The Ivy St. Helen’s Square

Food prices and quality was good, but all the drinks were expensive (wines and cocktails) and the selection of beers very poor (none on draft). The service was excellent and the ambiance great.

Fantastic night out!
Food was fantastic
Staff were fantastic

Waitress was excellent food was lovely also

Amazing food served by first class staff in an excellent setting can’t recommend highly enough. Will be back as soon as we’re back in tier 2 .

A fantastic restaurant. The food is delicious, the ambience is great and the staff could not have been more helpful. Good manners and attentiveness are essential elements in any area of the hospitality industry and the team at The Ivy, York have this in abundance.

Very disappointed. Myself and my friend are both regular Ivy customers, but it was our first time at the York franchise.
Unfortunately for us, our pornstar martinis were served less than half filled. When querying this with the waiter as for the £12 price point we did not find this acceptable nor a reflection for the pornstars received at other Ivy franchises, we was told this gap was left for the Prosecco shot? After adding the shot the glass levelled at half filled? There was also no foam ontop signifying this cocktail wasn’t even shaken but poured from the bottle/carton. Considering the £12 price point for the drink we was left feeling cheated. Without exaggeration the drink was finished within 3 sips.
Ontop of this the burger breads was stale and dry and the chips were definitely reheated bland and tasteless.
Paid the £10 service charge out of pure politeness but won’t be returning.

2nd visit here and just as we remembered from the first time. Beautiful setting and excellent service with a varied menu. It really feels like a step back in time so elegant!

We had a fantastic meal for my birthday. Set in lovely surroundings and with fantastic service. Would definitely recommend and will absolutely be coming back.

Took over half an hour to take our food order. Then had the cheek to inform us that they needed the table back, as they are only allowing an hour and a half. So, after making us wait, they then expect us to eat three courses in under 50 minutes! The best part of it was, the fact that there were four empty tables nearby, and others that had been empty during our whole visit!
Sort your service out, on this occasion it was shocking!

Me and my Family came for a Breakfast and were very impressed with the whole experience.
We were impressed with Sam our waiter too.

Great meal and great restaurant very pleasant food was lovely location was great and very clean

We very busy that morning, but the Service was outstanding as always.

Staff were very attentive, food was good and atmosphere was very good considering we went during pandemic.

Excellent food drinks a bit pricey staff great the atmosphere great

Disappointed that the items on the menu we wanted (Turbot and Christmas Pudding) had already sold out by 7:30pm

Wonderful festive afternoon. Food was delicious, the service was excellent and super friendly. We look forward to returning

Lovely food, great service and really nice ambiance.

A really lovely experience as always , best wishes to all your staff and we will look forward to see you again when we are able .

Excellent food , great service with fab ambience .

Limited menu for vegetarians & quite pricey but lovely staff, very attentive in nice surroundings

Perfect meal in perfect surroundings, meal was superb and the service was of a high quality. This was a special treat for my partner as she has always wanted to have a meal at The Ivy and came away very happy

It was our first time at the Ivy York to celebrate our wedding anniversary, it started off so well, our waiter was attentive to our needs helping us with recommendations from the menu, but it went slowly downhill from there (which we thought was not the required 2 metres apart) we noticed that the lady at the next table was very loud and getting slowly inebriated as the night went on, so much so that she stood up to go the bathroom and promptly fell over, the staff were trying to control the situation, in the end they asked the lady and her friend to leave. The maitre d came to apologise to us, we tried not to let it affect our celebration but it did take the edge off it. We thought the food and service were superb but not the ambiance on this occasion.

It was ok...
Nothing to write home about but nothing to complain about

Having eaten at The Ivy Leeds and York many times, we were looking forward to our meal.

Once there we were really disappointed, the service was very poor - kept having to ask to order / drinks etc. Our starters came and still no drinks arrived. The poor waitress then proceeded to drop the tray with our long awaited drinks on and left another member of staff to clear up. No replacement drinks arrived and yet again we had to chase those up - we had finished our starters by the time the drinks arrived. Upon asking for the drinks to be chased up, the staff were snippy and quite dismissive. Our main course had to be chased several times and took an age to arrive.

