The Ivy Temple Row — Restaurant in Birmingham

In the last few weeks we have been to the Ivy twice and had a five star experience and a one star experience, so we've averaged it out at three stars. The first visit was just excellent the food, wine, drinks (before and after) and the service were all absolutely top class. So much so that we persuaded a couple of friends to cancel a restaurant booking that they'd made at a different restaurant so we could go back to the Ivy. Turns out this was a mistake. The service the second time around was just unbelievably bad. The server tried to take our order literally the minute we sat down, when we said we needed some time she just disappeared and we had to find her to take our order. On the original visit the server seemed happy to see us and we really felt welcome, on the second visit I kind of got the impression we were spoiling the servers evening. However worse, far worse, was to follow with the "wine waiter" I've worked in and visited in over 30 countries but I can honestly say I have never met some one so badly disposed towards customer service as this guy. Apart from not knowing what he was doing everything was a cause for annoyance. He actually swore when we asked him to move the ice bucket with the wine to our table so we could pour our own wine. We would normally have had two bottles of wine but he was more than we could endure so we only had one. Same guy brought back the decaf and normal coffee not knowing which was which. A big kudos is that we did ask to see the manager who took 25% off the bill. To be honest I'd much rather have had the same service as we had the first time and paid the full amount, but we did appreciate the gesture. My advice to the Ivy would be employ people, who like people, and who are going to smile and welcome customers into your restaurant and then make sure they are trained properly. The Ivy has done the hard bit creating a beautiful restaurant, great menu and food, it's such a shame that a lack of care on staff recruitment and training...

Came here for afternoon tea as a pre-wedding treat from my cousin she was so sweet to organise something special, and I was genuinely excited because I’d heard good things. But unfortunately, the whole experience fell flat.

Right from the start, things were a bit odd. When the sandwiches came out, they served them in a takeaway container. We were both sitting there confused, thinking, Is this seriously the afternoon tea experience? It completely killed the vibe. A few minutes later, they did eventually bring out the traditional afternoon tea stand, but by then the moment had already lost its charm. It just felt sloppy and unorganised.

Now onto the food. The Ivy 1917 Cure smoked salmon and cream cheese choux bun was honestly awful it had a strange, almost revolting taste. I ended up picking off just the bit of salmon on top, which was the only remotely edible part. Since they didn’t offer halal options, we ordered that twice, assuming it would be better than the egg sandwich. Turns out the egg sandwich was actually the better choice tasty and more familiar.

The scones were a disaster. They were rock hard so dry and dense that we didn’t even try to finish them. Definitely not what you’d expect from a proper afternoon tea.

Then came the crème brûlée, which was soggy and totally missed the mark. It didn’t have that lovely caramelised top and instead just tasted like a cold, wet custard. Very underwhelming - I posted the video to proof this

To top it off, the service was awkward. The waiter seemed flustered and uncomfortable. At one point, he stepped on my toe not once, but a few times and didn’t even apologise. 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 It honestly added to the overall awkwardness of the experience.

All in all, this just wasn’t the luxurious, polished afternoon tea we were hoping for. Especially if you have dietary restrictions like halal, it’s not worth the price or the hype. Disappointed and...

Summary: This restaurant has great potential, but a few areas could use improvement.

Pros: Pleasant atmosphere with attractive decor. Staff are smartly dressed. Extensive menu with a wide range of dishes, all reasonably priced. A few deals offer excellent value for money. The food was tasty and well presented. A nice gesture with a birthday dessert added as a special touch

Cons: We booked a table for five but were squeezed onto two small square tables, with one of us awkwardly seated at the side. When I asked the manager if they were fully booked, he said no. Fortunately, he added another table, but insisted the original table was meant for five. In future, I’d ensure to visit with an even-numbered group to avoid being cramped.

Ingredient shortages: We ordered three steaks and two seabass dishes, but the waiter informed us that they only had one seabass left, even though it was only 7:30 pm and it wasn’t a busy night.

Limited dessert options: Out of the three available desserts, one was already out of stock by the time we ordered.

We opted for a set menu that included a glass of sparkling wine, and mentioned we’d order a separate bottle later. However, the waiter insisted we order the bottle immediately, even before we’d looked at the wine menu. This felt uncomfortable, and we ended up with a glass of sparkling wine, a glass of wine, and water each on the table. Not sure why we were rushed to order the wine and served immediately.

Service charge: A 12.5% service charge felt excessive—especially for the Midlands. The service didn’t stand out enough to justify such a high fee.

While we made the most of our evening, the overall experience was not special enough to encourage an immediate return. However, if you manage to avoid the issues we encountered, you should have a pleasant...