The Ivy Cafe Richmond in Richmond upon Thames

My husband and I went for a Saturday lunch. Smoked salmon, steak tartare for starters, steak and chicken Milanese for mains, bottle of wine, two Birthday Desserts, two coffees, total a little short of £200. All food was delicious and served promptly by a very efficient, polite and smiley waitress. We were neither rushed nor left waiting unduly. We have been at the Richmond Ivy many times before and the only thing wanting is the rather small menu which doesn’t change often enough hence visits not as frequent as they could be.

Went for lunch on a Saturday, four of us. Had one course each and a few drinks. Having been to other Ivy's recently I have some benchmarks. First table service was slow. We had to ask for them to take our order after waiting 15mins. Water and drinks water also slow. Plates were rather unceremoniously delivered to the table with lack of care or finesse but rather dropped in front of us. All from a member of staff whom later told one of our party they were leaving the following week. My beef tartar can only be described as being flicked on to the plate, so much so at one point I thought some of it was going to end up in my friends eye. Witnessing two of the waiting staff arguing in front of tables, twice, was not a good look. It seems as though a table had complained at how long they had waited for their main course (see the theme here) and each waiter blamed the other for not processing the ticket. Paying was as hard as ordering with a 10minute wait to try and attract the attention of any of the staff looking semi competent at being able of operating a payment machine. They were busy arguing. Finally on the way out I used the toilet. Firstly greeted by a member of kitchen staff using the facilities which I found inappropriate. Secondly after washing my hands there were no paper towels available to dry and the electric hand dryer on the wall didn't work. Real let down given our other Ivy experiences. I'd avoid this one until management can fix basic issues.

A busy restaurant and I would definitely book in advance. Great atmosphere. Wonderful service from the minute we arrived. Our waiter Connor was amazing. Personable and attentive. A real credit to the venue and the hospitality industry. Couldn't fault him. Well done.

First visit to the Ivy in Richmond having previously eaten at 2 others in London. Food was ‘On Point’. Service was attentive and excellent. We had a thoroughly lovely meal and enjoyed our experience.

Visited Tuesday lunchtime. The food was excellent. We were very well looked after by Celiana. Nothing was too much trouble.

Visited recently for Sunday lunch with the family. I’ve been to various Ivy restaurants (including this one) before but this was sadly very underwhelming. I love the decor and staff were lovely but food was not up to usual standards. Smoked salmon starter was very thin, small and lacking in flavour, Curry (monkfish & prawn) was tasty but again really small portion and lacking in substance. Prices aren’t cheap and I’m not sure I will rush back in a hurry.

Had booked for mother's day six weeks ago as a special treat. No offer of water or drinks on arrival. We had wave down the waiting staff after 20 mins to try and get served. My daughter asked for no cheese on burger. Her burger was brought to the table with cheese. We complained...they took it away, scraped off the cheese and then brought it back. Ordered a spinach side...had to ask for it twice. Arrived when almost finished meal. No apology. Generally inattentive service. £300 bill. Has really put us off ever going again.

A lovely Mothers Day treat from my daughter. Delicious food, beautiful setting, great ambience. We had the best table service from our waiter, Petros: "rock" solid service, friendly, attentive, a credit to The Ivy in Richmond.

A superb experience. Last Sunday we had my husband’s 70th birthday lunch in The Isabella Room at The Ivy in Richmond. There were 18 people and a toddler. Efficient, clear and fast communication every step of the way. Attention to detail top rate. Carolina was the person with whom I corresponded and who made the process stress-free, pleasant and seamless. Beautiful room, flowers, music and attention to detail. So many excellent comments about the food - and that warm soda bread is to die for! ENORMOUS thanks to the man looking after us - Anthony. He was totally in control at all times, read the room, anticipated small things, re-prioritised easily and had a fabulous smile and perfect disposition. And my grandson loved him! Thank you so very much, Anthony.

