The Ivy Market Grill — Restaurant in London

NO ALLERGEN TRAINING OR INFORMATION VEGAN DISHES ARE NOT VEGAN FALSELY ADVERTISED AS SUCH EXPECT TO WAIT UP TO HALF HOUR FOR PRE BOOKED TABLES

Horrendous experience at The Ivy Marketgrill a couple of weekends ago. Had a table booked for six far in advance for a friends birthday, we were made to stand for 20 mins-half an hour in the doorway, they did bring a free glass of fizz and move us outside eventually but for a pre-booked table in the theatre district at 6pm I expect a lot better After eventually getting to our seats the service was just awful. I have a dairy allergy which is very common and the server had no idea how to deal with it and ignored our several requests to speak to a supervisor. We were advised things advertised on the vegan menu as vegan were in fact not vegan and contained milk, myself and another party member who was a vegan were shocked and this ordeal went on for around about another 20 minutes - half an hour as the server went to and from the kitchen coming back with a different answer everytime and no explanation. In the end due to my allergy and the terrible service I didn’t feel comfortable eating at the venue, the risk was too high, other party members continued with their orders and said the food was okay but not worth the price and ordeal we had gone through as a group. Aside from that the bottle of wine we had ordered was out of stock, as was a second choice. We ended up with the house which was fine and assured would be complimentary but then appeared on the bill anyway. Eventually they removed the wine and the service which was good form but admittedly the least they could do. As for me, the only party member not eating I was ignored the rest of the night by staff which shocked me. Since the evening a member of our party emailed The Ivy who assured someone from the venue would be in touch. It has been almost two weeks and there has been zero contact.

As a group of professionals who regularly frequent covent garden and surrounding areas, we were so beyond disgraced at the service and would never recommend to anyone under the circumstances. Extremely disappointing from such a prolific chain and for a special occassion the venue was already aware of. Avoid...

Extremely disappointed with Ivy Market Grill! A very busy and overcrowded restaurant with adjacent tables almost on top of each other. It’s not the dining experience you’d expect from an IVY named restaurant. Hey Ho, as the name suggests, you’ll feel more like eating in a market place but with a staggering bill of a whopping £50-£55 per head.

I sent the following feedback via the Contact Us page on their website on 5th Jan, almost a month gone by and I have not heard back from any personnel from The Ivy Collection…. no apology, not even an explanation! Just an automated email acknowledging receipt of my feedback. Guess my feedback have slipped through the (Market’s) net.

When we booked online, the website specified that bookings for 7 or more people are required to select from the Set Menu only, therefore we made a booking for 6ppl instead (one family member had to opt out) with the intention that we’ll be able to choose from the A la Carte menu. When we arrived at Ivy Market Grill on 29th Dec, only the Set menu was laid out on the table, we asked one of the servers to bring us the A la Carte Menu but a little while later and to our surprise, a manager (I believe) came over and told us that bookings for ‘6’ or more people can only choose from the Set menu. This is ‘not’ what we recollect at the time of booking! But not wanting to make a fuss in-front of our guests, we accepted the manager’s request. We returned home and double checked the information on the website and it clearly states that bookings for ‘7’ or more people (not ‘6’ are required to choose from the Set Menu)! We felt totally cheated! Not only were we unable to choose the food we’d like to eat from the A la Carte Menu, we had to pay over £300 which does not include drinks! (£50 per head for a 2 course meal!!) But one family member need not have to opt out! We would have been happier to pay more with our own selection of food than feeling ripped off with a £50-£55 Set Menu! We have visited Ivy Cafe Wimbledon on several occasions and enjoyed the food and atmosphere there. But our visit to Ivy Market Grill has put a damper to our choice of restaurant and left us feeling extremely disheartened, like we have...

This was my, and my wife's first visit to this particular restaurant, though have been to others in the chain. We had a late afternoon reservation that was ready for us at the appropriate time and were shown to our table by the front of house staff member. We were in the main area to the left at the start of it where two round tables occupy the space. A group of four large women were sitting at the first table and we had to squeeze ourselves into our table being very careful not to catch the guest nearest to our table/ The waitress that gave us the menus was cheerful and pleasant and our drink orders were taken shortly afterwards.

We chose an Aperol Spritz each and found them to be very pale coloured when they arrived. The ratio of Aperol to prosecco/ soda water was not high enough, nor the prosecco in my opinion. We should have sent them back but are weary of complaining before the food arrives.

My wife had the Shepherd's Pie, I had the Ivy Burger, and we shared the Aubergine Fritti, with both the latter getting thumbs up. My burger however was not at all nice and for the price I would expect perfection. The brioche bun was dry and hard in places, similar to bread that had freezer burn or has been microwaved to defrost too much from frozen. The burger Patti itself was also very dry and lacked flavour. The presentation was good but is for nothing when poorly prepared/ cooked.

A different member of waiting staff eventually came over asking us how the meal was but by that time I had pushed my way though it eating half of it. She did ask if I wanted replacing but by that time it seemed pointless and I didn't want to appear to be trying it on.

We ordered another round of drinks but the cocktail that the same member of staff I raised the issue of quality with, returned with was not the one requested cocktail of this member of staff.

The bill duly arrived with an automatic "Discretionary" tip of 13.5%, (which everyone I know despises but we all put up with) and the full price of the burger though I could face half the bun. The service was generally good but a tip includes the quality of the food as well, but we Brits often don't want to...