Very disappointed with the poor level of service from the staff at York. Leeds Ivy staff are so different and nothing is too much trouble. The final insult came when the bill arrived with a £25 service charge on which needless to say we didn't pay.

I realise that the hospitality industry is really struggling at the moment which was why we chose to book. However, the temperature scanner wasn't working and we all got waived through and it was very, very clear that customers had travelled from other tiers into York which was quite unsettling.

Won't be returning sadly.

On first entry, the most pretentious atmosphere hits you like a freight train, from the overzealous front of house who asked to take my shopping 5 times after saying “no thank you” to the tables full of people sat taking selfies all night and not talking to each other.

We were seated packed in a small bench table area with two other couples virtually touching distance from both. Not that it bothers me during these times, but a lot of people will not find that very safe.

The starters aren’t even worth talking about, very mediocre and undeserving of the heavy price tag, just fancy BS plated up which tasted very average.

Now the mains come the worst part. Risotto served cold, bone dry and incredibly tasteless, bland and unseasoned. Chicken Milanese was incredibly dry and again tasteless, but hey. I suppose it was presented good enough for a nice Instagram post to impress people I don’t like. I guess that is what sees this restaurant in business.

Service apart from the initial harassment from the front of house was actually quite good, friendly and quick to fetch drinks etc. That was the only redeeming factor of the evening.

Regardless, this was the first time in my life where I have requested money off the bill. I had kept my mouth shut until receiving the bill, even when the waitress asked why she was taking two uneaten plates of food away. Probably because the cost of it shocked and offended me after the garbage I had been served.

Not to totally shame the restaurant, perhaps it was an off-night, but as I said earlier, I imagine it could quite possibly be terrible 24/7 and still rake in the young ‘only way is Essex’ types for a good weekend Instagram post.

Won’t be returning.

Wonderful food and service just found the restaurant temperature a bit cold.

Always enjoy our visit to the ivy. Highly recommend it to anyone

Mhhh Unfortunately not so good. Two main meals sent back. Waiter very apologetic.
Table near the entrance of the restaurant so felt isolated.
Expensive for what we got which is a shame.

Food was good but not great - husband’s main course not warm - and service although friendly very slow. Pricey at £110 for two starters and mains, and non alcoholic cocktails for both of us, no desserts or coffees.

Amazing food & service, there was a very loud customer talking over the whole restaurant. However that had nothing to do with the Ivy itself, just a guy who likes the sound of his own loud voice ha ha.

This was our second visit, going for our Wedding Anniversary. The service was exceptional, the food delicious and the ambience was really Christmassy!

Fabulous meal, lovely environment will definatley be visiting again

Great service and beautiful restaurant the salted caramel espresso martinis are top draw

Date night at The Ivy in York and was a lovely experience as always, great service and food.

Tentative but non intrusive staff. Food cooked perfectly and delivered promptly

I had the burger and noted it was a little rare. I felt I suffered a little the day after due to it being under cooked.

Both starters were brilliant and my partners blackened cod was delicious.

The service faultless and ambience was lovely.

The lady who greeted us at the front desk was very rude when we walked in. As if times aren’t tough enough at the moment, the least people can do is be nice. The food was nice but the portion was so small, we came away hungry.

Full of people from Leeds and Newcastle (Tier3) - totally obvious and nothing being done about it. Food ok but overpriced - took an hour for mains to arrive.

Our waitress was perfect the whole time and was fast with our service. Food was outstanding, highly recommend the goose Shepard’s pie on the festive menu. Our table was ready right on time and the atmosphere was lovely. Both food and drinks came in good timing and as it was my birthday they gave a desert on the house. Definitely will be returning ✨

We celebrated a 21st Birthday on Boxing Day and had a really time! The food was delicious and the cocktails were fabulous. We really enjoyed our visit and the birthday girl received a beautiful miniature cake which was a lovely touch. Thank you!