We have been to the Ivy Richmond many times and it was always one of our favourite treats. But last night was very disappointing. We arrived at 4.30pm and it was extremely quiet, but the service we received was still very slow and almost as an after-thought. I had requested a celebration desert for my husband's birthday, as The Ivy always asks for information about the occasion and bring a small cake as a complimentary treat. Upon booking on the app it also stated that the booking would entitle us to this. However, this wasn't forthcoming and I didn't feel I could ask. Just little things, like the removal of hand towels in the loo, and inattentive service - they all add up, especially when the prices continue to rise (£6.95 for one bottle of beer). A real shame because this was the best Ivy of all and it feels like standards are slipping.

Came here after a long long time without a booking and the service was fantastic. Special mention to the tall lady at the front desk in green jacket- thank you for going the extra mile and giving us a table and taking our drinks from the bar! Excellent experience 10/10

We’ve been to The Ivy in Richmond a few times as we live just round the corner. Generally the food is good, but the service levels are average. Last night was very disappointing in terms of service as numerous instances throughout the evening just added up to an overall experience that was pretty underwhelming. Full disclosure, we had booked for four but due to illness only three turned up. As their online booking system makes it hard/impossible to change the number of diners, we alerted them of this change on arrival. The following list highlights a few selected instances of not-so-great service on the night: - we arrived on time and were told (despite there being free tables on the ground floor) that we would need to go to the smaller upstairs room. When we queried this, we were told we could wait (why? There was at least one appropriately sized table free) for a table downstairs. The upstairs room is much smaller, with zero atmosphere. It was also served by a single waitress (not her fault) which impacted service levels. So don’t believe their website which says that specific tables can’t be pre-booked and are allocated on arrival, or words to that effect - as we were being shown to the stairs, we asked whether we could at least leave our coats in the cloakroom. This was apparently possible (!) but we were then made to wait at the foot of the stairs whilst the seater went back across the restaurant to the cloakroom to drop off our coats. All the while fuming that we could see empty tables on the ground floor - the service upstairs was not great, possibly as the poor lone waitress was overworked. Everything took a while to arrive, we had to ask to order, the wine arrived after most of us had finished our first course (I had stopped eating by this point so I could at least have a sip of wine with the remains of my starter), the coffee took ages and arrived cold with no sugar, which then took a while to arrive (when I asked, they did bring me a new cup as by then mine was pretty luke warm), etc. etc. - on leaving, we waited a while at the cloakroom to get our coats, but as there was no-one on the front desk, and no-one on the cloakroom, after a few minutes we just helped ourselves to our coats and left. There are plenty of restaurants in Richmond which offer better value and where the service levels are better, which is a real shame, as the food here is pretty good. It will be a while before we return.

had a lovely time in this venue, service was super friendly and food was delicious, definitely recommend the Burrata and the Mexican Chicken. Sticky toffee amazing. Thank you for looking after us

Today my partner and I visited this Ivy and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough! We tried the set menu which is not only delicious but also very cheap for the quality. Our server liv was just amazing, she was informative and provided outstanding service. We will definitely be back very soon !

Amazing restaurant great food and lovely setting, we were in the private room which was very nice. The staff are so friendly!

Arrived at 1.45pm with my elderly parents for a birthday lunch. Very slow serving us after sitting down. So nothing in table for 25 minutes. Finally ordered, soup arrived around 245pm. Tasted OK but was tepid. Had already asked for bread, which finally arrived as we were finishing soup,despite constantly trying to get waiter's attention. When waiter poured wine, bottle dripped on the table. Left bottle in bucket away from table, and abandoned it. Main course arrived at 320pm, after we had complained about the wait to the manager. Some excuse about UT issues and a flood last week. Finished our main course, didn't dare ask for dessert as could have been there all night. Bill arrived 55£ a head, service included, not one word of apology. Food acceptable for the price but service was awful. Wouldn't dream of going back.

Good menu, service and ambiance.

Lovely place & the food was very good. Loved the food serving experience. Will definitely return.

From the moment we walked in we were treated like film stars. The restaurant itself was beautiful. The service by Luck (?) Was amazing. The food and cocktails were the best. What a wonderful experience for my mums birthday. Thankyou

A favourite venue to visit before a rugby match at Twickenham. Our group enjoyed the various dishes with the only negatives being the dry burger and overly salted fries. Overall, another good visit and we shall return.

