Ivy Oxford Review

Love this place, very professional and upmarket, but not pretentious.

everything was great. not busy and definitely no kids. good place for a quiet, delicious meal.

Food is okay but very overpriced. Plenty of better options in Ox

Table of 4 to celebrate hubby's birthday. Well looked after from start to finish. Our waitress, Torin, was lovely - very smiley & attentive.
Beautiful decor, incl the loos!
The menu has a great choice to suit all tastes. The food was outstanding. Beautifully presented & tasted divine. Good selection of wines too.

Coming back in December - can't wait!

Great service and menu. Staff very well dressed and looked after us very well. A well priced menu to suit many budgets. Loved it.

Went for lunch today, what a great experience. Was met at the front door, had our coats taken. Was given a choice of tables, chose one by the window. There is great choice on the menu for everyone. 3 of my friends had the set menu, which was lovely. I went for the steak tartare, which I have to say was delicious. Couldn't fit in a pudding, so had a pot of coffee and cream instead, good coffee! We were served by Sergio, who was really attentive, in fact all the staff were, all very friendly. A really enjoyable afternoon. Loved the ambiance and decor! They had some great cocktails on the menu, shame I was driving, maybe next time.......

Fantastic food , delicious. Attentive friendly service. Lovely atmosphere . We will be back. My Mothers name Ivy

Arrived at the ivy no seat at bar so I stood at the end of the bar where I was told to I was then told I was in the way . Shepherds pie needed heating up and no champagne for my birthday friend very disapointing especially as the previous week her friend was given some the staff denied it said it wasnt standard decor lovely but dark

Tasty food, attentive staff and a great selection of cocktails (the salted caramel espresso martini was a hit!). A little more expensive than just a casual lunch, but nice enough to warrant it. Came on a busy Saturday lunchtime but the food and drinks still arrived in a timely fashion (although we were only given an hour and half for lunch due to COVID restrictions - other changes they'd made in this vein included complimentary bottles of hand sanitiser at each table and temperature checks on arrival, which made it feel quite well organised).

Welcoming staff need training. All staff need training. I went on the third night. Service was terrible. Food ok but nothing special. The Ivy Soho Brassiere is 100 times better. I wouldn t rush to go back.

Attentive friendly staff, lovely decor, fab reasonably priced food

Great night out in Oxford finished with coffee in the Ivy. Although it was peak time on a friday night we were welcomed in and offered bar seats, kind attentive staff, good coffee and cream in a silver service. Beautiful flowers on the bar, stunning marble top bar, fab place for a caffeine hit or more, plenty of cocktails, the meals looked tasty. Fine relaxed atmosphere.

Didn t start well when someone else s dinner was placed down in front of us before we d even ordered. Waited 45 mins for a Luke warm starter. Then when the mains finally came nearly 45 minutes later the Chicken was only tepid. Staff tried to make the situation better but offering another main after waiting a long time wasn t what was needed. Ended up leaving having not had a main meal, at least there was no charge to pay.

Well what can I say. Horrific from start to finish and for the prices you pay it s ridiculous to accept such a mediocre experience. The food is small and the waits excessive. Staff are not present when needed even though there is quite literally a platoon running around lacking in purpose. The managers or suits as I like to call them are no better. Lacking overall and way off the mark

Phenomenal service tonight. Our mother got married today and was made to feel like absolute royalty on her special day. Thanks to all staff for going the extra mile.

Amazing food, drinks, wine and service! Loved the attention to detail of the flavours of all our starters, mains and dessert. Superb quality fine dining!

Very disappointing. Don't think we would visit again

We are 3 elderly ladies! We had a lovely meal with excellent food and service.however we felt the background music was superfluous and were concerned that in a crowded restaurant the tables were not well distanced in line with covid 19 precautions

Excellent tea house and pub.The tea service (I did not have dinner there) impeccable.Luxury, wonderful decoration in oriental style, waiters in suits and hostess with red dresses, super elegant.Delicious infusions and scons.Elegant, distinguished and worthy of being Visited .Prices expensive, but worth .Good value for money.

Lovely setting. Food excellent. Service has improved since my last visit. Would recommend, menu limited but food is very tasty. Staff very friendly.

Nothing Special and Overpriced

I wasn t wildly impressed, but neither was I outrageously disappointed.


Positive things:
The staff are doing their utmost to give patrons a pleasant experience.
My main meal was tasty enough, but not mind blowing. But I didn t expect crazy things out of a curry!
The place is decorated in such a way that is both impressive and half of our table loved it (the other half weren t sure...haha!). But there is certainly a cosy feel!

