The Ivy
Los Angeles, CA 90048-3101
Phone: (310) 274-8303
- Price:
- $$$$
- Cross Street:
- Alden Drive
- Best of Citysearch:
- Business Dining 2008, Power Lunch 2007, People Watching 2006
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 11:30am-11pm, Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 10:30am-10pm
Editorial Review for The Ivy – by Andrea Rademan and Crista Bailey
The Scene
Husband and wife co-owners Richard Irving and Lynn von Kersting installed a white picket fence in front of the patio adorned with antique French garden chairs. Pre-dating shabby chic, the interior is cluttered with peeling, painted furniture, faded chintz, old paintings and more American flags than a revival meeting. Celebrity sightings are commonplace--everyone from J.Lo to Adrien Brody have graced this fixture on the power-dining map.
The Food
A place to see and be seen, the menu is traditional American, emphasizing comfort-food classics like fresh corn chowder, mesquite-grilled Cajun prime rib and fried chicken. Fish-and-chips consist of a giant platter with shrimp, scallops, cod and calamari, plus mountains of onion rings and fries. But the biggest compliments go to pastry chef Irving for seducing Hollywood's whippet-thin starlets with decadent desserts like fudgy pecan brownie and tart lemon pie.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Where to SitCelebs rendezvous at the four-top at the heart of the famed patio--request table 41, and let the paparazzi wonder who you are.
The ExtrasL.A. Desserts, the bakery arm of the Ivy, makes some of the best sweets in the city. Delectable, made-to-order cakes will make your sweetheart's birthday perfect. Call (310) 273-5537 to order.
User Reviews for The Ivy
08/12/2008 Posted by walburgerz
I was turned off by the snooty asian that answered the phone when I made the reservation; but I came in anyways. The service is good; and the food is good but they traditionally seat us at table 18...the stupid back table behind the wall. WHY? We're nicely dressed and tip well so why hide us? Probably because we're not the hiltons who see there on most evenings....
Pros: good service
07/25/2008 Posted by DebbieLundberg
Sure, it's busy, high-priced and a bit chaotic, but everyone knows that unless they have been living without access to the internet or magazines! The Ivy is the experience of being there...in that crowd, not being in a hurry and smiling in anticipation as the TMZ truck circles and the paparazzi greet someone... We had a 1:45 PM reservation for two, parked and (sadly) walked the wrong direction on Robertson. No we're not flakes...just not from CA! We called and a friendly Ivy team member was kind and directed us back from Beverly Hills. When we arrived tardy, we waited in the line for the host, but he could not have been more forgiving, friendly and accommodating as well. Even with our lateness, we were seated in the brimming restaurant within 5 minutes. The wait gave us a chance to notice people from The Hills, Ross, the intern from Jay Leno and Carney Wilson. While I don't watch the shows, my tablemate was kind enough to give me the heads up... Once seated, the waiter was fast without rushing us. We received water with lemon and bread quickly. The iced tea was delicious with mint, lime and lemon, and neither the water glass nor the tea glass ever got near empty! The specials were shared and we ordered after our questions were answered. We ordered the crab cakes to share for an appetizer, salmon (a special) for my friend, and I had the green salad with shrimp. The servings were generous, delicious, and neither of us finished it all. We are not people who just push food around to look like we were eating, so we made every effort to finish by the way! We left happy, full and not disappointed in spending $120 on the memorable experience of lunch at the (in)famous Ivy...right before nearly running over the photographers, Christopher Knight and his wife, Adrianne Curry (even I knew Peter Brady!)! If this were a $60 lunch, this review would be a full 5 Stars. The Ivy, the food, and the entire team really earned all of 4 to 4.5 stars from us!
Pros: Fun atmosphere, great location, full experience
Cons: Crowded, one restroom for all, price
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