We sat down and we were told straight away that we had to be quick as they are busy, we had booked the table 6 weeks earlier. I said I would like enjoy my breakfast and not be rushed, the waiter said it’s the rules...

I have been to The Ivy in Richmond over 10 times since it opened and have recommended it to many friends/family. Thursday 8.2.24 is the first time I have been disappointed. I was at the restaurant to celebrate my birthday 🎂 The food was delicious but the Customer Care was unacceptable. There was a ceiling leak and we were getting drips falling on our table . We had to ask to be moved🤷‍♀️We were eventually moved to another table and then found ourselves sitting in a pool of water 🤦🏼‍♀️ The restaurant resembled a water park ! For H&S reasons the restaurant should have been closed And to top it off the Bill included a Service Charge ! 2 very unhappy Customers

They had run out of most of the non veg options. Service was slow, meal was cold but we’d waited over an hr for our meals, we just wanted to eat and go. There was a horrid stench from the seating upholstery - which was really dirty. Possibly not deep cleaned in a while! Not the best Ivy Brasserie I’ve eaten at.

Waitress Lux was amazing and so was the food and atmosphere! Good start to the day as heading to the rugby. Will definitely be returning.

Went to Ivy Richmond last night a birthday treat for a friend, whilst eating our meal water was pouring in from roof, was moved to a table further back and matters got worse. Waiters were sweeping water along from around our table. Not the experience I was hoping for.

When I booked the table on line, there was a question whether this was a special occasion. I indicated that it was a birthday celebration but on the day this was not acknowledged in any way. So what is the point of asking ? When...

One of the best afternoon tea I've had. Recommend visiting :)

I just pop up asking for a table for drinks, the restaurant was full of empty tables, the host asked us to be accommodate on the bar. As the bar had no chairs together the host asked us to asked to some customer to change themselves in order to accommodate us, a very awkward way to welcome the guests, surely we were basically invited to get out of the establishment,what a shame.

If you’re going to serve toast, please make it actual toast rather than warm bread! And please don’t replace it with even more warm bread - toasting bread isn’t that hard to do!!!

Lovely food. Nice service and a great atmosphere. I was disappointed when the bill came as I had ordered four two courses from the 1917 menu from the £19.17 with a few extras but they decided to ignore the deal and charge us for a...

What a nice place to have a great breakfast!

Was a special birthday celebration on 05.02.24 @ 10:15. I mailed and called to ensure they would make a fuss and help us celebrate the day. Service was poor, slow and they forgot about the birthday. Very expensive for slack and zero attention to detail...

One of the best restaurants! The service is at a high level and they are very welcoming! I definitely recommend it😊🫶🏻

Jacek and Jordan from Ivy Richmond made my date dinner unforgettable. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and friendly demeanor create a welcoming atmosphere. Their dedication to ensuring a positive experience sets them apart. I highly appreciate their efforts and would recommend Ivy, thanks to their...

Not enough sandwiches & to many cakes

First time at the Richmond Ivy, friendly, effecient service, delicious food

Great fun for a birthday lunch date. Food and drinks were high quality. Staff were polite and attentive.

Everything about this restaurant is amazing!! If you find yourself in Richmond, you must go. I was lunching solo, however it would be perfect for a long lunch with the ladies, or a celebratory lunch or dinner with family/ friends.

Outstanding customer service and food. A place to come for a real treat. Always ensured a top notch meal here.

Wow, great time with my friend who I haven't seen for many years . Silena who was very helpful is a delight and our waiter, Mohammed couldn't have been more attentive. Apparently he is new there, he will be a real asset. Thank you both...

Make sure to check out the ceiling art in the bathrooms 👍

We were served by the rudest waitress I have ever encountered in my life. She obviously has no people’s skills, no manners, shouted at us and had the most inappropriate behaviour. Horrible experience.

Even though the food and interior was good, the service (our waitress) was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. I heard it about this place, but hoped that it’s not common. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. The visit to your place literally ruined all mood on this beautiful day. There are so many other places, as beautiful and tasty as yours, but with nice and polite service. I will never come back and won’t let rude waitresses to ruin my day, like your stuff did.

