The Ivy Buchanan Street, Glasgow — Restaurant in Scotland

Booked a table for three people which is a two hour slot. There was a member of staff who was lovely and helpful I don’t remember their name. Blonde and female. She was fab. She brought our first two drinks. Peach Bellini and a rum punch? The Asian salad was absolutely delicious.

However, the other staff were something else.

Two of us arrived on time and we had said to the staff who kept approaching us that our third party was late due to transport. It got to a point where we felt really awkward cause they just kept pushing and pushing for us to order food without them.

After they pushed and pushed we did order but the time it arrived our third had arrived and was left without something. This just made us look stupid and we still had over an hour in our slot.

We originally only wanted drinks and a main but that wasn’t up to scratch it seemed. Also, whilst waiting on our third I was on my own as my friend who was there waiting with me went to the bathroom and I almost had to defend us and our booking? She spoke to me like I was to leave immediately cause we hadn’t ordered food yet.

She had black hair and the yellow floral blazer. Whatever that means in there as all the staff are dressed differently? This staff member was so unbelievably snide I was so upset and embarrassed the table next to us heard her giving me a hard time like I was a child.

I gave the third drink to my friend that arrived as I wasn’t keen on it after one sip and was quite frankly furious by this point and just wanted to leave. We were made to feel like stupid wee lassies and hurried whilst everyone else was allowed to relax and enjoy their time. We all work hard and have worked in hospitality before. I felt so looked down upon like we were trash blown in the front door.

Once they collected the plates we asked for the bill. We were then approached by another different staff member who clearly caught wind of us asking for the bill after two starters and the drinks and must have clocked how unhappy I looked. She asked if we were happy with everything and I hesitated to say but I did say something.

She was lovely and gave us complimentary chocolate truffles and removed service charge which was nice but I just wanted to pay and leave. The staff did eventually give us the bill after asking twice paid and left.

I’ll never ever step foot in that establishment again. Was so upsetting to be treated like a stupid wee girl. I’m 25 work full time have done since I was a teenager.

Our faces clearly didn’t fit in there and we weren’t their desired clientele. Good cause I’ll not be back and waste my money. Such a shame, food was to die for.

Overall: rushed, harassed, some rude staff, embarrassed in front of other customers and a confrontational staff member. Shame cause the food...

Today, 16 December 2024, we had afamily lunch at The Ivy Glasgow. The place was very busy with many people enjoying the Christmas menu. We were very pleased with our choice of meals, food was perfect. The ambiance was great with a great "buzz" in the place. Very pleased with our visit and staff were excellent.

• latest visit *** Todays visit, Friday 10 November, was a birthday lunch for my wife. When we arrived we were very warmly received. The restaurant was very busy and will probably be busy until Christmas. Luckily we had a reservation, booking highly recommended. For starters my wife had white onion soup that my wife enjoyed. I opted for the truffle tagliatelle, unfortunately when this came to the table the pasta and sauce were both dry. For main course we both selected The Ivy cottage pie. This disappointingly wasn’t to the normal high standard, the presentation was what we expect however the food was warm at best, definitely not hot. My wife picked the green beans with toasted almonds, my wife described these as microwaved beans with handful of packet almonds sprinkled on top. I picked the broccoli with lemon oil and sea salt, what I got was steamed/ microwaved broccoli with no trace of lemon oil or sea salt seasoning. This was highlighted to our waiter who offered to replace the unsatisfactory side dishes but we were almost finished. Both these dishes were deducted from our final bill. Next came desserts. This is an easy choice, we both had our usual favourites. Chocolate bombe and apple tart. Both delicious. As we have come to expect from The Ivy all front of house staff are faultless. Unfortunately on this visit we feel as though the kitchen was overwhelmed. We look forward to our next visit.

• Another visit update** Once again the food was execllent, very good menu, with the Asian menu additions was very nice. The whole dining experience was above and beyond what we've come to expect from @The Ivy. We recently returned from a French road trip and we were very pleased to be served by Auriel, a French waiter from Normandy, his attention to us throughout our meal was execellent, spending time to chat and recommend locations to visit in Normandy next time. Once again a very enjoyable experience. Keep up the great standards. This was our third visit to The Ivy. As usual the service was excellent. Our server Holly was very attentive but not obtrusive. As previous visits out food was excellent in taste and presentation. The decor is very aesthetic in an art deco style. Unfortunately I love creme brulee and have tasted it some fantastic restaurants worldwide but today it just wasn’t good enough. Will we return? Yes definitely. The rest of the meal was delicious. We will...

Raw smoky fish.

Last visited not long after it first opened and was less than impressed however after a good review from a friend I was tempted back.

Firstly, we arrived a few minutes late for our table, however got told that it wouldn’t be ready for 5 minutes. That wasn’t a problem however we were soon led to a table of 8 to accommodate our party of 4. Made for a strange dining experience to be sat at a table with 4 empty seats. Again, not the biggest issue but the first time I’ve ever experienced that and understandable why it’s not common practice as we awkwardly sat at one end of an oval table feeling like we’d been stood up by 4 others.

The service was ok for what was a busy evening. Plenty of staff and all seemed very pleasant.

Handed 2 menus- the regular one and a festive 2/3 course for £50/£55. We compared both menus and seemed that paying for items from the normal menu was around £10 cheaper than the festive deal so opted to just pick from the main menu. Regardless, the food still seems overly pricy for what it is.

I had traditional fish and chips. The fish tasted like it was smoked haddock which was unexpected however it appeared it was the batter, which was greatly in excess compared to the small piece of fish, that had the smoky flavour. It had most likely been cooked in the same oil as some smoked fish pie or other on the menu but kept the same strong smoky flavour which wasn’t too pleasant.

I couldn’t be bothered complaining so continued to eat however having already eaten half of the meal, the next bit of fish I bit on was cold. I immediately looked at the remaining part and could see the fish was raw in the centre.

I let the waitress know and a manager came over and asked if I wanted another piece. I had already eaten most of my meal so wasn’t prepared to have another plate, particularly after being served raw fish. The manager did say they would take it off the bill but didn’t seem too bothered about what had been served. The raw fish was also left in front me rather than being removed so I had the displeasure of it staring me in the face as everyone else continued to finish their dinner.

To make matters worse after paying for the meal, we discovered later that, although the fish had been removed, there was a service charge of £17 added on to the bill. This would cover the raw fish meal. I’m all for giving on Christmas but to include a service charge after serving raw fish was poor.

Struggle to see any good reason to go back after the past 2 visits.

Sure a lot of people have a better dining experience but for me there continues to be far better places in Glasgow that offer more value, nicer food and a more satisfying...