Review By Simon Archer - Visited in August 2025
The Ivy, Temple Row, Birmingham
This wasn’t our first visit to The Ivy in Temple Row, Birmingham, which tells you a lot. However, as it’s not the cheapest restaurant in town, we tend to save it for special occasions.
This one was to celebrate my wife Carol’s Birthday, and we were accompanied by our two best friends, Andrea and Neil.
The ladies had been to Shrewsbury the previous day, so were still feeling a bit delicate, so we pledged to ‘take it easy’. Neil was doing that anyway following a recent health scare.
After a quick drink at Gusto, on the other side of St Phillip’s Cathedral, we arrived a few minutes early for our 7.30pm booking and were seated near the bar for drinks.
The young lady who seated us was also an Archer, so we had a little chat about possibly being related (we weren’t) which was a nice touch. Already I felt welcomed and special, rather than just another punter.
Almost bang on 7.30, we were then escorted to our table on the first floor – I do like a bit of punctuality!
The Ivy has three floors. The ground floor is possibly the nicest, more airy, with a slightly better atmosphere – especially if you like to people watch. The first floor is still busy, especially on a Saturday night and has the added advantage of being just one floor down from the toilets, which can be a factor for men of a certain age. The second floor has private dining room, called the Archer Suite – how nice of them to name it after me….I think I was meant for this place!
This restaurant has got be up there for the nicest décor. Orange leather seats, with brightly coloured cushions, olive panelled walls, complemented by exotic bird pictures, which combined with crisp white tables, gives the place an air of sophistication.
Waiting and bar staff are immaculately turned out and their attentiveness matches their attire.
My pet hate at a restaurant is staff that look down instead of up, in stopping them seeing a customer trying to get their attention. That wasn’t the case here.
Drinks were ordered and promptly delivered, while we deliberated the menu.
I don’t envy chefs and restaurants who have to put menus together, but I felt it lacked something. I’m not quite sure what The Ivy is trying to be. It’s not a steakhouse or classic British cuisine. It has elements of French and Italian and a few Asian dishes. Perhaps it’s just trying to cover all bases, but in my view, it should pick a style and do it well, not be a Jack-of-all-trades.
I opted for a steak tartare, much to the disgust of my fellow diners, Carol and Neil chose the Duck Liver parfait and Andrea picked the Mozzarella with pesto. All were well presented and satisfied our taste buds, so top marks so far.
The other three shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, while I had to struggle through a bottle of Argentinian Malbec on my own – I’m kidding, of course – as I had gone for steak for my main, although this one was cooked as opposed to the raw starter (that’s why they were giving me earache).
The others also had steak (Neil went for sirloin and two had the Ivy Steak and Chips). Now, call me picky, but when one orders steak at most other restaurants, it usually comes with a sauce, chips, maybe onion rings, mushrooms, perhaps even a tomato, or peas at a push.
This is the one thing that I think lets The Ivy down. Neil and I had to order chips and Andrea had creamed spinach, which pushes the prices up a tad. £39.75 for my steak is fine, but to have to pay another £7.25 for chips and £4.95 for a sauce, pushes the price to over £50, oh and not a mushroom in sight.
With two desserts, the final bill came to over £400, which included a service charge the wrong side of £40. You can debate the rights and wrongs of this tactic, but let’s not go there.
Ultimately, if you want to eat in a nice restaurant, with great service and good food it comes at a price.
We had bought each other gift vouchers for the previous Christmas, which softened the cost on the night and anyway, it was the bride’s Birthday, so it had to be done.
Will we return? Yes, but we have others on the bucket list, and my new website needs a variety of reviews, so The Ivy may have to wait a while, but thank you to the staff who looked after us on the night.
And finally………….Great for adults. Not really suited for children. Nice to go somewhere, where people dress up a bit. Too many places don’t apply a dress code, and you end up with men in shorts or track suits and flip flops. Not on. McDonalds is by the ramp!
Ambience – 10/10
Service – 9/10
Food – 8/10
Value – 7/10
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