Great seats, excellent food, superb service. This was an unusually quiet night being January so the waiters had time to serve without being hurried. My past experience in normal times is very different. The food was to its usual high standard and has never disappointed....

An absolute foodie haven! A culinary experience to remember.

Disappointing. Had a simple clear conversation with server about wishing my eggs poached not hard but not runny, I explained more jammy than milky. He didn't even allow a moment to speak up as clearly eggs pale yellow fully hard. One was slightly not hard in middle but not at all what we agreed. He disappeared. Presentation a mess, cheap muffins and lukewarm small boat of hollandaise sauce. It was all just cheap, not what you bother to book the Ivy for. Absolute no server till I asked for a bill when he happened to seat people next to us. I didn't bother to complain, why make others uncomfortable, the meal and date was not at all what I planned for. If I always had such a bad experience I would not have bothered. It was not extremely busy so I don't understand. I also wrote to the Ivy as they would probably prefer direct feedback , which they ignored so public review is my only option.

Came here for my father’s birthday and it was lovely. Shreya was my waitress and she helped give great recommendations of the menu and gave a great service overall. Highly recommend to go here!

Classic / predictable Ivy brasserie menu and decor. Friendly staff. It’s a good choice for us with a range of meat & fish dishes at a decent price in a nice location.

The whole experience was a disorganised shambles. Food came before drinks - every course. Barmen were useless, especially the one tweaking his moustache rather than serving drinks. If anybody was managing the place, they didn’t announce themselves. Food acceptable but nothing special given the price....

Outstanding service, truly top notch. Menu limited but most would find something they could enjoy, and it's good food - today's chef bit heavy-handed with the salt is the worst I could say! I've seen it described as a cafe, in the UK-sense that's an insult however in the French-sense, I agree.

I took a trip to London from Liverpool for the weekend with my partner and had such an amazing experience. Charlotte was so warm and welcoming, we felt secure with my partners dietary requirements and would recommend anyone to dine at the Ivy Richmond.

An absolute pleasure for food enthusiasts! The menu is a delightful mix of flavors, and the staff's friendly demeanor adds to the overall positive experience.

I visited the Ivy with a friend who had received a breakfast voucher as a gift. On presentation of the voucher we were seated in a corner well away from the other diners. Whilst the food was good, the atmosphere during the experience was slightly...

Food was not the best. We ordered thesheperds pie and it wad described differently than what we had, very small quantities. Then the dessert was the worst!! We had creme brulee which you could tell there’s the smell of eggs and thevfrozen fruit icecream, which easily was just frozen fruits ina pack from tesco. We couldn’t eat the dessert at all. Also, they were a bit rude the receptionist was too slow to get us the table but our waiter was lovely. The decor was amazing but i dont think i would go again

We just turned up on a sunny Sunday lunch time and luckily we were able to have a seat at the bar. The service was friendly and efficient and the food was delicious. My only comment is that we were not given the lunch menu so our choice was limited but we still enjoyed every mouthful.

Went there for an afternoon tea today but was left very underwhelmed with the food and the service. We were rushed out of our table coz they needed the table back but they could have just informed us 15mins in advance about it so that we didn't have grasp our stuff and rush out!

Excellent, good value. Shepherds Pie is a classic. Great selection of cocktails.

A magic experience since the start until the end!

Always love the Ivy, staffs super friendly, and the lovely cocktails!🥰

food is bland / processed and lacks any flavor at all/ burgers look like they took the patties from the frozen section at supermarket. service is very slow and careless

Really enjoy this place. Great menu selection and service always good. Victoria and Shreya both really helpful. Simon (manager) also very hands on leads from the front

Service just atrocious. Takes 15 minutes for every trip of the waiter to the table. In the end tried to charge me another 30£ on top of the bill, said ‘oh my contacts’. Avoid

Excellent customer service, very friendly and attentive staff. The atmosphere is very pleasant and the food is excellent.

