The Ivy St Albans Brasserie in St Albans

A party of four had lunch today and I must say the food was excellent and the service went the extra mile. Yanis was extremely attentive and very professional. I certainly would recommend this establishment. Well done.

Starters came cold sent back twice, Main course also cold sent back eventually couldn’t be bothered it was too late. Manager didn’t seem to bothered. Waiter said he could do better. Very disappointing first night eating inside. Two main courses taken off bill. Not a good experience. What a shame

Amazing food and amazing service from the amazing waiter Yannis. Thank you very much. We will be back for sure.

Great place for a meal! Delicious food and very friendly staff! Would definitely recommend and will definitely return.

My friend and I visited the ivy last week and received the most amazing service from Yanni (not sure how to spell his name) he was the kindest most genuine person and really made our experience amazing, our faces hurt from smiling so much! We only ever want to come back if he is there! He made great recommendations for food and drinks and we had a great time, he even overheard our conversation about it being my friends birthday and bought over a birthday dessert! 10/10 he deserves the best review :)

We had a lunch at St Albans Ivy recently and were really impressed with the service and buzzing ambiance. Covid measures are well carried out while guests feel safe and relaxed. Great job Ivy as always. Served by lovely Yannie.

We absolutely loved our breakfast. We went the first morning they opened after the second lockdown, so we expected it to be quiet. The receptionist, Olivia, was very charming; Rita, the restaurant manager who took our order was very professional in welcoming us; Simona who looked after us during our visit was very engaging and took such good care of us; the Bar Manager, Jozef, even took time to talk to us briefly while he was walking past which was a nice touch; and Emilie made the best hot chocolate I have ever had!We strongly recommend The Ivy, and if you go for breakfast - try their buttermilk pancakes!

First meal after lock down and one of our family members 30th Birthday. Two of them ordered the steak for the main, medium rare. Both came out completely over done. Sent back and waited 20 mins.. whilst everyone else continued with their meal. Both the steaks came back blue, cold, completely insulting and inedible. Again sent back, but they this time everyone had almost finished their meals. We complained and money was finally deducted from the bill but it undoubtedly ruined the Birthday girls meal (she ordered the steak).I think over all its actually over priced and perhaps the chefs are bog standard at best.

One of the beast meals we ever had. Friendly and polite staff, lovely ambience, definitely must try!!

Great and enjoyable Monday dinner. Our waiter was extremely helpful. We will be definitely back. Thank you

My partner and I dined at The Ivy Brasserie during our trip to St. Albans. The staff where friendly and helpful, taking our temps on entry which was reassuring! The restaurant itself is beautiful with great ambiance and our waiter Yannis was extremely polite and helpful! He knew the menu inside out, recommending the ideal sides/extras for our mains and recommended great wines (The Ivy Champaign is delicious by the way). Little did I know my partner would propose just after out meal, so thank you for making it a perfect evening.

We've had breakfast here twice in recent weeks - it has a really good, if not over-large breakfast menu and despite being a restaurant it feels absolutely fine for breakfast.We had truly excellent service from newbie 'Ash' - he arranged for the ham on my eggs benedict to be slightly grilled (a la Gordon Ramsey - one of my favourite chefs) which transforms the dish.All the food was delicious and the service was attentive but not intrusive.Great!

Lunch at the Ivy, the day before Lockdown 2 to celebrate a 40th birthday ....and it was excellent!The atmosphere, despite distancing, was good and the service really friendly and helpful.I have always found the food at the Ivy Brasseries top notch and our visit was no exception...the sourdough starters and Zuchinni fries were spot on and all of our mains were superb and my wife`s portion of fish and chips was massive.The wines are a little pricey but good and overall, i felt that including service, the cost for five of us was reasonable.I do however have one comment....when we arrived (on time) one of the managers made a point of telling us that our table was only available for two hours. In my view, this puts a real downer on the celebratory proceedings.I commented , that as long as that gives us long enough for aperitifs and three courses allowing for your service then thats fine......as it was we stayed for two and a half hours with no prompting because as suspected, they could not serve us in that time and we weren't stalling for time!Despite this, we will most definitely return

Great location for lunch with your husband ( as I did today), mother or girlfriends. Food is delicious and has a great choice for all palettes, service was excellent and atmosphere was lively.

We have visited many times and always found the food and service to be of a good standard. From a quick meal to an evening out with friends the place always has a good atmosphere. Prices are mid range and value for money and always found the staff to be polite and well trained.