Negative things:
The prices are high, especially in comparison to the quality of the food. It s not as high as you would imagine.
The welcome was a little odd, almost as if they were unsure if we belonged there, haha!
The cloakroom was full, but the restaurant was only half full... I know it s winter, but come on.
Choose your dish carefully, portion sizes vary, so you may or may not need a side. And the price of your dish is not a good indicator of this. One diner mentioned that the dish looked incomplete, as if adding a couple of appropriate vegetables to the flavours of the dish to add contrast, complement and colour would make all the difference.
I think they need to have at least one beer on tap rather than bottles only.

Nothing was too much trouble. They were outstanding and we felt very safe with the safety measures in place. We'll definitely return. Thank you

Lovely decor, pleasant place for a nice meal. Food is excellent as you'd expect from The Ivy.
It's a large restaurant so can get quite noisy especially if a large group is seated next to you, as happened on our visit.
Staff are friendly and helpful although some seemed a bit inexperienced, reaching in front of diners, spilling drinks while serving them. So the service was not at the level I would have expected for this restaurant.

Temperature checks on entrance, very friendly and happy staff and amazing service. Hand sanitizer on the table and seating spread out nicely.

The burger and chips I had was delicious and the perfect amount, but you had to pay extra for cheese and bacon (never said it was cheap). Salmon was lovely, veg that came with it was undercooked and the knife given was very blunt so difficult to slice the veg and fish nicely.

Toilets were beautifully decorated and clean, as was the decor of the restaurant. Very atmospheric and an overall great experience. Only go if you can afford the above average prices.

Very good service and great customer service, a bit overprised

Have eaten out in numerous restaurants in Oxford over the years and written a number of reviews. The Ivy, a new chain restaurant just opened in the high street Oxford has all the apparent ingredient of a top place to eat.
The location is great and you cannot fault the decor. The wine list is impressive.
However, I can give only 2 stars for the following reasons.
The staff appear attentive, but really you can see it's all about getting you in and out to get bums on seats and out again fast.
Even that could be permissible if the food was great.This is what make a good restaurant and unfortunately it fails. The menu is not that imaginative,
We had the Veg option Butternut squash and the half roast chicken,
The chicken was really nothing special at all and the squash when presented look unappealing and bland followed by a similar experience when eating.
We finished with an apple tart again nothing to get you fired up or even feeling you had indulged.
Given the prices, it is beaten by a number of other eateries in the city which provide an intimate, luxury and relaxed evening at a similar or better price. More importantly for a diner who wants to entertain or impress, there are better places for people who LIKE food.

Great food lovely staff made to so welcome you get what you pay for

My son took me for brunch, where we had a lovely experience. I told my work colleagues about how good it was and eleven of us decided that we would all go out for brunch. When I tried to book this I was told they could only accommodate that many of us in the private dining room as the largest tables in the main restaurant only seat eight. The private dining room has a separate set menu and that menu didn t have what we wanted on it, so I said we were happy to have two or more tables near to each other in the main restaurant instead. I was told that this was not possible as they don t allocate tables, so we could have been seated in completely different areas of the restaurant. Basically, we could sit together in the private dining room and eat from an expensive set menu without the food we want on it, or eat from the main menu and likely be seated in different parts of the restaurant. I can only imagine that it must be a very successful restaurant to be able to turn down eleven paying customers.

Food good. Service still poor. Needed to remind staff all the time.

Still early days but breakfast was a little disappointing. Service was very friendly and professional and the decor is fantastic. However the food was pretty average; cheap sausages, over-cooked eggs, cold toast, incredibly sweet pancakes. I ll definitely come back in a few months to see if things have improved but, for now, nothing to write home about.

Excellent, staff very attentive with being intrusive. Meal first class.

As with all Ivy restaurants the service is good - not intrusive but attentive - food is consistently good, well conceived and not over priced, and the decor/interior design is lovely and is reminiscent of the glamour of a bygone age but with modern undertones...Hopefully they won t open too many other restaurants and suffer as a result!

The food was stunning. Absolutely amazing. The service was 5 stars as well. Perfect place to go for a special treat. We were however a bit disappointed, as I did say while making the reservation that we wanted a nice table as it was an anniversary. The table we were sat at was bit underwhelming. Also they do add service charge onto the bill which we didnt mind, as the service was amazing, but what if it wasnt? I would prefer to make my own decision about the tip. Nonetheless, the food was absolutely gorgeous and it was a lovely evening.

Food and service was first class. Would strongly recommend it.

I did not have a great experience on my Birthday.

Ordered Truffle arancini balls and crispy duck salad. Arancini balls were OK crispy duck was chewy and cold. Salad was also really bland.

Mains: Salmon and Sirloin steak which was ordered medium.


Apple pie for dessert was lovely-looking but when added the alcohol is just tasted like pure alcohol which killed the whole flavour of the dessert.



Quite disappointed as I had good hopes for the place.

Wonderful spot for an easy going sunday brunch. Nice atmosphere and decor with a simple yet well executed menu.

