The Ivy Cafe Marylebone — Restaurant in London

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a 1 star review about this site as a whole - I would never give this restaurant a 1 star review as this is actually a very fine site and I genuinely love attending this place every Saturday morning…

This is a 1 star review about Alessandro the Restaurant Manager specifically…

I have been a regular weekly guest at The Ivy for 2 years now (2-4 sites a week including The Ivy and The Ivy Asia) and each site has treated me so well, which is why I keep coming back! I have been to this site a few times for dinner, but decided that I wanted to make this my regular Saturday spot for breakfast and despite this review, I am glad I did - what a phenomenal Ivy restaurant!

Anna (Assistant Restaurant Manager), Babette, Katie, Alessia, Kate and Shanti have all made me feel so welcomed and treated me so well - I cannot fault them, they have all been exemplary!

But about 2 weeks ago when Alessandro was running the shift, firstly when I was outside he did not even acknowledge me with a greeting (“welcome back” or even a simple hello)… now having seen me here before numerous times and been aware that I was coming because he checked the bookings on OpenTable (which is what he told me), and because I am clearly listed on OpenTable as a regular/VIP, the fact that he would just look at me and walk straight past did not give me the best feeling at all…

Things got worse though because even while I was sat down he did not extend a greeting - over the last 2 years I have come to expect a bit more from anyone in a senior position at The Ivy and that is because this is what I have been experiencing at other Ivy’s and other well established restaurant I have been attending…

So then it came to Alessandro taking my order - now I have a very specific breakfast which I have eaten no matter which Ivy I have been to over the last 2 years and because I remove certain items and swap them for something else I never expect there to be an extra charge and there has never been an extra charge, but Alessandro was quick to tell me that he would have to charge me extra for a certain item - in previous weeks this had not been the case so I contested it of course, to which he adamantly said “they must have been making an exception, but I will be charging you extra”…

I was really not happy with this and I explained that this is the breakfast that I have been enjoying at The Ivy’s and have never been charged extra before, so I recommended that he not charge me and speak with his General Manager about the situation because why should anything be different for me here…

Now the fact that I had to suggest this to Alessandro, the fact that it was something he didn’t think to do himself/was clearly not willing to do knowing that I am a regular customer and a friend of The Ivy, and coupled with his non-greeting and then eventually going on to actually get my order wrong because he was too focused on going behind the bar to message the whole team to make sure I am charged extra for this in future because he was in a huff, is why I am writing this…

He basically implied to me that my loyalty to The Ivy means nothing to him, all this while I was just trying to explain that yes, everyone should be treated equally, but there are small things you do for regular customers to show them that you are going above and beyond because you value them and want to retain their custom, ultimately to show them that you care for and appreciate them…

Alessandro did none of this while I was there, but he did prove that he is on top of things stock-wise, even at the expense of customer satisfaction - kudos to him because that’s what great hospitality is about!

I love this site so much and I am so looking forward to many more Saturday morning breakfasts here - the team have such a great vibe, the food is always cooked to perfection and bar the Alessandro experience, I always leave here with a big ol’ smile on my face 😌🙂

Due to the fact that this breakfast discrepancy has still not been resolved in my favour, I will not be paying the service charge...

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to formally express my extreme disappointment with the service I received at the Ivy Café Marylebone branch on Friday, 4 April.

I chose this venue for a celebratory dinner with my niece, as it is our local restaurant, which we regularly attend and have always enjoyed. Regrettably, the evening was marred by the incompetence, lack of common sense, and overall arrogance displayed by one of your managers, who introduced herself as Anna.

To summarise, I am a 30-year-old woman and ordered a bottle of wine to accompany my dinner. The waitress initially accepted my request and brought a £50 bottle of wine. After opening it, she requested my ID, which I provided without issue. She then asked for my niece's ID. Unfortunately, my niece, who is 19 years old, did not have her ID with her, as she was not planning to drink due to being on antibiotics. She did, however, present a photograph of her passport and ID.

Despite this, the waitress refused to serve me the wine and called over the manager, Anna. Manager Anna claimed it was against the law to serve alcohol to an adult accompanied by someone who appears under 25. I was taken aback by this assertion. I informed her that there is no such law and that individuals aged 16 and 17 can legally consume alcohol in restaurants when accompanied by adults. She dismissed my statement as "ridiculous" and suggested I could not possibly be my niece's mother and therefore could not legally allow her to drink.

I further pointed out that even if my niece were under 16, Ivy is a family-friendly restaurant, and I have previously visited with my 13-year-old sister without issue. If it is indeed illegal to serve alcohol to adults accompanied by minors, then Ivy has breached the law on multiple occasions, which should be reported to the authorities.

The conversation was so absurd and infuriating that I could not endure Manager Anna's nonsense any longer. My evening was utterly ruined, leaving me upset, embarrassed, and ridiculed by your staff.

I am writing to bring this incident to your attention and request your response, along with confirmation that corrective action will be taken. If Anna's claim about the law is accurate, I would appreciate evidence supporting this statement.

I look forward to your prompt reply.

Kind...

This was a bummer. I had been looking forward to eating at The Ivy for a very long time and found myself in London for 24 hrs and took advantage. Maybe I had hyped this place up too much in my mind and therefore, set myself up for disappointment. I ordered The Ivy vegetarian English breakfast which comes with your choice of smoothie or juice, I opted for the green juice. Also, ordered a coffee to ward off the jet lag. I honestly didn't mind that the food took quite awhile, the time gave me the opportunity to people watch and soak in the colorful decor. When my food arrived, it was an English breakfast with bacon. Not even what the Ivy English breakfast (non vegetarian) came with. I eyed my server and sheepishly said I had ordered the vegetarian option. He politely took it away after bringing me a menu to show me what he thought I had ordered. No big deal. So while I waited, my green juice arrived, it was very good! Refreshing! Then my coffee arrived and the coffee was pretty tasty as well. Then my plate of food arrived. Everything was cold except for a mushroom that had been cooked and placed where the bacon once laid. The eggs, beans, potatoes and surprisingly the tomato were ice cold. This was the plate that had been put in front of me 10 min prior sans bacon. At this point, I didn't want to be a pest, so I resigned to eat what was in front of me. I then remembered that with this "special" a croissant was to accompany it. After a long while, I was able to get the servers' attention, and he looked somewhat dumbfounded that I didn't have it already. I ate most of what I could, the cold scrambled eggs were pretty off-putting. Finished my green juice and coffee and eventually was able to have the Maître d' print my bill. £23 was my tab. Listen, maybe today was a fluke. The waiter seemed much more preoccupied with other tables, and maybe I can't blame him. I was one guy at a table by himself. I just wanted to put this out there for anyone who may be thinking of checking this location out. Don't expect much and you may be...