A lovely meal with my mum for a belated birthday. Yannis served us with such class which fits the feel of the Ivy. So professional and his recommendations were spot on.

Booked the private dining room for my mums 60th. We turned up and were told they had allocated this to another party? They gave us another table... Sat looking at 2 other tables in the private dining room. It completely ruined my mother's 60th birthday. Granted the food was good. No complaints at all. But the service was woeful, a young lad serving us didn't say a word to us. When asked where 2 or 3 of the missing sides were as we finished our mains, his response verbatim was 'well do you want them or not?'. We were perplexed as you can imagine. We are very familiar with the Ivy and other branches, I'm sad to say after thw St Albans branch showed no remorse in ruining my mum's 60th birthday I won't be trusting them with so much as a coffee from now on.

Fantastic experience here for a birthday for 6. Lovely food, but even better service, our waiter Yannis was exceptional, a credit to the restaurant.

Shepherds pie was fine nothing great dessert menu limted cocktails okay basically yes lovely decor service good but food not worth the price menu definitely needs updating and wow shouldn't be what the food is but I've had better Shepherds pie from waitrose

Lovely place. Great atmosphere with delicious food. The waiter from Greece Yanis was very pleasant and professional and made our experience even more enjoyable. Strongly recommend The Ivy St. Albans.

After poor experiences at other Ivy Grill locations, this was very refreshing. Staff were attentive, polite and efficient, and managed Covid constraints very well. Spacing was excellent and felt safe. Food service was quick, portion sizes generous and we were accommodated at the bar after our time slot ended to continue drinking. It isnt a cheap experience, but given the food quality, portion sizes and service level it represents good value. Cant fault it and will return.

When we arrived we were greeted by a lovely lady who escorted us to our table, which was set out very nicely. Then we were asked if we wanted any water while we were looking at the menu. The choice was very good and each course was very well presented and the flavours were wonderful. All in all the whole evening was a wonderful experience topped off with a surprise birthday cake for my wife. Will visit again

I met my sister in law for brunch and ordered the pancakes which where incredible. However shortly after we had eaten 3 different waiters/waitress came over to say we only had the table for another 15 mins/10mins etc. At the time of booking we knew we only had the table for 1hr 30 (this wasnt really long enough for us but accepted that this was their policy) however the constant reminders of how much time we had left was just unnecessary and it just felt that they wanted us out as soon as possible which was a shame as I will definitely think twice about returning due to this.

Excellent Food!I visited the Ivy for the first time last night for a friends birthday and I was not disappointed. All three courses were absolutely excellent. I decided to try the jackfruit salad as I had never tried jackfruit and actually have never like the sound of it, it was delicious, I could have ordered it again. For mains I tried the sweet potato Curry which was the perfect size, presented beautifully and tasted sublime. The portion sizes and balance of flavours meant I had room for dessert and I tried the Fig and pistachio feuilleté simply because I like those ingredients but had never come across this dessert so was intrigued. This was perfectly cooked and presented. The balance of fig, pastry and pistachio made this a beautiful dessert which I will try and recreate at home. The atmosphere and decor made for a very relaxed and enjoyable evening and the staff were all very friendly, attentive and helpful. Five stars, highly recommend!

My husband's Birthday. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food equally smashing. They did a little tart with a candle for my husband. Really COVID safe, but also felt relaxing

Fabulous wedding reception today at The Ivy St Albans, Laszlo and his team and the chefs made this a really special afternoon. The food, drinks and top notch service all wonderful - we felt special and it was special. Thank you so much

Well know brand of restaurants is the Ivy. Atmosphere was great. Looks lovely both inside and outside. Service was also good The food was pretty standard in all honesty esp for the high prices.

A lovely experience at the Ivy Brasserie in St Albans. Yannis took great care of us and gave his recommendations for food which were greatly welcomed as it all looked so good! We had a couple glasses of champagne & my sister had a gin cocktail which she said was amazing. Definitely coming back!

Great night out. We dined the The Ivy last night And meal was fabulous, food was delicious and the service top notch.

Couldn’t wait when locked will be over and visit The Ivy again. Of course it didn’t disappoint me and food was delicious like always. We got such an attentive service. Thank you. We will be back soon.