Booked by the gorgeous wife for our first wedding anniversary. On arrival we were shown to a small table by a pillar which was on a main thoroughfare, unbeknownst to me she'd mentioned our anniversary when booking and had asked for a nice table. The lady went away to speak with the lady on the door, came back and showed us to a very nice table, apologising, stating that this was noted but obviously not actioned. We were then asked if we wanted a complimentary glass of champagne which was nice. Food was fab apart from the chunky chips which sadly were lacking; when bitten into, the outside collapsed as if the potato inside had given up and left! Prawn cocktail great, steaks great. Rum Baba, delicious. I asked fur a Whistle Pig bourbon which we'd actually had in New York last year where we were married which was a nice touch, unfortunately the glass which it came in was chipped! Hard to believe. It was swapped when mentioned though, arguably it should never gave been sent out. Nice touch at the end as well when we were given small cream sponge cakes. Pic attached. Ambiance really good, nicely decorated with lots of separated spaces. Nicely attentive staff but we had to ask for water and the bourbon twice, nice coffee. Loos would almost be impossible to find, luckily I followed someone who was luckily going to the loo. Will visit again.

Amazing service and gorgeous food, they catered for my gluten allergy very well. Will definitely be back!

Come in for the first time in a long time in Oxford, and have dinner with your family. The atmosphere is great, the decor is beautiful, and the things are very delicate and delicious.

Once we had passed the gatekeeping / frosty 'service' from receptionist on door twice today we enjoyed The Ivy in Oxford. We had excellent food and exceptional service from a very personable and new waiter.

The decor in the restaurant is beautiful and the food is lovely. We didn't have to wait very long between each course, but we did feel a little rushed. I had only just put my knife and fork down and my plate was cleared away. This may be More

Amazing food as always! lovely staff, great ambience.

Great breakfast. Great service. Great setting What else could you ask for.

Great food, Great ambiance! Perfect for dinners with friends

We ate here on Wednesday evening 19th February for my friends birthday. Both were very ill over night
with being sick and had the runs . Nice place but would not recommend to anyone from our experience.

Had to wait outside for 15mins even though we had booked a table.
Food was good. Staff were friendly.

Ambience is absolutely great, but food not so great, service was good too. If u r looking to have a nice private party this is the place for you,

We first went to the Ivy a couple of days after it opened and we had a lovely experience. Excellent food and staff and not particularly expensive in view of the quality. Beautiful decor -even the toilets ! Will definitely be back .

Not quite sure how to rate this. I went with my son and we had a lovely lunch together. The decor is fabulous. The atmosphere was lively. The service was friendly. The toilets... I could stay there all day as they're so beautiful...
We had a lunch menu for 21 pounds and it was ok value.... But if you're a foodie, don't get too excited. It was pretty average. Although the yoghurt sorbet with hot strawberry sauce was tasty.
Embrace the atmosphere. Have a nice drink. Take some photos of the loos. But if you primarily want amazing food, this is not your place.

A belated birthday dinner at this sumptuous venue. Amazing food served by wonderful staff as always. Special memories.

Great staff, really attentive while not creepy. Food was amazing and not crazily priced either. Only 4 stars as my wife s Duck starter had chillies in despite not being listed on the menu. While she hates chillis, a friend is allergic and would have suffered medically from them.
One more thing, when you get the bill ask them to remove the service charge and pay that cash. I happen to know the company takes a cut of the tip first, then HMRC leaving only a small percentage for the staff you intended to thank for their service .

We had a brilliant night food very good staff excellent

Lovely venue in an old Nat West bank. Good menus. Temperature check made on entry. Slightly overpriced.

Amazing staff,amazing food ,best bread ever,such lovely place

The experience was ruined by the music. Awful.
The food was ok but not warm enough. Decor good and so was the service.

Warm sourdough, fresh olives, tempura prawns, tuna carpaccio, lobster linguine, premium gin, creme brulee. Great service. Covid secure including temperature checks at the door. Good!

We had been looking forward to trying the new Ivy Brasserie, having had really good experiences at The Ivy, The Ivy Chelsea Garden and The Ivy Brasserie Edinburgh. Unfortunately, we were thoroughly disappointed. Service was awful with the manager later informing us there had been a mass departure of staff prior to Christmas. We had to send our food back as the kitchen had got our steaks mixed up and the side dishes were cold. The food was not to the standard that we had previously experienced and whilst the atmosphere and decor is good, this was really unacceptable given the price for food.

Fab place, food & service
Definitely worth a visit

Delicious food and elegant surroundings. It's great. Look, the service could be slicker, but it's not London. This is the best of Oxford. It can get noisy...

