The Ivy St. Helen’s Square

The breakfast was delicious. Their Hollandaise sauce was perfect and not overpowering. They offer a dark chocolate drink and it was foamy and tasty, and the atmosphere was peaceful

First time visiting The Ivy for birthday celebration and everything was exceptional! Friendly staff and amazing service. Ordered the birthday dessert box for dessert and got a birthday porfiterole with a candle also! Highly recommended and will be returning in the near future.

Very enjoyable dining experience. Good choices on the menu, set menu was also very reasonably priced. Sticky toffee pudding was amazing, can highly recommend.

A great spot in the heart of York. Lovely surroundings, attentive service and a relaxed but special atmosphere. The food was well presented and very enjoyable, making it a perfect place for a treat or a leisurely meal while exploring the city. Would happily return.

First time at the Ivy and omg, the shepherds pie was the best I've ever tasted! Made with lamb, beef and duck. The sprouts were divine. I'll definitely be back to try out more off the menu.

Had a lovely birthday breakfast food was fantastic and the service was great

Very upmarket. Nice treat. If they ask you if you want water opt for carafe otherwise will charge you for bottle. It was my birthday and made a sweet plate with candle for me. Would go back

We had such a lovely evening we went back for breakfast the following day 🤣 You know what you’re going to get at the Ivy and we have never been disappointed whether it be here in York, in our hometown Manchester or in Harrogate! Worth it every time! Staff here are friendly and professional and knowledgable around dietary requirements which is always comforting!

Absolutely loved this place. Beautiful decor, excellent service, great food. Everything just that bit special. Well worth a visit. Had probably the best dessert I have ever had here.

Beautiful restaurant. The staff were very nice and friendly, food was amazing, and the decor was gorgeous.

A Legendary New Year’s Eve 2026 Celebration at The Ivy York. Thank you Meeter-Greeter Nicola for choosing a lovely table for us and thanks to Nora for looking after us so well. Scrumptious food, luscious vibe and such happy memories ! Marsha & JJ

Me and my partner went last night for our anniversary, never been before but heard so much about it. All I can say is wow…. The food was outstanding, beautifully presented, within a good time frame (although we never mind waiting). The staff could not do enough for you, our waitress can’t remember her name was fantastic!!! We tipped her as she thoroughly deserved it! Overall a fantastic atmosphere, comfy, cosy, delicious and outstanding food, top class service and will DEFINITELY be back!!! Ivy York thanks again! Scott and Adam

If you fancy a lovely evening to wine and dine with your loved one then The Ivy is the place in the Great City of York to be. As you enter the building you are greeted by a front of house member of staff who is dressed very smart. They will show you to your table. Very plush furniture and fixings much in the style of the 1920s. There is no draught beers or lagers.Bottled and canned lagers only plus your spirits and cocktails which seem to be very popular. Food ordered from your table where everything is table service. Food is delicious. Staff supper friendly. Toilets 🚻 exceptionally clean. This place is not cheap by no means.

Thankfully the reception staff managed to fit a family of four into the restaurant without making prior reservations, the lady at reception was very nice and accommodating. Our server, unfortunately, I didn’t get his name was really nice, helpful and smiley. Yes, this is what they get paid to do however it seemed like he liked to be there! Overall it cost £160 however this included a bottle of wine of £30 and a service charge of £17.50 the family all had a main meal and a dessert so in the big scheme of things not a bad price to be in a lovely restaurant

We would just like to leave a review for The Ivy and our server Lauren. Nothing was too much trouble, never waited too long for each course, it gave you a chance to savour each course and discuss what you had just ate. Our portions were bigger then we thought because we went for the dinner time 3 courses. We did choose different desserts from the 3 courses menu. Delicious. Then because it was our wedding anniversary they bought out an extra dessert with an anniversary chocolate plaque on it. We were stuffed but we made room! Loved it here and had a lovely time. Lauren was very attentive and welcoming to us. They all worked as a team which was lovely to see. Plus they have a stunning decor in there and the bathroom in the ladies is beautiful. Would definitely return. 💖

One of my favourite Ivys! Friendly efficient staff, fantastic surroundings and delicious food. Why bother queuing to get into Betty's when you can book in here?

We booked a table very last minute and had the best of lunches. The atmosphere is great and the food was fantastic. We had a lovely bottle of wine which went down well. All staff were attentive and charming which made us feel special.

25/05/2025 We went in to book a table on Bank Holiday Sunday evening, the lady at the door was very polite and welcoming, she booked us a table for 7:45. (at 2pm in the afternoon) We arrived there 15 minutes earlier than the booking time and we were taken straight to our table. The waiting staff were also very polite and tentative and delivered drinks straight away after ordering. I ordered french onion soup to start and Ceri had Crispy Duck salad, both dishes were very tasty and our empty plates went back in. We then moved on to my favourite meal, burger with chips and Ceri had Cod, chips and mushy peas. Again, the food was beautifully served and was very tasty. We were disappointed not to have enough room for desert. Thank you to all the staff there for making our visit relaxing, enjoyable & memorable on our first time to York. Wayne & Ceri

Stunning breakfast. We had a voucher and we went for our anniversary. What a delightful experience. The staff were amazing and very attentive. Good was also beautiful too. We even got a surprise for celebrating our anniversary. Thank you to all the team for a fantastic experience! We enjoyed it so much we went back for drinks in the afternoon. Thank you for a special day

Outstanding service, celebratory meal for my cousin after shopping in York for a wedding dress!, the presentation of meals, service and food finished off our perfect day.

