The Ivy

Doesn't Recommend

family lenner

Joined 3 years ago

its ok.... The food was really amazing, I've been there last saturday with my family and they loved it!! Such a nice enviroment!!!! The only thing that wasn't so good is the valet! The manager guy is an completely a - hole and rude.. They didn't even open the doors for my kids! If we decide to came back next time I'll look for a public parking

Recommends

sophiaking56

Joined 3 years ago

Pricy but Good. This place is more of an experience. The food and the service are truly worth the cost. You do not come here every day for dinner, more for a very special occasion. You have to try this place at least once...it truly is an unforgettable experience.

Doesn't Recommend

sjakharia

Joined 3 years ago

An ok experience. The food was ok.

Recommends

MealSchpeal com

Joined 4 years ago

The best restaurant in LA. Interview Q: Do you have a portfolio? A: Yes. - Good for you. GTFOut. We hire people to work, not audition. And because they obviously hire for ability, The Ivy is, without question, the best restaurant in LA.

The first thing a patron notices while marching to the table is the relative dearth of pretty people wearing aprons. This is four standard deviations distant from every other LA restaurant and doesn't immediately sink-in. Why would a star-studded cliché of a spot not follow protocol? And after a dozen or so meals, I feel that the Ivy, unlike every other service sister, understands that its business is to get you in, fed, and the hell out in time to seat the next party. This does not happen when the waiters are too busy learning lines to remember orders.

Today, for the first time, things did not go flawlessly. They usually do. 1 for 12. When my Cajun Prime Rib arrived, it was cooked so thoroughly that well-done would be an understatement. I wish I took a picture. How was it ordered? Rare, of course. So here we know for certain that the waiter, chef, and bus person all looked at a "prime rib" half an inch thick and thought nothing of it. Alarms should have been sounding. But, an error is not serious so long as it's corrected. And correct they did fast and without argument. Prime Rib round two was 2.5 inches thick and rare as I've ever seen. How about you? www helgasmailroom com/images/imag0023.jpg... Some would argue that they overcompensated by serving black-and-blue instead of rare (there is a difference) but I won't. The Cajun crust more than made up the heat that the center lacked. I can't imagine eating it another way.

Also on the menu was 1 Grilled Shrimp Salad, 1 Artichoke appetizer, and 5 Ivy Margaritas at the cool price of $16.75 EACH. I thought the menu said 13.75 and can't find an on-line version anywhere. I would have loved to scream bloody murder at these bastards and had I found proof of the margarita's price differential I would have. But you know what? They make simply the best margarita I have ever sucked up with hunger for another. I looked up their recipe some years ago trying to emulate them and of course, got a lot of hearsay. The combo tasting most like theirs was: 1 part tequila, 2 parts Cointreau, 2 parts fresh lime juice. The one today seemed to have the tequila/Cointreau ratio reversed since it wasn't as sweet as I remember. Either that or the limes are out of season. Either way, 3 are enough to knock me on my overfed buttocks. Each has 3 shots of 90-proof liquor. Cointreau is sweet but it sure can kick.

Finally, a note about the pricing. If you are on a budget, cross the street to News Café. Or better yet, get bent. The Ivy is a place that understands its market as well as its reality. They are in the business of turning tables and @ 16.75$/drink you're a lot less likely to sit there sipping past your welcome. They deliver food that is consistently excellent with service that is second to nothing in LA. They also seat you on time which would be impossible had they not found their equilibrium price and gotten demand to equal supply. My sample size is north of 10 and never have I waited more than a few minutes past time reserved. Yes, you need to make a reservation. Yes, even at these price points. So if you want to be a hater, print out all the tales of woe you read in other reviews and eat them instead. Keep the Ivy's tables free of human refuse so I can eat in peace.

Love,

Mealschpeal com

Doesn't Recommend

tannaleeharris

Joined 3 years ago

Not Anymore. As lovely a place as The Ivy is, the food is in no way up to the standards that built its reputation. Service was impeccable, as always, but our dinners, from salads to dessert, was mediocre, at best. Given how over-the-top spendy it is, the entire experience should have been amazing, but was very disappointing to me and my out-of-town guest wanting a wonderful LA dining experience.