Lovely! We had a wonderful dinner here and the atmosphere was just wonderful. All the staff are so fun and knowledgeable about the food. Great vegetarian and vegan selection. Make sure to treat yourself to a cocktail too. Top marks for a nice dinner out

We have just had a really lovely meal at the Ivy Oxford. The service was excellent. Personal and attentive but not overbearing. The food was excellent and served in good time. The atmosphere was relaxed but sophisticated and met with the high expectation set by the environment. All good. The sign of a great place is one that defines a moment in time rather than is defined by one. Thank you.

Top service, very tasty meal, a tuna capaccio which is really one, the decor is very nice. Nothing bad to say I had a great time. Ps: the truffle puree .... Soooo amazing !! Enjoy

Dinner alone.. Lovely food. Service almost got there...

Delicious brunch! Very nice eggs benedict and coffee, excellent service, and in a beautiful setting. A little but expensive, but it was worth it for the experience!

Delicious breakfast, appallingly long wait to be served (35 mins)

Great meal, fun decor, staff friendly. Much needed in Oxford

Nice brasserie in the center of Oxford with a nice decor. Tasty dish and warm welcome.

Superb ambience, professional and really friendly service, great menu and reasonably priced. My wife and I loved it.

40minutes waiting for the starters...
Moldy lemon for the prawn cocktail...
Ask for medium rare beef steak and received a burn outside and raw inside steak whit no taste at all the same whit the roasted "pink inside" half chicken...
Dessert was allright...
Ivy oxford never again...

Had a great dinner with my wife. Have eaten in the London Ivy on many occasions and was excited to let my wife experience it. She wasn't disappointed however there was a group of people who to begin with at the bar who were quite rude. This was mentioned to both the waitress and her boss and it was dealt with quietly and efficiently. Can't fault the evening and would highly recommend to all me friends and family in London and Oxford. We will be back again soon x

absolutely excellent, had a great meal and it's just the place to go, atmosphere was also good. service was a little slow, but given how busy they were on a Saturday one would be happy to just relax and soak up the atmosphere. we would definitely recommend this restaurant.

My surprise anniversary treat and I was not disappointed at all.

Arrived early, warm & friendly welcome. Found us a space at the bar but to our delight the table was ready early. Our servers were attentive, however, there was a hilarious cacophany of cutlery dropping around us. Food was good & served promptly. The cocktails were delicious. The decor is exquisite & the toilets are sumptious.

A huge disappointment, food was okay, management is horrific, with minimal recompense.

My friend and I went Monday 24th August for lunch. As the eat out deal is on, the place was full, in my opinion, dangerously so. As others have said, the tables have no social distancing or screening, no staff on the floor wear masks, but tellingly when I was returning from the toilets I saw all staff in the kitchen, including waiters whisky they were in there, were wearing them.
The worst kind of performative covid safety and this place in a nutshell. Trading on image and brand with barely a foam of actual substance.
The staff whilst friendly were inattentive and ill managed. We were sat between a pillar and a till/waiter station yet had to wait over and over for various parts of out meal.

We ordered a beer, glass of wine and water for the table. Alcohol arrives normally, water does not. We can almost touch the fridge with the bottles in but the waiter did not bring one or glasses until the THIRD time of asking. Then it was maybe 20mins until we were asked to order food. The water once empty was not replaced, a service I have enjoyed at restaurants at half the price.

We chose the duck salad and salmon to start, both had the prawn and monkfish curry with "fragrant" rice and a side of sugar snap and garden peas.




After our desserts were cleared, we waited for the drinks. The waiter had made a point to ask if we wanted the drinks after dessert, and we agreed.

We got lost in conversation before realising it had been more than a quarter hour with no drinks in sight. Bear in mind that staff were constantly passing, going to the till and not seeing us at a bare table. We had to stop another waiter saying we hadn't got our drinks, his response was "what do you want?", missing the point that we had already ordered, so we again said an earl grey and a shakerato.

When it finally came, the teacup had baked on dirt inside the cup, I had to scrape it off with my fingernail, at this level the staff should be checking the cleanliness of all tableware before bringing it out. It makes me question whether the other dishes with food covering them had similar contamination.

The tea was brought out on its own without the coffee. Again at this level, and with only two drinks, these should be brought out together. We waited for it, and waited, and waited. Once I had finished my tea, we asked for the bill at which point the waiter piped up with "oh you wanted a shakerato, sorry do you want it now?" which having finished the tea (a full hot pot, maybe another 10mins), we declined and asked for the bill.

We were now laughing to each other about how woefully inadequate the service was. Of course it took perhaps another 10mins to get a bill from the till we could see so closely, we could read the screen. Then it was presented to us with (thankfully) the not delivered shakerato refunded but also the tea (dirty cup).



We then said we were very disappointed and went into detail as to why. His response was to contort his face into various childish "I'm sooweee" contortions and offer no reason for the failures.

Don't waste your time here. Quod, Gee's, Brasserie Blanc are all better run establishments of a similar calibre.

Excellent service and food, staff very professional and most welcoming.