The staff are absolutely spot on with service, friendliness and efficiency. We had a beautiful corner to sit with the Christmas tree in the background. We picked from the 3 course Autumn menu and it did not disappointment. Each course was beautifully presented and tasted divine. This is the 5th different Ivy I have visited and all have been everything I would look for in a restaurant with ambience and warmth and great value with no compromising.

We dined at The Ivy on Tuesday evening . It was a birthday celebration. The restaraunt is very attractive with a lovely ambience but I would like to say a huge thank you to the staff for making it such a special occasion. From the glass of champagne on arrival to a little surprise birthday dessert the staff made it feel very personal. The food was excellent, we ate off the à la carte and the heritage menu. The heritage menu is superb value for money and there was no compromise on the quality of the food unlike some other restaraunts that offer a restricted lower priced menu. As we were just visiting York for a couple of days then unfortunately we cannot dine at this venue regularly but we just wanted to say well done and thank you so much for going the extra mile. It makes such a difference.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Ivy St Helen’s Square in York is an absolutely wonderful dining experience. From the moment you step inside, the atmosphere is elegant yet welcoming, making it perfect for both special occasions and relaxed meals. The interior is beautifully designed, and the service is outstanding — attentive, friendly, and professional throughout. The food is exceptional, with a fantastic variety on the menu and everything cooked to perfection. Each dish is full of flavor and presented beautifully. The cocktails are equally impressive and complement the meal perfectly. Overall, The Ivy St Helen’s Square delivers consistently high standards in food, service, and ambience. A must-visit restaurant in York — highly recommended!

A Christmas visit to York last week included our first ever visit to The Ivy, where the kids had organised Afternoon Tea for us. Having never been before and knowing little about the food offering, our expectations weren’t particularly high. However, from the moment we walked in, we absolutely fell in love with the place. It’s full of character and charm, with a wonderfully warm and friendly atmosphere. The staff were exceptional throughout. As a diabetic, I asked if my cakes could be swapped for extra sandwiches, which they did without any fuss at all — a small detail that made a big impression. The food itself was some of the best we’ve experienced. We were staying at the 5* The Grand, York, and in all honesty, The Ivy matched — and in my opinion even exceeded their offering. Service from every member of staff we encountered was faultless: attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming. It was such a memorable experience that we booked dinner for the following evening. The Ivy isn’t the cheapest place to eat out, but the quality of the food, the outstanding service, the location, and the ambience makes it absolutely priceless.

Visited The Ivy last week for a late Birthday lunch. The restaurant was busy and had an excellent festive vibe. The meal was its usual outstanding quality. All the staff were very attentive especially Harvey, who was responsible for service at our table. He was engaging and ensured that the meal was a special occasion. We are regular diners at the various IVY restaurants around the country and we are never disappointed.

We had a lovely evening here with my husband. The food quality and the service was very good. The duck salad starter was full of flavours and my chicken bourguignon was perfectly cooked, however it needs an extra side of mashed potato. My husband's Lobster linguine was delicious, but a very small portion. I only give 4 stars, because my starter: Scallops with truffle was very disappointing. I told to the waiter it didn't have any truffle flavour, but he didn't care. I asked for some extra truffle, then a waitress brought a smal bowl of black dust that had a smokey flavour but didn't taste at all like truffle. We've also got charged £4 for it. If a customer is not happy with a £15 starter, I would try to solve the issue and not charge extra for it.

Great treat as ever however it does seem to lack the ‘wow’ factor that other Ivy restaurants have. Service was perfect and they’d also noted our celebration taking place - free profiteroles! Food was tasty and well presented. There seems to have been a bit of confusion over our points being added to our rewards account though. They’d deducted my rewards cash as I requested but then no points added for the balance. Not sure if it’s how the system works but I’ve enquired via the app and my recipes isn’t valid. Enquiries ongoing..

We set outside, started with drinks and happy hour. After reviewing the menu, decided to dine inside. We had an elegant dining experience. Service was great and food we ordered was excellent. We also loved the desserts. Highly reccomend this restaurant.

The food was delicious, but the portions were quite small for the price. After spending over £50, I left feeling a bit hungry. Service charge of 12.5% is added to the bill, which is quite steep. The music was fairly loud which meant I struggled to hear what people were saying throughout the meal. Overall The Ivy was a nice night out with amazing food despite the above points.