We had the fish and chips, battle with soggy but not worth the price

He ido a este restaurante varias veces y siempre he salido satisfecho con la comida. Tiene una buena variedad de platos. La calidad de los ingredientes es buena y la presentación es cuidada. Lo único que podría mejorar es la cantidad, ya que las raciones son un poco escasas para mi gusto. El servicio es rápido y atento, salvo por un camarero que me parece un poco antipático. En general, recomiendo este restaurante si buscas una comida sabrosa, pero no esperes salir con el estómago lleno. No dejar propina ya que te cobran un suplemento independientemente de si te ha gustado el restaurante o no.

Forgotten at the bar waiting to be seated - wobbly table - various items unavailable on menu - we walked out. Avoid for dates/business. The Ivy have been invited to comment - here is the complaint lodged: I’m writing to report a complaint about The...

Breakfast date with scrambled (for me) and poached (for my date) egg on toast. Both loved it.

Forgotten at the bar waiting to be seated - wobbly table - various items unavailable on menu - we walked out. Avoid for dates/business. The Ivy have been invited to comment - here is the complaint lodged: I’m writing to report a complaint about The Ivy, Richmond re. a dinner reservation on Saturday, 6th January at 7pm. My partner and I had a reservation for 7pm and arrived on time at 6.50pm. We were instructed to wait at the bar and told our table would be ready in five minutes. Twenty minutes passed and we had been forgotten, so I reminded a friendly server that we were waiting and we were then taken to our table (7.15pm). We were given a table that wobbled, so we waited again for our server to return to request alternative seating. Unfortunately, a significant amount of time passed before they returned (now approx 7.25pm). We were not given the option to move to a different table; our server inserted something under the short leg of the table in view of neighbouring diners. This is The Ivy, Richmond. Really most embarrassing and undignified. There was no sincere acknowledgement of our wait or the inconvenience caused. Our server then proceeded to tell us everything that was unavailable on the menu as they had run out of various items. At this point we requested our coats and left the restaurant. The staff were polite but there was absolutely no attempt to apologise and rectify the situation. Colossal disappointment.

I been here quite alot . This is one of my favourite restaurants. Good food nice music and amazing service. 5* from me.

Overall good experience. Good food, nice atmosphere and decor inside, as you come to expect from the Ivy. Some ways in which can be improved: - more rice with the duck curry, their standard portion seems strangely small. - ensure food is hot when served. The curry comes in a pot which is heated by a candle. Candle only lit at the table, so took some time for the curry to actually be hot. - Waiter seemed stressed and was a bit annoying as a result

Lovely leisurely lunch, despite being a busy service we received attentive friendly customer service, we enjoyed the fish & chips and The Ivy burger accompanied with celebratory fizz.

Had a lovely family lunch to celebrate my wife's birthday. Everything was outstanding. Friendly, accommodating staff - excellent well presented food - and exceptional value for money. Many thanks !

Superb service, the waiters were very attentive, even though they were extremely busy! The food was well presented and delicious Would highly recommend this restaurant

We have been before and had a good experience, but what a disappointment it was this time. The service was shambolic, and the food was mediocre. The building and décor were stunning so nothing to fault there. It was busy to start with, but there...

Always a great time at the Ivy Richmond!

Afternoon tea was lovely! The service by Eshan was excellent, a credit to the team! Thank you!

The food was average, dull, needs a lot of taste. the service was one of the most annoying things I’ve ever witnessed, the lady that acted as a messenger to the manager was an absolute mess, she did not have any kind of manners or logic in her talk I was looking forward to this visit but I won’t visit this place ever again nor I will recommend it to anyone ever again.

