last!
We’ve always rated the ivy as a cut above the rest and expect to pay a little more for this privilege but when we called in for lunch and payed £108 for 2 x chicken and chips & 2 glasses of wine, its now reached ridiculous! The service was good but the food was average at best - I think the ivy is riding on past reputations and is no longer amongst the elite!

The IVY, Dawson Street, Dublin
The worst!! Had great experiences in the past, but this time was brutal. Walk in. Waited 1 & 3/4 hours for a table (why didn't they warn us it would be nearly two hours? (could have gone elsewhere).
Steak was leather and not as asked for. Burger - mediocre. Offered us 2 glasses of champagne on the house (I was driving), but then charged it on the bill until we complained.
Attitude - couldn't care less. Altogether, just awful.

The Ivy of York at Helen Square - I made a reservation in person late 21.3.25 for 2 persons for breakfast at 10am. I received a text confirmation later. On the morning of 22.3.25, my friends and I were excited about the breakfast as neither of us had there been before. I informed my friends that the meal was my gesture to display what a great friend is to me and decided to join them for the breakfast but it turned out to be a great embarrassment. When I informed the front staff of my reservation, they informed me that they could not find me in their reservation and its only when I showed my text confirmation, I was told that someone called them on the morning of 22.3.25 to state that they were cancelling the reservation. My credibility was questioned in front of my 2 friends. I did not call as there was no 'notification' from my phone that I made any calls in the morning to anyone on 22.3.25. If Ivy were under the impression that I might not turn up, they should have sent me a text questioning of my intention rather than making me out as a liar for a celebration. I felt small in front of my friends and it came across that I didnt mean it to be a celebration of what a great friend is to me. I didnt receive an apology by the front staff. Does The Ivy perceive themselves higher than others and looks down on them?

Visited The Ivy in Birmingham today for lunch and have to say we were really disappointed. The food was decent enough but the change in choices on the lunchtime menu aren’t great. They were clearly short staffed which was certainly affecting service making it mediocre at best. Doubt we’ll be rushing back there anytime soon which is a shame, as it has been a regular choice for lunch before today.

We had a "Not 70th" Birthday at the Ivy Canterbury and it was fabulous. The atmosphere, the food and the service were perfect all helped by the kind attention of "Phoebe" our waitress who had brilliant knowledge and was so kind and helpful. We will be back soon.

My daughter treated me to a day in London for my birthday. Brunch at Victoria Coffee was excellent, followed by a visit to see Matilda then evening meal at The Ivy, West Street which I was so looking forward to. Initial welcome was wonderful but what a dissapointment when my fish pie arrived. It was really sloppy and tasteless with water in the bottom of the pot. My daughter complained to the waitress who apologised and promised free deserts, which were lovely but the cost was then added to our total bill. We were then told that the person in charge said there was nothing wrong with the fish pie. We then complained to another staff member but were told that was how the pie was supposed to be. I've had better from my local Green King pub!

Visited as a group of 5 with a young child and a baby. Arrived and was directed to the reception/foyer … nobody there .. waited for a few minutes then decided to go try to find our group, chaos… noise was unreal .. once inside found a waitress who tried to help us find our group. Looking at the menu it all seemed very basic considering the pricing .. so orders were 2 burgers … which the girls tried to eat but said it was like chewing a flip flop very dry and felt like they’d been left on the pass for some time, these were the only meals that looked an ok size for a meal … next up the halloumi meal consisted of 2 fish finger size pieces of halloumi on a small bed of salad … which was described as ok but she was still hungry, next up my shepherds pie … very small about the size of a wagon wheel with a bit of mash piped on the top and came out with a mini jug of gravy, the chicken Milanese was the only meal our older guest said she was happy with as she wasn’t very hungry, the kids meals were pasta based a bolognese and a spaghetti which was basically pasta thrown in a bit of sauce … any sides ordered started at £6 and one was 3 sprigs of broccoli for that price! The desserts were running with the expensive thread apple tart was ok but not £12 worth and the chocolate bomb well once the hot toffee sauce melted the bomb it just turned into a bowl of inedible mush … similar to a bowl of angel delight nobody on the table wanted to taste it … drinks were extortionate nothing exceptional … then the jewel in the crown the part they are amazing with is charging with an extortionate £33 service charge added on … so bill was £292 for basic dining on awful food .. the service charge was asked to be removed and we explained our absolute disappointment to the manager … we never got offered a penny off the bill or was the manager apologetic .. no he was just shocked that we could think this way about the food at ‘The Ivy, … so disappointed with this for our beautiful city . I have dined in the Ivy Manchester and the Ivy Edinburgh and both were really nice .. a restaurant can’t get by on its name alone it has to serve the goods .. we have cancelled our April booking and won’t eat here again purely for the extortionate prices that don’t deliver on quality or taste and this is the general feeling across the board to most people who have eaten here.

