The Ivy - Seattle

Review summary

1. A

   Amin

   New York City4 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on February 16, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Out of a quite a few menu items. What we were able to order was not great. Appreciate the free cheesecake, but it wasn’t enough to salvage a pretty bad dinner experience.
   

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2. A

   Anne Marie

   London1 review

   3.0

   Dined on February 16, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   This place is working out the kinks but has potential. When we arrived, there was a small confusion over our table that had us waiting an extra ~8 mins. The host, having referred us to the bar to wait, immediately comped our drinks, and welcomed us warmly. Very nice of him to do. The menu is compelling, and the food is good, but the service and sticker price were hard to get over. There was one server for the whole of the dining room, which is untenable when your menu is small plates. (She was very pleasant and as attentive as she could be.) Also, the kitchen/ runner needs to be as inventive as the Asian fusion menu in their process if they are to serve a dinner of edamame, nigiri, and pasta in the right order. The edamame came out cold and immediately before a plate of hot pasta. The nigiri, which we expected as an appetizer, came out last, and 2 of the pieces were noticeably smaller than the others at ~$5.25 per piece. Portions are small, so we hung around longer for a final roll order. Even with an adequate number of servers, the kitchen needs to change what it's doing today to deliver on the dining experience that the menu is promising. I hope this restaurant makes it. The location and decor are great, and if properly staffed and served well, the menu could be a great draw. But in it's 4th month of operation, it's not the best dining experience that Ballard has to offer, and it's price point really demands that it get there.
   

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3. C

   Corey

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   After a few bad valentines day experiences, we decided to break tradition of at home meals and give this spot a try. Given it's valentines day, we expected a bit of chaos and wait times, so we didn't go in with high expectations. Despite the wait for a table, they took good care of us with plenty of champagne and went out of their way to make up for any issues that night - so a big shoutout to the manager for all he did! The food was a special preset menu and was delicious! Can't wait to go back and try their usual menu, the burger looks outstanding.
   

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4. F

   Folmer

   Chicago4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on February 6, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great food and service! We have wanted to go for a while and had out of town guests, so it was the perfect opportunity to try it. We will go back again!
   

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5. J

   James

   Seattle1 review

   3.0

   Dined on February 1, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   This is a pretty cool spot in Ballard with a chill vibe. The menu is limited but seemed eclectic enough for us to try this place out for a friend's birthday on a Friday night. The cocktails were really good. But this particular evening they were out of shrimp, hamachi, pork lumpia, and beef lumpia. We got the edamame and settled for veggie lumpia to start, both of which were great. If you're not a fan of salmon on top of the items not available, the menu gets even more limited. We settled on crab cakes, burgers, and pasta. All were good, but we were bummed out there wasn't more to choose from. The service was a bit slow, but the staff was super friendly and the atmosphere inviting so we were content to be patient. If we'd known the menu would be so limited that night, we probably would've canceled our reservation. Not the stellar first experience, but looking forward to trying them out again when everything is in stock.
   

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6. D

   Devyn

   Seattle1 review

   3.0

   Dined on February 1, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   Service was awful. They served us dishes to share without serving spoons, rarely saw our server. We ordered the sampler and each food item came out 20 min apart. Wouldn’t go back
   

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7. S

   Sal VIP

   Seattle26 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on January 8, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food and service were amazing. If you have a chance to experience the taco Tuesday…you should make a reservation asap!
   

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8. G

   Gretchen

   New York City7 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on December 28, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   They were under staffed but it did not ruin our experience the food and drinks were excellent!
   

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9. K

   Kristin

   Las Vegas1 review

   5.0

   Dined on December 15, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Everything about The Ivy was fantastic! Atmosphere, service, food and drinks! One of my new faves in Seattle and happy to have this vibe close to home!
   

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10. S

    Sara

    Seattle30 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on October 12, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4

    Not quite a dinner place, but we left with full stomachs. Food was very good and appropriately priced, staff was very helpful and accommodating of a pregnant diner's needs. Will almost certainly return when I can have a proper cocktail.
    

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