Doesn't Recommend

Mols86

Joined 4 years ago

do not go here. DO NOT GO HERE OR PARK YOUR CAR HERE... THE VALET DRIVERS CHARGE 8$ TO TAKE UP RESIDENTS PARKING SPOTS, WHEN THEY HAVE A LOT A BLOCK AWAY!! THEY DRIVE YOUR CAR CRAZILY AND EVEN HAVE SEEN THEM HIT CARS BEFORE.. THAT PLACE IS CORRUPT AND THE VALET PARKERS ARE DIRTY JERKS

Recommends

maest35

Joined 4 years ago

Food is Excellent; Service is Impeccable; Wait Worthwhile. The food was VERY pricey but also really good. At my table we ordered crabcake appetizers (not very good at all), seafood risotto (delicious), lobster ravioli special (wish I'd ordered it), fish and chips (not just fish and fries but a GINORMOUS platter with onion rings, calamari, shrimp and scallops too), and white wine/Bellinis. I will definitely go back when I'm in L.A. Shopping at Kitson is just next door, so it's a win/win.

Recommends

annevoy

Joined 4 years ago

Good experience. My husband & I were visiting Santa Monica and decided it would be fun to go down to the Beverly Hills area to see if we could eat at the famed IVY restaurant. We made reservations for a Saturday night and didn't have a problem at all getting an outside table at the time we requested. Our experience there was very positive--the service was great, from the valet to the waiter & his assistant who was so attentive re-filling our water & clearing our table, but I will say that some of the other guests seemed very self-absorbed and not down-to-earth at all! They seemed to know we were "no names" visiting L.A, but what the heck, can't you be nice & let the commoners have some fun! There were 2 very well-dressed, diamond-clad ladies dining with their husbands who were so rude (making fun of us, I think)! when they realized we were kind of looking around to see if there might be a celebrity in the restaurant (& there were 2 older male actors there which was exciting for us). To those ladies and others who make fun of tourists who are excited to see actors they've been supporting through buying tickets to their movies & watching their shows for many years, get over yourselves & lighten up! I actually feel sorry for you that your world is so elite that you can't mingle with commoners & appreciate the excitement we were experiencing from being in L..A .and in a place that we've seen & heard about on t.v. Anyway, back to the review of theIVY, the drinks were very expensive (small bottle of coke was over $4 and a mixed drink was $13+)but the atmosphere, service, & food were great and the staff made us feel very welcome even though we were just middle-class diners. I would recommend that you go there and just enjoy yourself. Even if you aren't rich &/or famous, you have the right to experience The Ivy! I wouldn't save up my money to go there though if you're on a tight budget or don't make a huge salary because you can easily see what it's like from the sidewalk.

Doesn't Recommend

annhuisman

Joined 4 years ago

Had reservations but.... My daughter and I set out for a special mother/daughter day in the Hollywood area. We were dressed very nice and made special reservations to sit outside to eat our lunch. We arrived 15 minutes early and we were placed in a small inside area with only two other people dining in it. ALL of us had the $'s to pay for our "fine" meal but I felt because we were sized up as to being "ordinary people" we were banished to what I called the "speed feed room". Our waiter was not very friendly, we ordered and received our food within 10 minutes and felt rushed to leave. The other two young ladies seated RIGHT next to us asked us to take their picture which we were happy to do but it was very obvious the four of us were seated in an area where we couldn't fratinize with the rich and famous. It was very anti-climatic and I felt bad for not only my daughter but also the other two young ladies who clearly came to dine perhaps near someone who was in the entertainment business. $60 for brunch was not an issue and if we requested to dine outside and they agreed when the reservation was called in, then that's where we should have been seated. As we left The Ivy, there were plenty of empty tables outside. Sad.... can't recommend this restaurant to the "ordinary" folks out there... clearly, we were not part of the club.

Recommends

Mar Yvette

Joined 6 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Review. Known as much for its only-in-LA pricetags as it is for its paparazzi-lined front patio, this (in)famous cottage is the quintessential see and be seen spot in La La Land. It's also the only place where dealmakers who'd rather die than live in a two-room gladly pay a lot to eat in one. Unlike the super-sleek loungey look of other power dining spots, the interior here is shabby chic and cluttered to the max: Peeling furniture, faded chintz, old paintings, enormous bouquets of fresh flowers and tables packed so closely together it's almost a requirement to weigh less than 100 pounds. Celebrity sightings are par for the course and the menu is traditional American, with comfort classics like piled-high Cobb salad, mesquite-grilled Cajun prime rib, fried chicken and flaky white fish. And don't forget the famed gimlet--ordering it here is almost compulsory.