Appalling customer service. Ordered a gift voucher for a friend. Wasn’t delivered and totally impossible to get in touch with customer service to raise the issue. Chatbot on website doesn’t work. No one answers the various phone numbers and the online contact us form won’t submit.
Awful. AVOID!

Well I know it’s not a steak house but it’s the ivy Liverpool. Couldn’t even cook a steak yep one ingredient. Must say I love a steak medium/rare but the wife has it no blood not even pink but that’s her way. If she see’s blood that’s it game over. After two attempts I should have paid the drinks bill and left but we settled for a burger for her not the best because there is plenty of good burger places around Liverpool. The thing which put the top hat on it was the waitress said the chef’s not cooking it any more. WHAT. Unbelievable. So yes never again so bad. They made my 65th birthday a memorable one for all the wrong reasons. Thanks ivy.

Sunday afternoon tea for two at the Bath Ivy.
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and we were warmly welcomed. Our waiter took our order but then disappeared - he seemed to have gone off shift, but didn't tell us or the other staff. Our food arrived, but then we waited for ages for our tea (drink). Had to ask for it after about 20mins but the other waiters seemed to be irritated that we were asking them! Then had to chase for butter 3 times and it was very difficult to get anyone's attention for anything - even when trying to get the bill. Service was charged at 12.5% without an option not to pay it. It was very quiet - no excuse for poor service.
It's a shame - I went about 2 years prior and it was great - I won't go again. I also miss the leaf tea with proper strainers - this time it was teabags.

The food & cocktails at the Ivy Bournemouth could not be faulted.
Great service and exquisite food.

Went for afternoon tea at The Ivy in Bournemouth very disappointed not what we were expecting at all. Had to ask for cutlery and plates!! For the price you pay surely these are just the basics? Food very average and over priced service not great.Dont waste your money much better places to go.

Extremely disappointed! Visited The Ivy in Bournemouth yesterday for Afternoon Tea, Service poor, food poor, definately not value for money. Plus as we all paid separately and were each expected to pay a surcharge, which we declined to do! All in all, not a great experience, most definitely did not live up the hype .

We visited the Ivy in Windsor last week, my friends who visit from abroad every year love a good afternoon tea. Unfortunately I booked the Ivy, which I will never do again. Although the staff were lovely and the decor is great, it was the worst afternoon tea we have ever had!! The cakes were stale (which I mentioned to the manager and just got a thanks for the info I will tell the kitchen), the scones were the smallest have ever seen and there were no plain ones, only ones with raisins. The sandwich ends felt like that had been cut 2 days prior and the filling was few and far between… Really not the food experience I had envisioned. The previous restaurant there did a smashing afternoon tea and I’m really sad that this was not as much of a pleasant experience as then.

It was my first and last trip to the Ivy as it has really left a bitter (better said, stale) taste in my mouth…. It’s a shame really, it would have so much potential if the food was better….

The only reason I am giving 2 stars is because of the nice staff and the decor, the food deserves a 1 if that

We visited the Winchester branch of the Ivy for a celebratory afternoon tea yesterday. The staff were fantastic and the atmosphere was great, but the tea was average to say the least. We were given a large tea pot with only 2 Earl Grey teabags, so the tea was extremely weak. All of the sandwiches were dry, as if they’d been sat for a while. The cucumber sandwich was the best, the salmon had a strange thin, dry slice of salmon on top rather than in the middle, and the chicken roll was most odd smothered in an overpowering garlic mayonnaise. The scones were excellent, although we were given a mean amount of jam and clotted cream and had to request more. The red velvet cake was rich and artificial and the lemon poppy seed sponge was covered in a thick coat of sickly, sweet icing. All in all an expensive and disappointing tea. We would much prefer less fancy stuff and more of the traditional English tea fare!

Ivy London City- fantastic

I booked a surprise 60th birthday lunch for my husband and the food, service and overall attention to detail was excellent. As part of the booking it was a surprise that our daughters were also coming. Ivy reception staff kept the secret beautifully! My husband was delighted to have such an amazing birthday lunch and our baby grandson came too! We had very comfortable and spacious seating/ table location. Many thanks Ivy City London for such a wonderful dining experience!