Ivy Restaurant

This was my second time here, and I was hoping it was going to be better than the unimpressive first time. Yes, the wine is reasonably priced and the ambience is nice-especially for a Saturday night. What made me review it unfavorably was the long wait despite a reservation, and then once seated, no one came to the table. I had to ask a waitress if anyone had been assigned our table. The waiter came over and apologized because he had to get all the theater people out on time. That was not my problem, but it made me realize that this restaurant is good for theater goers who don't mind mediocre food and service because it is convenient for seeing shows. The meal wasn't bad, it was just lacking a bit in flavor. Everything seemed under-seasoned. I was underwhelmed, to say the least. The moral of this story is, if you are not rushing off to a show, you can probably do better somewhere else. However, if a group of people are inviting you out and they have already decided on this place, it won't ruin your night. Pros: Close to theaters, nice ambience, reasonably priced wine Cons: Service is lacking and they don't have to try because of proximity to theaters more

Great service. The food was nothing short of fabulous. the wine was perfect. the dessert was heavenly. more

One of the places I frequent the most in Boston -- perfect for the first date or a group event. Excellent... more

One of the places I frequent the most in Boston -- perfect for the first date or a group event. Excellent food at a very reasonably priced menu. more

Excellent atmosphere, incredible food. Party of 3 ordered 7 different items and loved them all. Everything was perfect!!! Pros: Great location in Theater District. more

Wine list and food were amazing - a great date place! Service a bit inconsistent - but overall wonderful place. Recommend the mac and cheese. more

Very well priced for the quality of food, and the perfect place for groups. Their arancini are delicious,... more

Very well priced for the quality of food, and the perfect place for groups. Their arancini are delicious, but you really can't go wrong with any of... more

Great concept of fixed price wine along with small plates Italian. The cheese plate and the veal ragu are... more

Great concept of fixed price wine along with small plates Italian. The cheese plate and the veal ragu are both excellent! Also, the Los Ten... more

Wow, what a great disappointment! more

My wife and I LOVE this place. Good food, good service and good ambiance. Friendly staff and cool lounge downstairs. Great place to go while downtown. Pros: Cool ambiance and nice wine list for not a lot of money Cons: Parking more

both in atmosphere and cuisine. can't tell what all the fuss is about... less than mediocre. cannot recommend. more

I really enjoyed Ivy, and thought they were very accomodating even though some of my party was late for the reservation and we had to rush to make a show at the opera house. Pros: wine list, small plates, decor Cons: loud more

I went there on a Friday evening with my husband. The place is really nicely decorated, for sure, so we were looking forward to a nice dinner. The waiter was right there, asking us what we want, but we didn't get the menus when we were sitted 1 minute earlier, so were not ready. He brings the menus, we order a cocktail. He brings back the cocktail right back and wants to know what we want - duh, can we relax a little ? Anyway, the menu was not very extensive: 5 main dishes. We made up our mind, and when the waiter came again and we ordered, he said he ""forgot"" to tell us that they're out of the dish my husband wanted, the lamb, and also out of his second choice, a fish. He also forgot to tell us about the specials of the day, so he tells us. My husband goes with the special (that he said was not that great). We mention that we'd like a wine, but we have no wine menu. The waiter goes for the wine menu. He finally, after a while, comes back to get our wine choice, and as soon as he leaves, the main dishes are served. We were half-way through the main dish when the bottle of wine finally came. Meanwhile, a ""girl's night out"" very loud party is sitted close to us, and extremely well taken care of, ie, they somehow got BOTH of the two dishes that we couldn't get because they were out ! Strange, isn't it ? Well, we finished our dinner in a very loud environment, the waiter coming now every 5 minutes to check if we're done yet, and then left. We will NEVER go there again. It's maybe good for twenty-somethings that have no idea yet how to appreciate a good meal, but anybody above 28 should skip this place. The decor is super cool, the prices are very OK, the food is fine, but not special, and the service is a pure horror. Pros: decor, location, price Cons: service, ambience, limited menu more

Wonderful staff, tasty small plates, very cozy for a date, but equally accomodating for a group of friends. Can't wait to go back. more

The staff thinks they are to cool for us. Its thinks of it's self as a ""Local"" spot? Pros: Nero d'Avola was nice already Cons: It just thinksit is to cool more

So I booked a reservation 2 weeks before the actual dinner night for Valentine's day weekend for my boyfriend & I. We live in Boston but I thought it would be fun to spend the night at a hotel in town. We were definietly in no rush. Our reservation was for 8:45pm and I had requested a table downstairs in the ""romantic seating area"" I knew something was up when we didn't get seated 20 minutes later. The manager came over & was very apologetic. He mentioned some guests 'refused' to leave & that more people were joining them even after they paid their bill. He set us up at the bar, gave us 2 rounds drinks on him and then 45-50 minutes later....we were seated. Our waitres was ""ok""nothing special. I felt like she just didnt care that we were even there. The food I have to say was just 'ok'. The mac & cheese was yummy but the ceasar salad barely had any dressing on it. The scallops were also good. The cosmo that I had at the bar was a great drink. Probably the best cosmo I ever had! ....Overall, I would recommend this place hoping people have a better experience than us. We totally were not in any kind of rush that night but for someone that would have wanted to get in & get out...I'm sure they would of been VERY upset with the wait. I would go back, but not rush back. The manager made our night because he was just so nice..... Pros: Good management, Great Cosmos Cons: Long wait, Boring waitstaff more

Went to Ivy on a date and was charmed by its ambience -- brick walls, candles, red velvet chairs, funky chandeliers. Love the $26 wine menu, and every dish we ordered -- scallops, sweet potato gnocchi, petit steak, and asparagus -- was superb. My only complaint is that our server was TOO efficient. We hadn't been sitting for 10 seconds when she came over and ordered our water, then 30 seconds later she took our drink order, and she practically ran away before my date could order his. The food came out about 5 minutes after we ordered, and they tried to take our plates away before we were finished. We couldn't get through an entire conversation without being ""serviced"" for one reason or another. We ordered dessert and coffee just because we'd felt like we'd only had about 25 minutes to actually talk. It was the shortest and most rushed dinner date I've ever had. My recommendation to Ivy -- let your customers relax and enjoy the wonderful sensory experience your restaurant has to offer. Pros: Wonderful food, reasonably priced wine Cons: Service too rushed more

This eatery is superb. Everything about it is top level. The food, the staff, the service. Recommended. more