Ivy House Restaurant — Restaurant in England

I would have loved to rate our dining experience at the Ivy House a lot higher but we were to leave somewhat disappointed. The dining area was pleasant and intimate with well appointed decor, the waitress and waiters pleasant, polite and attentive. The varied menu looked very appetising with most tastes catered for. We chose two courses from the main menu, the Duck Breast and a Fish Dish for myself. Contrary to other reviews we were to wait over 40 minutes before the food was presented to us. We were not advised of any delays or even the expected length of time we might have to wait. The food on arrival was well presented and flavoursome although I did not consider two small stem broccoli spears a serving. I also asked the waiter why there was no Samphire to accompany my dish as stated on the menu, this comment was also reinforced by a fellow diner who ate the same dish just prior to me. The waiter advised me that he would ask the chef. I did not receive a response to my question during further table service and subsequently asked the waiter again. On returning the waiter advised me the chef said “he will try to remember to put it on next time”, a somewhat disrespectful comment. The Cheese platter we were presented with was lacklustre and sparse, quince jelly and a small dish of chutney being the predominant feature. For ourselves we did not feel that our dining experience represented good...

Lovely setting, although there is no parking for customers not staying at the hotel. Once we ordered, the starters took about 35 minutes to arrive. When it finally did, the ‘vegetarian’ starter we ordered had chorizo in it. Unfortunately we realised this too late. Kindly they took it off the bill but offered no explanation to how it happened. When the mains came I ordered steak medium rare, it was underdone and more like rare, but not too bad I couldn’t eat it. Another person ordered lamb, which of the the pieces she got, one was great and the other was also underdone, when we asked to cook it some more so it was medium rare, the waitress was rather patronising saying we want it medium, when it was clearly rare. We did correct her saying we would like it medium rare. When we got the bill, peppercorn sauce, which was an extra £2 on the menu showed up as £2.50. When I questioned it, she said ‘let me check’ and then after some time came back with a new receipt.

Overall the quality of the food was lovely. The quality of the chef and waiting staff not...

Lovely decor and very helpful and pleasant staff. Starter was pate on sour dough toast, one small slice with a large round of pate. We found the pate to be lacking in seasoning with not a lot of flavour. The temperature of the pate was too cold and if it had been at a slightly better temperature the flavour would probably have shone through more. We would give the starter 2.5 out of 5. I had the rump steak and pepper sauce and my partner had the hake. Both were very tasty and cooked well. We would give the mains 4 out of 5. What was worrying was the fact no one asked us to check in for Track and Trace. There was a bar code to check in on the wall but due to lack of internet access in the area it would not connect so we were unable to log in. No one asked as to leave our name and address as contact details. Once the vaccine has been given to everyone for COVID-19 we will come back but until that time we would not consider it. Just to add, we did notice the waitress wiping down our chairs and placemats when we left with...