The Ivy Asia Guildford — Restaurant in Guildford

My friend booked the table for 4 of us, upon booking she advised the booking team of my dietary issues and was asked to call and speak to someone specifically about them. I called back and spoke to a lady at head office, she took down my details and dietary information and said they would be able to tell me what I could eat on the night at the table. I said I didn’t want to leave it to chance on the night because more often than not, I arrive somewhere only to be told I should have spoken to them in advance so she then put me through to Ivy Asia Guildford. I spoke to the person and explained that I am not able to eat, onions, garlic, milk, cream or coconut. I was advised to go to the website and scan the QR code to see what was in each dish. I do eat out a lot and I love to cook so am pretty aware of the ingredients in many dishes so asked if it was possible to preorder my meal so that the chef was able to leave out any of the things I couldn’t have. I was told no, I needed to scan the QR code to see what I could eat. Bearing in mind almost every dish contains onions or garlic I said would it be possible to have duck? Could the chef leave it plain so that I could have this? I was told no that’s not possible. I was told the food is bought in already marinated so there was nothing they could do but if I wanted chicken or salmon that would be fine. I said ok thank you and thought, that will have to do! (Not exactly the mindset you want when visiting a new restaurant.) On the night we met up with our friends and walked over to the restaurant, we stood at the reception desk for at least 5 mins at the front of the queue and were not even acknowledged, the staff were talking amongst themselves and one had their back to us. A server came down from upstairs and took us to the bar as our table wasn’t yet ready. We sat at the bar and the barman asked about my dietary restrictions straight away, I thought ok that’s great, they have obviously made a note and everything should be good. I started to relax a little. We had our drinks and then went to our table once it was ready. The table was beautifully set out and the music and atmosphere was great. Our sever came over to talk us through the menu, I then relayed my dietary restrictions to her and she said everything in the menu had things in I couldn’t eat. The only thing I could have was some of the sushi and edamame beans! I said I had phoned and spoken to someone several days ago to explain all of the requirements, she said yes they tried to call up back but couldn’t get you, I said I’ve not had any messages or calls and if I had know that was the case I wouldn’t have come. We live over an hour away so it wasn’t a quick journey to get to the restaurant. She said she would get the manager to come to speak to us. The manager came and was very helpful talking through the menu but nearly all of the main dishes were out of bounds for me due to the sauces and marinades. I ended up choosing, prawns on a skewer, a couple of plain bits of sushi boiled rice and plain salmon. Extremely disappointing! I have eaten in several different Ivy’s all around the country and unfortunately this is the only meal I ever get to eat. I’ve given the restaurant a huge number of chances and hoped this one would be different but unfortunately I don’t think I will ever be eating there again. The decor is beautiful and the dj is fun but the tables were so dark, our server went to put something down on a table and knocked a glass of red wine all over me. Not a great way to end the evening! The manager did come over and offered to pay for the dry cleaning and I do accept it was an accident but it was due to the table being too small for 4 people and it being too dark for the server to see what he was doing. It’s so unfortunate that something as simple as leaving a marinade off of some meat is not possible when you are paying in excess of £50 per person on for a meal. Just a couple of weeks I dined with the same friends at Thai Terrace, I followed the exact same process and they...

We attended this establishment following a recommendation from local colleagues, with the expectation of a dining experience commensurate with its evident ambition. Regrettably, it transpired that an alternative choice for our evening would have been considerably more judicious.

The atmosphere was, to put it mildly, rather boisterous. The level of noise, particularly the music, was quite excessive, rendering comfortable conversation something of a challenge. It was an unbecoming din for a venue seemingly positioned at the higher end of the market.

Whilst the staff were undoubtedly attentive and present, they regrettably lacked the polish and refinement one anticipates when investing a considerable sum in an evening meal. Professional, yes, but the standard of service felt wholly insufficient for the tariff demanded.

Now, to the sustenance. The food was, perhaps, adequate – one might describe it as "not bad" if one were feeling particularly charitable. However, labelling it authentically "Asian" would be a stretch of considerable magnitude. It presented as a rather muddled interpretation, a fusion where the distinctiveness of Asian flavours seemed to have been deliberately muted and sweetened, presumably to cater to a perceived European palate.

Uniformly, and disappointingly, everything erred on the side of excessive sweetness, without exception. This was a particular shame, as the underlying quality of the raw ingredients appeared, initially at least, to be sound. They were, however, sadly masked and often overwhelmed by these cloying sauces. The treatment of the black cod, a fine ingredient ruined by its preparation, was a notable casualty in this culinary misstep.

Considering the investment – a not insignificant £100 per person, procured without the benefit of wine, solely water and the establishment's own lager – this represented a considerable disappointment.

With due respect to the proprietors, this was wholly disproportionate value. Even at half the price, the offering would still have felt overpriced for what was presented.

In summary, standards were not met. A...

We visited the ivy Asia just before Christmas during the shopping spree.

Whilst walking the busy high street of Guildford which actually was a pleasant surprise which the amount of shops and lovely atmosphere.

We saw this whilst on our adventure and thought to give it a go. We enquired about gluten free before confirming a table and then walked in.

First and foremost brilliant deco, you walk in and see a floral background with funky lights and it works. Nearly every table was busy which is also a very good sign.

We sat down at our table and looked through the menu. For non gluten menu there is a whole menu which looks and sounds delicious. The range of what you can eat is great.

On the gluten free side hmm not so much unless your a fish lover. So we made our decision I got a prawn curry and partner got a chicken dish.

As we waited which was not long at all, we noticed the food coming out of the kitchen and what can I say, the presentation on the food was outstanding.

After building the excitement for our food it was delivered like Santa dropping off our presents. We got stuck in after take our photos.

Customer service; the waiter, clerks and manager all were helpful no issues there

Look of the food amazing 10/10 Taste; hmm that was a little disappointing. It didn’t pack the punch which was missing. I felt the prawn curry was sweet but no kick of pinch of chilli or something that will give it wow factor. This was a shock to the system, looking at something so good but didn’t taste as well.

We were unable to finish the food, it was good size portion but with the taste missing and we were full. If I could I would try the dessert platter because it looks amazing.

Drinks are good, good selection of drinks, nothing amazing but good with the food.

Price, this was a bit confusing. We received the bill more than happy to pay for what we ate but do I think it was worth every penny no. For a £100+ bill for two I want to be wowed and this sadly wasn’t it.

So I given it a 4/5 because everything else was great just the taste of the food.

Thank...