Ivanhoe Hotel — Restaurant in Ferndale

I am a retired executive for a major chemical company. I am European and I have traveled, both on business and for pleasure, to many counties in Europe, Australasia, Asia, and the America's North, South and Central. I do not give this resume to boast, but to add credence to my review of the Ivanhoe restaurant in Ferndale, California; I am simply am astonished that reviews of the ivanhoe are so "generous". || My wife and I have eaten at the Ivanhoe a total of 4 times over the past few years when we have visited our vacation home in Humboldt County. The first few visits were OK. Nothing great but worthy of 4 stars allowing that this is Ferndale not Pasadena. The third visit was a disaster. I ordered a steak with mushroom sauce. The steak was virtually raw. I sent it back but the replacement was also raw. By now my apetite and the evening with my wife was ruined. My wife had finished her entrée by the time I sent the second steak back. The young lady who served us was polite enough, barely, but hardly "happy" throughout the event. She did not smile once. When she brought the check she sounded as if she was doing me a favor by compimg the two steaks, neither of which I ate. I did not leave a tip which is extremely rare for me. She went off in a huff. There was no apology as we left the restaurant let alone any hint of recognition that they had spoiled our evening. One star for that visit. But I had a $100 voucher that friends of ours had given us as a thank you for letting them use our vacation home last year. On our this most recent visit different friends visited us from the UK. They insisted on buying us dinner so i used the opportunity to throw our voucher into the pot as its unlikely we'll ever visit the Ivanhoe again. That 4th meal was OK, certainly nothing more than OK. But remember those mushrooms I had on my steak at our third, visit. The same mushrooms appeared as a starter and as a sauce on my entree. They must have a very big pot of those mushrooms in the kitchen. Fortunately I like garlic but the chef is far to heavy on the garlic for most. The service. We had the same waitress and she did smile a lot, whether becuse she was feeling better that day, or out of scarcasm I did not know -- neither did I care. ||So the reason for my PRETENTIOUS title for this critique. Well the food is pretty basic and certainly not top class. The prices are way way over the top. The service well again pretty basic. In short the Ivanhoe is nowhere near as good as they...

Terrible. My husband had made reservations on our anniversary for 7:30pm at the Ivanhoe, for ourselves and my father-in-law. We arrived on time and no one greeted us or acknowledged our presence. Mind you, the Ivanhoe's waiting area is so small, barely anyone can stand there without getting mushed, and we were there with my wheelchair bound father-in-law (by the way, it was hard getting IN the restaurant with a wheelchair. NOT very wheelchair accessible. Very sad.) Finally, after a little wait my husband had to get the attention of the hostess and he said, "Reservation for 7:30." And the hostess literally just stared at him and walked away. My husband looked back at me like, "What was that?". Only moments later a few people walked in, the hostess greeted them, and walked them to a table. No name. No nothing. Just sat them. I was shocked for so many reasons, you'd think at least they'd want to accommodate my handicapped father-in-law, but no, we were just standing there getting swished by the people who just came in going to their table. My husband then expressed his concern to the hostess and told them we will never return. When someone makes a reservation for something like an anniversary, or just a reservation in general, it should be acknowledged. But, obviously you must not need one since people just came off the street without one and immediately got seated. Don't know much about the food they serve, but, if those are the kind of people running it (rude, classless, disrespectful), I wouldn't want to eat there. And we didn't. We expressed our disappointment and ate elsewhere. Actually, we went down the street to the Ferndale Pizza Co. where the employees were so friendly! Ferndale Pizza Co had really amazing food and for the price it was a steal. NOT the Ivanhoe though, will...

I received a recommendation for this restaurant while staying at an Airbnb in Ferndale and boy am I glad that I dropped in. I visited during COVID 19 and unfortunately was only able to pick up food to go. However, the woman who answered the phone when I rang was extremely friendly. I asked her if there was any vegan options on the menu and she offered the primavera pasta sans cheese and a few other ingredients. When I picked the food up, I could already tell that I was in for a treat as the smell of the pasta wafted in the air.

Back at the farm when I was finally able to open the cardboard box containing my food, I was privileged to indulge in one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had. Wonderfully seasoned vegetables, perfectly cooked pasta, and a wonderful sauce of garlic and olive oil all tied in perfectly to one mouth watering dish. This pasta made me happy... so happy that called in the following day to pick up another for dinner.

The woman who initially helped me remembered me and was ever so pleasant. I made sure to express my love of the restaurant and Ferndale in general. It's such a pleasant place to visit and everyone I encountered was very oh so welcoming.

The only thing I was disappointed with is that I was unable to dine indoors. The interior looks to have a lot of history/character and honestly, I could have used a drink. But, that's no fault of...