I had a great experience over Christmas with my steak cooked perfectly and the staff being attentive to my needs despite it being an incredibly busy night. Will certainly be back

Awful standard of food. Tasteless / bland / uninspiring

Brilliant place to dine out Not overpriced Really good selection on the menu Very enjoyable

Yet another hit of excellent restaurants to dine at as that very special treat This being my second Ivy Brasserie the other being in Wimbledon Village . Admittedly on the expensive side particular if your meal includes a good bottle of wine In my case the occasion was a Christmas present from my elder brother. Decor entering ,was like a hall of eglomise mirrors come merino lightning stunning pictures on every wall draws you in . Well dressed dineing tables throughout Some in quiet corners and most attentive staff. Food outstanding having respectively a Start of souffle of wild mushrooms With main of ,tempura, squid tenticals along with wild foraged mushrooms and truffle linguine. Numbered desserts ,teas and coffee. Was delighted to discover that there is a disabled toilet available on the ground floor orherwise it's very steep steps up to the first floor not recommended iif like me you have difficulty First floor is where you'll also find private dining rooms to book eg celebratory Strongly advised to book ahead. One for your dairy

Stop in for a drink. Beautiful atmosphere. Great bartenders! (We didn't eat, but the place was packed- I'd assume it was good.)

The Ivy in Richmond deserves applause! It's my 4-year-old daughter's favorite spot, thanks to the delightful food, seasonal menu choices, prompt service, and exceptional customer care from the team. We always return for good reason – it’s a truly attractive dining experience!

This was our second, meeting family. Our guests were 30 minutes late but we were well attended and drinks and nibbles while we waited. On arrival of our guests were promptly served drinks and then a range of starters. Duck parfait - excellent, can’t recall...

Only stopped by for a quick coffee, but the place was buzzing, service was good and the only available seats were at the bar.

Fire alarm went off as we arrived and went on for ages. Starter was great but mains was terrible leaving me with a stomach ache, diarrhoea and the sweats. Won’t be returning. So dark couldn’t read the small print menu

Great evening meal in Richmond. Only criticism is we felt rushed my our server. It had to constantly slow her down so we could enjoy our night.

Delicious food and service great

Little that I cannot say about this place that gives it less than 5 stars. Absolutely loved every bit of our experience here. Food was top notch, my steak was cooked perfectly, the blackened cod was tender and juicy, and the lamb bolognese pasta for my child was delicious. Great cocktails too, my only wish was for more time to try out other cocktails. For dessert, we had the chocolate bombe which I think the three of us licked the plate clean. Will definitely be back, as our 4 year old was super happy with the food. Only recommendation would be to provide some kids activity such as coloring pads etc.

Shocking slow service (45 mins) considering they only allow you 1 hour this is not great, wonky tables which resulted in 2 pricy drinks lost, wonky cake stands had to fold up a napkin so they didn't fall over, had to ask for plates etc. Doubt any of our party of 7 would return especially as the added on £40 "service" fee which would have been fine if the service was good.

Lovely food, great atmosphere with the added bonus of sharing it with wonderful colleagues (a great place for a work/team lunch)

I had a meal there a few weeks ago. It was rather pricey and portion was so so. Nice cosy atmosphere inside the restaurant but too bad we were sat in a corner and all I could see was 2 walls in front of me

I went with my friend last week to Ivy to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately it was not a great experience. We had to wait a lot for everything: waiter/menu/drinks/food. I had the salmon and I got food poisoning on the following morning. From 03.00 am I...

We had an amazing lunch time. Our server was Lux and she was very adorable, helpful and joyful. Also other servers that pass by or ask a small things were very nice and lovely to use ;). Food was quite decent, desserts very unique. Looking forward to come back one day

Lovely place to enjoy a nice evening

Fabulous meal at the end of a fabulous day (Abba Voyage) with fabulous friends. The setting & ambiance here are excellent & the food lovely - blackened cod in particular. We were served by great staff throughout but in particular by an amazing young waitress...

Really rude waitress - we went for an 80th birthday party and was met with rude and gruff service - I used to love the ivy but the service and food were at best average - really sorry to say this but given the cost...

The Ivy in Richmond is in a lovely setting close to the high street and the river. Even on a wet Sunday before Christmas it is charming. Perfect in fact for taking Granny out for a pre Xmas treat. Food was good if not outstanding,...

The service was great, very attentive staff, seated as soon as we went in, everyone enjoyed their meal, the water was good enough to give my wife a small birthday cake Buy my fillet stake was so tough I couldn't eat it, I didn't say...

Lovely brunch. Will definitely be going again!