The Ivy Exeter — Restaurant in Exeter

Its only 2 stars due to only 2 staff who were great tonight. Big shout out too Leo tonight and Sian but no stars to the management and rest of the team. One manager, brown suit, sat down with an lady in a green dress who looked like an influencer and did nothing, the service was pretty much terrible from when we entered until when Leo served us our desserts and Sian did our bill and took a picture for us at the bar of our group at the end of the night. They had 3-4 waitresses working an area of maybe no more than 20-30 tables and still it took nearly 60 mins for service between courses and we had to ask for drinks almost every time, in fact the only drink that was offered to us was the table water at the start, appalling service to be honest for the cost of dining and the supposed quality of the establishment. I would put this down more than anything to management who were more interested in standing around chatting than actually doing any work.

Why don't you allocate each waitress a zone of say 5-10 tables which they then look after and make sure they deliver good food and quality service too instead of us having to flag down someone when they are going to and from the kitchen. The music was also too loud, not background music, so we had to raise our voices to speak to each other and the waitess couldn't hear us when ordering our food and drink although she also wasnt actually that great, a bit abrupt, she stood at one end of the our table of 6 and didnt move closer to each person to take their orders, she didnt read back the order to us to ensure our order was correct so food came out with items missing or incorrect or silly litttle things like one of our party ordering a steak for main and no steak knife given which we had to ask for. No food check was done during our meal, only when collecting plates at the end.

The food quality was also really disappointing, presentation was ok but some things seemed odd and out of place. For example the squid came on a napkin scrumpled up in a dessert type bowl, i ordered the steak tartare which was watery like it had been frozen and defrosted, came with burnt toast which smelt burnt aswell and a ton of mustard which was so overpowering you couldn't taste much else. The mozzarella was a real odd consistency like it had been left under a heat lamp on the servery for too long. The wait between courses was about an hour and for the quality of the food that came out maybe that's why the waiting staff didnt come do a food check during out courses as they know how poor it actually is. Steaks came out warm at best and went cold within minutes which a proper steak cooked from fresh wouldn't do. I ordered the burger, the patty was already cold when it arrived at our table, the cheese was like plastic cheese and the bacon was flavourless. Even the chips were stodgy and covered in salt but not proper salt and instead like fine table salt. just no care taken with the food to ensure it came out at its best. Also a quick note that on arrival we asked the lady on the desk at the entrance, with the floral jacket on, not to mention to the rest of the party that we had arrived as it was a suprise for one of the party that we were coming to which she said 'absolutely fine' then when that guest arrived she said to him, 'ah yes that party of 6' so he instantly knew we were there and that ruined the surprise for them.

When our desserts arrived carried up from the kitchen by Leo he seemed to to have been given this very odd position where he was told to stand and hover until one of the waiting team were on hand to deliver it to our table like he wasn't qualified enough where infact he was pretty much the most proactive and busy and attentive member on the restaurant floor all evening, no other waiting staff were anywhere to be seen so we welcomed him over to serve our desserts. he did a brilliant job and served my bombe with perfection, his service was excellent. Sian delivered our bill and we had more smiles and interaction from her in 5 mins than rest of the team...

Overall: Interesting and atmospheric place to eat, with a lovely feature bar. Definitely overpriced. The drinks were good, and the menu offered variety.

Service: All the staff we interacted with were friendly and helpful, although our server was quite distracted, discussing options with neighbouring tables whilst pouring our drinks or clearing plates (2 occasions). This led to an order of prosecco being forgotten until we reminded her, but in the end cancelled in favour of the bill.

Food: My steak tasted good but was far from the 'rare' ordered. It is also served on its own on a plate, with not even a salad garnish. Anything else must be ordered individually. That's fair enough but a bit silly when, as you order it, the server feels the need to point out that it's just a steak on a plate - I imagine the issue has cropped up before given the price of said steak in other establishments usually includes at least a salad!My crispy duck salad starter was a little uninspired - not what I imagined but perfectly serviceable, and my wife's squid was tasty, but buried in a napkin within a container - presentation chosen over the quality of the food (verging on the silliness of the serving everything on chopping boards or slate trends). Desserts looked fabulous but due to time constraints we never reached that course.

Cost: When we went there was a festive menu offering, offering 2 or 3 courses. The choices were not specials however, and some quick maths showed that unless you were adding several sides (unclear if these were included in the festive menu) that for several options it was cheaper to order the individual items from the main menu. Certain combinations on the 3 course option would save a few pounds, but overall it gave a sense of trying to charge more for less. The final bill did not reflect the food quality. For two steaks, one sauce, two chips, two starters and two non-alcoholic cocktails the price was over £100. The Ivy also charges a service charge (additional to above), rather than allowing you to tip appropriately for service and quality.

I expect the service is normally better, and the drinks we had were nice with others in the menu looking great. Similarly I wonder if an evening meal might be more slick, but feel if that's true then settling for lower quality for choosing a weekday lunch shouldn't be the case at this price point. The food was definitely not worth what was being charged for it, and sadly unlike some places in the world where the venue and atmosphere are so special that they get away with poor food and high prices, The Ivy is not quite in that league.

In agreement at the end that we would drop in again, but likely just for a...

My Husband bought a £100 promotion voucher for the Ivy and was told we must use it before the end of March to receive a complimentary bottle of champagne . Upon arrival, at lunchtime on New Years Eve , we were just acknowledged ,and shown to our seat , no welcome greeting or even a smile.

Once seated, I liked the decor and the ambiance of the restaurant , but thought it was a shame to see everybody's coats & scarfs thrown over the backs of their chairs. We had corner bench seats , without backs , so had no choice but to place our coats on the seats beside us, which was awkward when the party at the next table arrived. My Husband asked a waiter if there was somewhere he could take our coats, which he did , and brought us back a cloakroom ticket. I thought it was shame that is not standard service .

We waited 15 mins and then a lovely young lady asked if we would like to order drinks. . We gave her the £100 Champagne/lunch gift voucher my Husband had purchased the week before. Another 15 mins past and an Asian Gentleman told us we couldn't use the voucher until the 2nd of Jan . This was NOT explained to my Husband when he purchased it. We were upset as there was now an unpleasant atmosphere and we had been really looking forward to trying lunch at the Ivy. The Asian gentleman said he would see what he could do , which we greatly appreciated.

Eventually, the waitress arrived with a bottle of champagne. We had been there for 1 hour at this point. She told us she was new and this was only the 3rd bottle of champagne she had opened. She opened it and a least a glass full went over the table & floor. She was embarrassed but we reassured her it was not her fault if she was not trained properly.. Its a good job it was complimentary.

The food was ok, nothing special, apart from my Husbands steak . He said it was one of the best he's had .

When the bill arrived, we had been charged for the champagne! This was eventually taken off.

Upon leaving we handed the arrival lady our ticket and she handed us our coats. My Husband took mine, and helped me on with it. It only takes a second to help a lady on with her coat, especially an older lady . These little touches take so little time and there is no cost to you, but make all the difference. There was no farewell , Happy new year , hope to see you soon.

You only get one chance to make an impression and make people want to re visit your restaurant, so I hope you don't mind my feedback. Training your staff properly , and customer service is so important . I have twice , emailed to you my thoughts, but have not had a reply . If I were the restaurant manager or owner , I would like to know.

Kind...