We are here on Sunday, branch was excellent, staff friendly and polite. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Thank you

Great family lunch on sunny Monday. We have decided to dine in Ivy and were not disappointed at all, everything was excellent from the moment we walked in. Staff helpful and polite. Definitely worth it to try.

I ve been in this amazing restaurant 2 days ago and i have spent a really good time with my boyfriend the food just incredible, we will be back soon!

We have been celebrating my friend ‘s birthday in this special place, where all the staff and food was really amazing, we definitely will be coming back here! Thank u xxx

Second visit and I couldn’t remember it being this good. The presentation was a feast for one’s eyes, great looking plates. Every dish was as good as any top West End restaurant. Flavours were wonderful and the colours vibrant. Pudding were exceptional too. We had some top champagnes and cocktails. The cocktails were made and presented in equal quality to the dishes. Excellent, highly recommend.

Lovely restaurant, amazing staff and great food. They have a good wine list and cocktails menu We will be definitely back very soon

A busy Saturday lunchtime and the noise levels were so high it was uncomfortable and very difficult to hear each other. It was a while before the waitress came over to our table to take drinks orders and fearing this was potentially going to be an issue we ordered our food at the same time. Prawn cocktail 3/5 and Shepard’s pie 4/5. Portion sizes good. However the main was served in a deep bowl, I guess to allow for the gravy that was served on the side, but it made eating awkward as hands were raised and upright to manage the height of the bowl. The broccoli stems were thick and difficult to cut like this. It was a small family birthday celebration but the ambience was wrong and we decided to cut our losses and forgo dessert and have cake and coffee at home instead. This Establishment was very different indeed to the Ivy in Covent Garden that we visited in July, where tables were better spaced , chairs more comfortable and staff far more attentive.

Excited to go for our 35th wedding anniv today. Starter squid& prawn - nice 8/10. starter crispy duck very salty but ate it all 5/10. Mains: rib eye very nice 8/10 (£30 NO sides included ). Blackened Cod chewy small about 1/2 inch thick 4 inch long very salty - think they used the same sauce as the duck starter - ate half could not finish as far too chewy and salty 1/10 SIDES chips think they were frozen 1/10. broccoli could not cut it inedible 0/10 green beans with almonds same as broccoli inedible 0/10. We were going to have dessert but were too disappointed to stay . I did mention the fish being chewy to the staff and was given a glass of wine on the house.We walked past 3 squashed chips on the floor and as I waited outside for my husband I watched 4 wait staff walk past and not pick them up so I went back in and told a staff member.Feeling very sad, don't like giving negative reviews at all, but was so looking forward to our day out and now over £100 later we're very disappointed indeed.

Extremely disappointing visit only saved by our two friends who were delightful company. The waiting staff were slow and inattentive which led to us having to try and catch the eye of anyone passing nearby. The food was disappointing and our choices varied, I ate off the set lunch menu just because it suited my tastes, but the other three ate al a-carte including the highest priced dishes on the menu. My sea bream was grilled to death, dry and tasteless. My wife asked for rare steak, it came over cooked, medium to well done. The other dishes were mediocre. The bill was circa £400 for a poor lunch.

Visited The Ivy, temperature taken when you arrive. This seems to be where the COVID Safe measures stopped. No sufficient spacing of tables, sitting on walkways, and right opposite the entrance and kitchen to door. The respect of social distancing guidelines has clearly been ignored, this was underpinned by the restaurant seating a table of 7.The service and food was very disappointing too. Once seated in took 20 mins to get a glass on water and a further 10 mins to order food.Once arrived chips were over cooked, couldn’t pick them up with fork. Burger was over cooked too, like a piece of cardboard!!!Don’t waste your money!!!

We decided to come here as or first evening out since shielding for a family member. We were apprehensive about going out for the first time in months but decided that this would be a good choice as we contacted the restaurant beforehand and were reassured that everyone was temperature checked but were told that it wasn’t compulsory for staff to wear masks (Expecting at least some to). In all honesty not one member of staff was wearing a mask and there seemed to be no difference in the amount of space between each table. If you feel comfortable with the fact that when you walk in it seems as if there is no such thing as a pandemic then you can’t go wrong as the food is always nice and a reasonable price. If you’re apprehensive about going out to places with lack of COVID-19 practices then this is not the place to go.

Went for a lovely brunch with a friend and my daughter. We all have quite different tastes but there was plenty to cater for us. I chose the monkfish curry which was delicious and the chocolate bomb for dessert was amazing. Service started off attentive but did slip halfway through our meal, we were left without drinks for a while and waited again to get the bill. That said, I am also glad we were not rushed through our meal. Covid precautions are in place but not intrusive to the dining experience.

