08/20/09

Food is Excellent; Service is Impeccable; Wait Worthwhile

by maest35

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.

• Pros: Delicious seafood
• Cons: Always crowded, long lines for tables

05/17/09

Good experience

by annevoy

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.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere, exciting to be in Beverly Hills!
• Cons: Some guests are EXTREMELY pretentious!

05/09/09

Had reservations but...

by annhuisman

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.

• Pros: very nice atmosphere from what we saw
• Cons: didnt get to sit where we requested in our reservation

L.A.'s most (in) famous two-room cottage.

by Mar Yvette

It's all so perfect behind the white picket fence, isn't it? Known as much for its only-in-L.A. pricetags as it is for its paparazzi-lined front patio, this iconic 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 cottage 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.

03/23/09

Go here only if you are a tourist

by steviedon

I only go here if begged by out-of-town guests, for it is a torture. Tourists come here to possibly see a publicity seeking star. Yes the TMZ cameras are clustered outside the fence, waiting for a celebrity. You pay a high price for star gazing, expect to wait even with a reservation, you'll get food that is ordinary Cheesecake Factory fare at 3 times the price, and count on a sneer or worse from the hostess. Last visit I had big plate of fried chicken, neither bad nor good, along with the miserable attitude from the hostess, and a $200+ lunch check for 4. All that and no recognizable star to gaze upon. My guests insisted they enjoyed the experience, but I believe they were being polite.

• Pros: charming country though shabby interior
• Cons: rude staff, papparazzi, expensive ordinary food, crowded

02/24/09

The Ivy Grows Thorns

by pbs969

I am a foodie and a celebrity hound so when I went to The Ivy, I thought I would get both. I thought the food was good but it came out so close to ordering our appetizer and we were still eating our appetizer when we got the entree. I hate that, and I don't think any celebrity would like that either. Servers/service was just ok. Not what I would expect from a regulary star-filled location. On Oscar weekend I thought I would see tons of stars. Saw 2. Very disappointing. Not worth the hype.

02/17/09

Go for the experience not the service....

by justaskme

I've been to the Ivy a few times now and the food is good, yes it's overpriced and you are definitely going for the experience, ambience and "scene"....however, this past VDay weekend we had the most HORRIBLE service. It takes a lot for me to get that upset (especially sipping on raspberry champagne!), however we told them serveral times we don't have a server, we've been sitting here forever and they did it over and over again! They would bring my boyfriends drink and not mine, a different bus boy every time, a server stumbling across us saying "wow you haven't been helped yet? you've been here forever!"...uh ya so FIX it!!

Anyway, we complained to the Manager who apologized, but should have done more. I was not impressed, tons of staff running around, but not serving!! Thumbs down Ivy, get it together....

• Pros: Ambience, Setting, food is above average
• Cons: SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE....

11/08/08

Pleasantly surpised...

by customer15

My friend and I decided to play hookie from work one day and do the L.A. thing. We have lived here all our lives but never took the time to shop on Rodeo Dr. and eat at a place like The Ivy. We had our reservations about having lunch here because well, we are two latina girls, and not flashy like their regular customers. However, we were seated promptly (we made reservations) and had the best customer service. The food was delicious and they didn't try to rush us out when we were done, like some restaurants often do to have their table back. Oh, Tommy Lee was sitting right behind us! Overall, we had a wonderful time.

11/05/08

LA STaple Lunch place-- great place to visit

by StevenParms

I love having my business lunches here --- convenient location ---food is great ...and often you run in to a celeb-- great place

10/18/08

Loved it

by jpaige44

This place is amazing. I was in L/A on vacation and i loved it. My sister and I shared the fried chicken and the crabcakes and it was so good. My parents also loved it. The service was great, the waiters kept coming by whenever we needed them. I never felt rushed even though there was a huge line outside. Also the inside is adorable. A must see if your from out of town. Plus Kitson(store) is only a few stores down, amazing store.

• Pros: TWO MANY!
• Cons: none