The Ivy Kensington Brasserie — Restaurant in London

Ah, Saturday morning - the perfect time to bask in the sunlight and indulge in a hearty breakfast. With dreams of a glorious Full English, I shunned the allure of the local greasy spoon in favor of a more refined setting, landing at The Ivy Kensington Brasserie. After all, what could go wrong at such an esteemed establishment?

Well, let me paint you a picture.

We arrived at a sprightly 10:35am, ready to embrace the day with a feast. A reservation in hand, I was expecting swift service, but alas, time has a funny way of slipping at The Ivy. By the time we were finally seated, it was already 10:50am, and then - shockingly - 11:02am before menus arrived. With breakfast ending at 11:00am sharp, my dreams of a Full English were dashed. Attempting to plead my case, I was greeted with the warm hospitality of a brick wall. “You’ve missed breakfast,” I was told, with the charm of a disgruntled bouncer. I should have walked away - but, alas, I stayed.

Here’s what followed.

Roasted Scallops: please see the picture. The scallops were overcooked, and sooooo small they were almost completely hidden by the truffle and parmesan emulsion. Yes, the potato puff was larger than the scallop - that is not a photography angle thing!!! I just don’t understand why any chef would let that leave his/her kitchen, let alone charge £15.95 for it.

Truffle Chicken Milanese: Here’s where things started to look up. Fried to a perfect golden hue, the chicken was tender and moist, snugly tucked into a brioche crumb. The hen’s egg added richness, while the truffle cream tied it all together in a delicious little package. A brief moment of redemption - dare I say, even enjoyable?

The Ivy Burger: Looks like complacency set in again, for what should have been a very simple dish to execute for The Ivy. There are no other words to describe that simply, ‘well done and dry’. As for the sesame bun, well this could have been described in a police report as a weapon of blunt force - now if only I could find the waiter that rudely advised I had missed breakfast by 2 minutes?!?!

Zucchini Fritti: Ah, finally—a beacon of competence! On the second try, of course. The first attempt they were limp and at best were warm. But after being sent back, round two arrived hot, crispy, and paired with a refreshing lemon, chili, and mint yogurt dip.

In short, this visit to The Ivy Kensington Brasserie was a masterclass in missed opportunities. From the agonisingly slow service to the wildly inconsistent food, it felt like the kitchen and staff were playing a game of culinary roulette - and I kept landing on zero!! I’d give The Ivy another chance, but next time, it’ll be at a location that knows how to treat both its food and customers with the care...

I recently celebrated my birthday on Monday, June 9th, 2025, at Ivy Kensington with my family and friends. The reason I chose this restaurant for such a special occasion was because: It’s conveniently located close to my home, and It has been somewhat of a go-to spot for my family whenever we want to dine out.

We’ve always had pleasant experiences here — especially appreciating the friendly, warm, and helpful service from staff, along with delicious food. That’s why I felt confident celebrating an important day with my loved ones here.

Unfortunately, this visit was far from what I had come to expect. My father had made a reservation for 5 people at 7 PM. However, one more friend joined, making us a party of 6. I understand that this wasn’t communicated in advance, so when we requested a larger table, we were willing to wait patiently while the staff arranged it.

During the wait, we ordered our starters, which arrived around 8:00–8:10 PM. After being moved to a new table near the kitchen, we waited nearly an hour for our main courses. Additionally, I had ordered still water and my friend ordered a berry smoothie — both simple drinks — but they took almost 30 minutes to arrive, which felt unreasonably long.

What really disappointed me, however, was the service — or lack thereof. I tried to get the attention of a male staff member in a green shirt who was standing quite close to our table, but he ignored me. Everyone at our table noticed this and heard me call him, so I don’t understand why he didn’t respond.

I understand the restaurant might have been very busy that night, but it genuinely felt like our table was being deliberately overlooked. As someone who also works in the hospitality industry, I know how stressful busy nights can be — but I would never intentionally ignore a customer or make them feel like they’re being treated with less importance.

I don’t know whether that staff member was assigned to our section, but his actions — or lack thereof — made us feel unwelcome. It’s truly upsetting, especially on a day that was supposed to be special. I even told my father not to pay the service charge out of principle, but he kindly insisted on paying it anyway.

That said, I do want to sincerely thank and acknowledge the Polish female staff member (I unfortunately didn’t get her name) who eventually attended to our table. She was warm, attentive, and genuinely tried to make us feel cared for — and I deeply...

We came here yesterday, on arrival we said we had a booking, the girl at the desk said "Am-az-ing" in a very loud and what seemed like a sarcastic way, we were dressed respectfully and very smart casual but felt immediately uncomfortable. We were taken to the back of the restaurant which seemed quite cut off from the main buzz and ambience right next to the toilets, we asked the main attendant who brought us to the table if we could move and pointed to a corner sofa section we could see free for two, she said she'd see, while we waited another couple came and said they wanted to move, they ended up with the table we asked for, she came to update us after a very long wait and said best she could offer was a seat in the garden!!! By now we had already ordered and were hungry as we'd saved ourselves for our meal all day, we did not want to go in the garden, weve eaten in The Ivy at London Bridge many times and always had a lovely time, the staff always so respectful and friendly, so we really hadn't expected this experience.

There were empty tables that we could see quite clearly the whole time we spent here. The waiting staff in the green uniforms were very polite and efficient and they are the only reason I give a 3*, for them i would of given a 5 but the lady attendant in the upmarket uniform who took us to our table had an attitude and no charisma and made no effort to make us feel welcome so I balanced it to a 3, if I reviewed it just on her there would be no stars.

The meal was quite nice altho not as good as weve had before in other Ivy restaurants, my escalopes were slightly overcooked, the seabass was supposed to come with samphire but there were only 5 strands of it under the fish so I had to request a side of brocolli that I struggled to cut with my knife. I do not like my vegetables overcooked but this went way past al dente`.

We shared a sticky toffee pudding that was underwhelming. My partners vegetarian starter and main were just as underwhelming, in comparison he said the underwhelming pudding was the highlight of the meal for him.

On the whole a dissapointing...