Our go-to St Albans restaurant, we have absolutely loved The Ivy since it opened and we’ve never had a bad experience there. Most recently we visited with my parents and were treated really well by the attentive and polite staff.Highly recommend the shepherd’s pie - it might sound like a boring choice but it’s likely to be one of the best you’ve tasted!Looking forward to our next visit!

My husband and I, and my sister and her partner, ate last night at the St Albans branch of the Ivy, we had an amazing time, the food was beautiful and the service was impeccable. Our waiter was called Yannis, he was so attentive, asking if we were ok all the time, and if our food was alright. I was very pleased to see some tables were taken away for Covid reasons and they took your temperature as you walked in.(I would have liked to see the staff were masks) but overall it was a lovely evening.

The food - very well prepared. Our starters were both knockout. The mains, very nice, but considering the price, the curried monkfish wasn’t anything special, and is priced at a premium. The service from Yannis Katran was second to none, and first class. He made the evening for us with his discreet & professional service.

Decided to visit the Ivy St Albans for my husbands birthday. Our food and service received was great. However we were extremely disappointed with the positioning and size of the table.Due to Covid the private dining area has been opened, which is great and sensible in the current climate. However we were on our own facing the till point, with a wobbly table so small, they struggled to put the 2 small starter plates on the table, the wine was placed against the wall on the far side not within reaching position and the air conditioning blew down my back despite asking for it to be turned down. We were joined by one family half way through. Not the type of ambience or table one expects when the bill comes to excess of £120.00(prior to the eat out offer). Needless to say we were extremely disappointed as it did not match up to The Ivy previously visited in London. Such a shame.

Other than temperature taken on arrival no respect for the pandemic. Impossible to move around and keep distance from staff or fellow diners. Around the entrance and route to toilet was particularly congested. No screens between tables and no PPE worn by staff. Saying that the food was good and service was excellent.

Absolutely delicious meal and very good (if a little formal) service. I had the duck salad, which was amazing, followed by the MOST AMAZING monkfish and prawn curry and the chocolate bomb. For a special meal its most definitely the perfect place

Staff were exceptionally lovely, food was delicious. Temperature was taken on arrival, and requested to use sanitiser. Staff in full PPE, and screens between tables. Would recommend !

Expensive but that’s why you come. In the hope the good lives up to the price. Did it? Yes. Absolutely fantastic food and service in a beautifully decorated room. Fully recommended & will be back.

1st time at The Ivy Brasserie in St Albans yesterday and must say, myself and my husband were impressed! Hubby was particularly taken with the compulsory temperature assessment on entry, so much so, that he insisted on doing it again on the way out!!! Several menus to choose from, but we plumped for the 'Mon/Wed special' which was incredible value at £25 for 3 courses under the 'eat out to help out scheme'.  We weren't disappointed - fabulous crispy duck and watermelon salad to start, amazingly fresh lobster linguine - just delicious - then the dessert - fabulous apple tarte with a calvados flambe at the table (very 1970's but in a good way!).  Hubby was making appreciative sounds that I haven't heard since watching 'When Harry met Sally' until I jabbed him in the ribs and reminded him where he was!!! Must say, we enjoyed every morsel, and will go back but just be aware, the wine is a tad expensive and the service charge a bit high.  Service was impeccable though and we felt safe and comfortable in the restaurant under the current covid conditions.  They served me a complimentary tiny birthday cake when i mentioned it was my birthday too! We'll definately be back!

Yannis very friendly and nice. Food was tasty. The Atmosphere lovely and unique .we Will come again.

Visited the Ivy recently expecting it to be fabulous based on its reputation but was sadly let down .the shepherds pie was probably the worst I'd ever eaten ,a tiny portion which lacked taste and swimming in watery jus /gravy ,the brocolli was so hard it was inedible ,the dessert was laughable ,the tiniest plate with 5 small chocolates !! The other dishes we had were ok but nothing special ! The decor and ambience were great and the waiting staff all very nice but was sadly let down by the food ,also quite overpriced for the quality of its food .think this place is ok but tries to act like a Michelin star restaurant when it's in fact just an average bistro !

