Ivy Restaurant

I went there on wednesday night with a group of friends and had a great time. We were sat quickly and greeted almost immediately. Our waiter went down the menu with us and told us about the $26 dollar per bottle wine list and the small plates. It was a fun to be able to order a few different things between us and share them. Our waiter was attentive and knew a lot about the menu and guided us through our first time. I would definitely recomend this place to anyone I know.

I had one of the worst dining experiences of my life at Ivy. We went out to celebrate a friend's new job and pending move. Two members of our party arrived first and informed the hostess that not everyone was there but she said, "not to worry" and chose to seat us anyway. Within 10 minutes the hostess came back to our table to inform us that we would have the next 90 minutes for dinner and then our time was up b/c a larger party was coming in!!! WHAT? Who does that?

Within 15 minutes of being seated our entire party had arrived. As we were discussing our menu options the waiter informed us - again - that we should "make a decision quickly" b/c another party was coming in that needed our seats. Although we asked for 2 more minutes to look over the menu, the waiter took about 15!!! Apparently we should hurry up but not their wait staff???? I have never been treated so poorly. We asked if there was another table that we could move to so that we could enjoy our dinner without the rush and constant hassle from the staff but, we were informed that there were no other options. Our food arrived sporadically and we were never asked if we wanted anything else to drink or even had our water glasses refilled. Finally, when our allotted "2 hours" were up, our waitstaff went to get the manager so that he could tell us that our time was up and we needed to leave.

This was the second, and last, time I will ever go to Ivy. Who needs to feel stressed when they go out to eat? I try to be mindful of the time I spend at a table (I once worked in the restaurant industry) and we probably would have met their "guidelines" for time spent at a table anyway but, to be met with that attitude before we even ordered is just plain RUDE.

My gut instinct was to walk away at the first insult but, I ignored it. Never again.

I am surprised to see the bad reviews! I went with a party of 30, on a friday night and had wonderful service and a great experience! We LOVED the inexpensive wine list and the small plates made for an engaging group dining experience. Our server took pictures, cleared promptly, offered great suggestions....the atmosphere was swanky and the small bill was a pleasant surprise!

I highly recommend this place.

This dabbled as my favorite restaurant in Boston for awhile... the food is usually fantastic, the wine list is excellent and well-priced... and usually decent service. However a few of us went to Ivy's a few weeks ago around 9:30 on a Friday night. The place was nearly empty, but after giving us a run-around for a few minutes, the hostess tried to shoo us to the bar even though we were there for dinner. The bartender came around and asked us if we wanted a table, which we had just tried to get. He talked to this hostess, some discussion ensued and we were finally seated- apparently in a section of a waitstaff who wanted to go home. Her first words to us were: "So do you know what you want?" I worked in restaurants for ten years, everything from casual to upscale, so I almost always give the benefit of the doubt. This time however, never was I so aggravated within ten minutes of arrival into a restaurant. Then our food came out rushed (some not very hot), and our waitress said one or two words to us the entire time. It was terrible and the manager seemed none too concerned. He pretended to apologize and told us the waitress was "having a bad day." The next time my two friends and I spend $150 at a restaurant on a Friday night, it is not likely to be there.

After hearing all these reviews, I decided it would be a perfect place to take my sister for her birthday along with 10 other friends, our waitress was a total bitch...and it all started when we told her we didn't want any alcholcholic drinks, when anyone from our party asked her to explain something on the menu she was rude and condesending... also I went over and told her it was my sister's birthday and the first thing she said (yelled) is "i don't sing happy birthday" I was little taken back...I said that's fine just bring out a cake with a candel on it and we'd do the rest! Such horrible service!!!!