We visited on Monday and the restaurant pushes the £30 for two course menu (there are three) taking £10 for the Eat Out Scheme. It matters not as the linguine, filet steak and all the starters were really good. You enter through the main entrance and your details including photograph are taken for Track and Trace but after that it went slightly of track Covid wise. None of the staff wore PPE and I could have reached and touched the person at the next table. There was no evidence of any social distancing and also, unfortunately, it was like a kindergarten with babies shouting and kids not being listened to by their parents.

The service was superb and the food delicious for our recent lunch. Sat outside, our first restaurant meal since lockdown. Thoroughly recommend

We came here to take advantage of the £10 Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The food and service were both excellent and we felt very safe from the Covid-preparation perspective.

Lovely lunch with my friend. glass of fizz with the dine out to help out menu. £10 service charge was a bit steep but its a bug bear of mine when it is automatically added.

We came here after a wedding dress mishap needing cheering up - and yannis did just that! We had great food and drink recommendations and our every need was catered to! All the food dishes were very tasty and beautifully presented. It was no problem to change parts of the menu to what we wanted - salad from one recipe and chicken from another. We were caught outside in the long awaited storm that finally arrived just as we were eating our main courses and yannis thoughtfully helped move us away from the rain and brought us blankets without us needing to ask. It’s rare to find service like Yannis provided, so attentive and could spot things we wanted before we knew ourselves. Will definitely return!

Positives: Larger portion size than expected. Delivery of food very quick. Negatives: forgot birthday gift. No bread given as complementary in most restaurants, £4.50 for 1 person and wasn’t told chargeable. Hefty service charge.

Would I return in a hurry, probably not. I expected a lot more given their reputation and was quite disappointed by our whole experience.

We had excellent service from Yannis and food. We would go back for the proper, polite, professional charming and excellent service of Yannis. That kind of service all done with a smile and humility is so rare these days. Thank you.

We hadn't booked but they had an empty table outside. They took our contact details and I felt comfortable with their CoVid prevention measures. The dining experience was great (much better than other 'chains' as you would want to expect), due in no small part to our waiter Yannis' hospitality, professionalism and good menu recommendations eg. I would not have gone for Courgette chips but they were probably the highlight dish.

Took my girlfriend here for her birthday meal and was served by Yannis, he was attentive and looked after us so well, he literally saved our night!! He recommended us a champagne to start with then the Starters came out and we're amazing! Then we had ordered two steaks one rare and one medium rare but both came out virtually well done I kept mine as I was hungry but Yannis took the other and got it sorted within a couple of minutes. We then got desserts and the brulee came frozen cold but Yannis got us a small cake to say happy birthday which was really nice! Then at the end my girlfriend was looking at the bill and we heard the manager saying to Yannis have you made mistakes did you check the bill properly when in fact he saved the night and sorted the complaint out whereas the manager should probably be sorting that out...So was quite upset hearing that but I want to say thankyou to Yannis for helping us making us laugh and making my girlfriends birthday special :)

I have been to the Ivy a couple of times and it has been hit and miss. My last 2 visits were fabulous so it’s definitely heading in the right direction. The afternoon tea is a wonderful treat & the atmosphere has improved massively.The cocktails are absolutely fabulous and include some ones that are not your regular cocktail! So they have a little twist and taste absolutely wonderful! The service has definitely got faster and friendlier and i’m looking forward to going back.

Came here for a post-lockdown dinner and we went for a 2 course set menu. On entry there was a temperature check as well as hand gels provided on each table. They were surprisingly busy which is a good sign of a good restaurant. I went for steak frites for main and cherry panacotta for dessert which were very good and filling. My partner went for Bang Bang Chicken starter and a steak frites for main which were both excellent. The steak frites was a generous portion of steak, served with a side of salad and fries. The 2 course set menu cost £16.50 each and we also had a bottle of red to share (Nero d'Avola, Lierre) which was lovely.Staff were very attentive, professional and informative whenever we had any questions. We felt that the restaurant was Covid safe and we would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking to have a nice meal out during these times.

Myself and a friend went for dinner on Monday night, our waiter Yannis looked after us so well! so friendly and attentive - we couldn’t have asked for a better evening. The food was divine and such good value for money, we can’t wait to go back!

Very happy with our visit for lunch today. Food was delicious, great value for money and fantastic service from our waiter Yannis, all in a beautiful setting. Would highly recommend.

We had such a good night yesterday. The food was incredible and our wonderful server Yannis made the night even better. We are truly grateful for him making the celebration so good. our whole group agreed that we enjoyed St albans ivy better than the ones in london, from the service to the recommended wine and the food. Look forward coming back.

Eight of us booked for breakfast after staying overnight in St Albans, and we were not disappointed. The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful, and the staff were welcoming and friendly. We loved the menu as it had some unusual choices, not just your usual breakfast/brunch items. All the dishes we ordered were delicious and arrived on time (well, they forgot my side order of bacon, but that was soon rectified). Would definitely return if in St Albans again, or to another branch.

Went for an early Mother’s Day lunchFood and service were excellent lovely atmosphere very busy but we didn’t have to wait for anything at allI had bang bang jack fruit, spicy peanut sauce on a bed of shredded veg, followed by cottage pie which was delicious Yes it’s pricey but that is to be expected from a high end restaurant They served us ‘mums’ with a beautiful little raspberry & cream cake to end the meal a lovely touch

Went here to celebrate our anniversary and found the food absolutely delicious; especially the tuna carpaccio. We were served by Yannis and he couldn’t have been more helpful and lovely. He even treated us to a complimentary anniversary dessert. Would definitely recommend. Ask for Yannis!

Staff were courteous and the background music was subtle, calm and not overbearing. The atmosphere including the paintings and seating had a purposefully vintage but clean feel.As for the food? Decided to order the market special with the venison burger and it did not disappoint. With braised venison, pickled red cabbage and freshly-cut chips, whilst others in the company ordered a risotto and mature sirloin steak with thick-cut chips, The Ivy at St Albans invokes an enriching yet sublime culinary experience for almost any occasion.Highly recommend

My partner and I have often passed this restaurant but never gone in, so we changed that. The food at this restaurant is superb it can't faulted but the service of some staff can. Some here are very attentive but some lack basic customer care skills. It's a shame.

We ate at the Ivy in St. Albans a couple of years back when it first opened and it was poor. Nowhere near as good as the other Ivy Restaurants up London. But we decided to try it again yesterday and I'm very glad we did. I had Chicken Milanese, my wife had the Scallops and it was all very tasty and the service was really good. The decor has always been very nice.We will go back.

We dropped in for a quick coffee with a friend- we stayed for lunch! An interesting and extensive menu interested us to try several local dishes. After hearing the recommendations, we tried sea food and salads. Prices are not low, but delicious food and a pleasant staff compensate everything. Thank you and see you soon!

Spent another dinner with my family here and everything was absolutely perfect. A big thank to our waiter who served and always recommended us the best. I will comeback with some friends.

Came here with some old friends.. Great atmosphere and professional service.. staff always helpful and very friendly. Food was a lot more than imagined. Absolutely recommended!

We have spent an wonderful time with my friends here. Amazing food, excellent service ,beautiful place we will definitely come back!

I came here on the 26th of February with some colleagues for a meal. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and the staff were incredibly friendly. We ate from the set menu (which is fantastic value for money) and had some wine too. The food was delicious and presentation was second to none. We didn't have to wait too long between courses and felt like we were all well looked after. Great place for couples, colleagues and friends; I will definitely return.

We were the guests of a friend who wanted to take us out for a special meal; we were not disappointed. It was a very high quality à la carte meal - perhaps with a price to match but a cheaper and attractive set-menu is available. The service was excellent from start to finish. The ambience is lovely: well-chosen pictures and paintings smother the walls and tables are beautifully set.

Our first time to The Ivy in St Albans. Great food and atmosphere. Made even better by our lovely waiter Yiannis. We will definitely be back👍

Delicious food,friendly staff and quick service. Love this place, would definitely visit again. Highly recommended!

Went with my daughter for breakfast today. Best eggs benedict EVER. We had ordered smoothies which we were intending to have before our cooked food. However, they arrived with the cooked breakfast and as we did not want them with the hot food the waitress kindly took them away. A few minutes later the manager asked if we would like them without charge, which was extremely generous of him and totally unexpected. I had mentioned it was my daughters birthday and it was a lovely surprise for her to be presented with a mini pastry with a candle on top. Superb food, incredible staff and beautiful restaurant. Would like to give it more than five stars

Excellent lunch in a warm, vibrant atmosphere. Extensive and interesting menus. Delicious, well presented food. Very good value. Our waiter, Yiannis, gave impressive service. All staff were attentive and welcoming in accommodating us without a reservation. An enjoyable experience.

Over rated restaurant. From walking in to leaving very disappointing. the lady on entering was rude and ignorant. I ordered a none alcoholic beer out of stock. then I asked for Tuna and it was out of stock. The waiter took away the Salt and Pepper. so as the main course arrived I asked for pepper and he brought butter!!! so we used the pepper from another table. all the food was too salty. as we paid the waiter accused us of taking the salt. a really bad experience. I will not be returning.

Me and my family went for our weekly lunch at The Ivy and again everything was just perfect. Staff as always made as feel welcome from the first minute we arrived. We happy to say that service here has been always outstanding and the staff are always willing to help. Overall one of the restaurant you must try if you around. We will be back again.

Great family lunch on Sunday afternoon. Staff was extremely friendly and polite. Food was cooked to perfection and delivered with passion. Highly recommended for special occasions.

A good varied menu. Nice atmosphere and really good ambiance. Staff very friendly and attentive. Food was really tasty and presented very well, a lot of effort obviously goes into how the dishes look as well as how they taste. A good night out.

Nice food, although the service was a little slow at times, and it felt as though the tables had been quite tightly packed. Not the environment for a super intimate meal, but definitely met expectations.

Great food and lovely atmosphere. Went with family (husband and teenage girls) and enjoyed very much

The family and I visited this restaurant to celebrate my daughter's birthday. It was rather a disappointing experience although the food wasOk, the service was poor. generally inattentive and slow in fact a drink we ordered never arrived and was charged for at the end. The quality of the food was fine although starter portions were small. Disappointing scallops as they were the small patagonian variety rather than hand d i v e d. housewine was also dire. As was the non-alcoholic cocktails. We sent back two further cocktails at the end of the meal, although they were much better when they were made a second time. All in all not good value for money not an experience we will be repeating anytime soon!

Lovely place and we were made to feel welcome immediately. Service was incredible, wanted to mention special props to the waiter: Yiannis. He is one of the best waiters i have ever had anywhere!! couldnt be more impressed with him.

We bagged a last minute table on a Saturday evening and arrived to find the restaurant busy and somewhat noisy. The service however was excellent and we were made to feel welcome. Orders were slow to be taken but the waiter apologised several times and kept us aware as to what was happening. The food was really good - lamb for my other half and fish cakes for me. Both beautifully presented and very tasty. Yes, the prices are a little expensive but you're at a restaurant with a famous name. Wine was good and we weren't hurried throughout the experience.

A real disappointment. Booked for Afternoon Tea as a gift to my friend - clearly the Ivy has jumped on the Afternoon Tea bandwagon but with no expertise in it. You expect quality in the food and service from the well-known “Ivy” reputation but not here in St Albans.

Went for a family meal. Ther blackened Cod was very popular and 3 of our number tried it. It was very gtood. I had a hamburger which was also excellent.

We went 5th Jan for our anniversary & it was surprisingly busy, given the time of year. The decor & atmosphere is really good but we felt for the price, the food just wasn't quite good enough. They seem to be cost cutting by providing small portions. The staff are very good as you'd expect. Very professional & attentive.

We went here on Saturday evening and had an excellent meal and the good fortune to be served by Yannis Katran. What a charming and excellent waiter. Nothing was too much trouble.

I had another great meal here a few nights ago. Having made a mistake on booking our table (not completing the booking online) and blaming the restaurant for not having it, we were given a table anyway, despite them being very busy - full marks to the front of house staff ! The food was great, service friendly and efficient, and overall a great time was had by the four of us. This was my third visit, and all was really good once again, well done Ivy, I’ll be back !

Called in for lunch during a day trip to St Albans. The restaurant was very busy and rather loud, once seated I realised that it would be too loud for me, however, upon asking, the helpful staff moved us to a much quieter spot in the restaurant.

Although the service was not great, the food was nice and good value for what we got, especially as I was not paying for once ;) Unfortunately the lady serving us was not great and I felt a little hard done by having to leave the service charge that was added to my bill, as she for sure did not deserve it. We had to ask for everything and waited a long time for whatever that may of been, from drinks, to the bill! Had the food been bad it would have been a big avoid but the food made up for the crap service. One other point I am almost certain she sold 0 specials as we asked twice what they were and her accent along with description to this day we have no idea. I laughed as I overheard the next table also trying to figure out what the specials were. In conclusion - worth a visit - reasonably priced and the food was good.