Booked a table for 6.30 and seated straight away, it was midweek so not too busy first off, completely rammed an hour later. We had three courses and a coffee to finish and enjoyed them all. The food was both tasty and well presented with good portion sizes, overall very good. The service was also good, very polite and seemed knowledgeable about the dishes offered. One slight downside is that the tables are very close together so it's quite a squeeze and not very private at all. It didn't spoil it for us but maybe an issue for others. Also the service charge maybe on the steep side but on this occasion we thought was just worth it, all in all an enjoyable evening out.

Visited for lunch and found it to be a very busy energetic restaurant. Was virtually full on arrival. Service is superb, quick and efficient. Food is very good but has some big competition in York, so lots of nearby restaurants serving equal and better food. Decor is nice inside, and atmosphere vibrant. We enjoyed it overall but a bit on the expensive side for some dishes. The cheese soufflé was gorgeous!

Visited Thursday evening, heard great feedback on this restaurant so thought worth a try whilst in York at the races. Had reserved in advance and was really excited about this evening but maybe too much! There was no warm welcome or offer to take our coats. Table was ready & clean on the long sofa infront of the bar. Ordered duck pate & bruschetta which was very quick to arrive but bread was not crispy bruschetta it was regular square slice of thick sliced loaf toasted & cut into two triangles wrapped in a napkin. We were hungry so we ate it or half slice of toast for me, pate portion was quite generous and VERY filling perhaps next time one portion could be shared between two. Unfortunately my breadcrumbed chicken main was very dry and not much flavour so I only ate about third and left it. My partner he enjoyed his peppercorn steak. Bottle of Wine was lovely but not left at your table so we waited a few times for a top up. Bill was £112 which included discretionary service charge which i asked for it to be removed & tipped the waitress ourselves. All in all left feeling very underwhelmed our special treat wasn't really all that special after all will try Miller & Carter again when we return to race day.

We opted for the 2 course for £20.95 with a supplement payment of £4.95 for the minute steak option. The food looked nice but I wasn’t too impressed with the taste. My fish cake was super dry and the steak was covered far too much with peppercorns. I had a beer and my GF had a glass of fizz in total the bill came to £79.67 inc Service charge! Which I guess is ok but not when you didn’t enjoy your food. One other thing that put me off is when the waiter decided to take an order next to our table and I just had his backend to my face so I had to stop eating until he moved.

Having been to other brasseries by The Ivy, I was expecting a similar standard of food, service and atmosphere, however, there just seemed to be something lacking from York Ivy. The entrance is very cramped, there is very little space to stand let alone manoeuvre my wheelchair into the restaurant when another party is waiting to be seated. It was raining so most people had coats or umbrellas which made this worse. No -one offered to take coats so the majority of singers has them hung on their chairs - this looked very unsightly and again made manoeuvring around an already quite cramped restaurant more difficult. The general atmosphere appeared to be more rushed and much less formal than previous visits to The Ivy in other cities. The service was polite and fairly attentive but felt somewhat lacking. Again, the food was also good, steaks were cooked as requested, but the meal was just not quite as good as expected. Unfortunately will not be returning.

My daughter took me for Afternoon Tea as a treat today (Thursday afternoon), however, I have to say I was disappointed by the service we received. We could not eat all desserts so asked for them to be boxed but the chocolate cups were not transferable due to them sitting in liquid. At £36 per head I felt that perhaps these could have been substituted for something else but this was not even suggested and I felt uncomfortable that my daughter who is on a frugal wage was paying for these items but we had to leave them. I do believe that our waitress did put them in some tinfoil but was disgruntled doing so. The presentation was lovely so could not complain about the delivery of our Afternoon Tea however, I would not be in a rush to return due to the poor overall service we received.

We went to the ivy for dinner. Excellent food, Excellent service. It was a little on the warm side. However £82 for a bottle of red wine. Read the menu closely! At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask

Disappointing and uncomfortable experience, especially given the price point. From the moment I sat down, the service was unfriendly and inattentive (with exception to the lovely American hostess!). My server did not introduce himself, had no name tag, and never once smiled or offered basic pleasantries. More concerning, he clearly struggled to understand a very simple drink order. I asked for an Old Fashioned with Maker’s Mark three or four times. At the end of the order, he asked what whiskey I wanted and made me physically point to it on the menu. This was awkward and unnecessary. When I asked whether the drink would be served with a single large cube, which is traditional, he replied “regular ice” without explanation. Fine. I then watched the bartender prepare the drink, after which it sat at the bar for roughly five minutes while my server ran around folding tablecloths and setting tables. The restaurant was not understaffed. Service continued to deteriorate from there. When he returned to take my food order, again there were no pleasantries and no attempt at hospitality. After my main course was dropped off, he stopped serving me entirely. I waited about 15 minutes for the check before finally placing my card on the table myself. At that point, a manager was the only person who checked on me and ultimately processed the payment. My server seemed to actively avoid guest interaction, instead focusing on tasks like folding linens, arranging cutlery, and resetting tables. All of this for a bill of around $60 USD, with a mandatory 20 percent service charge included. That charge felt especially frustrating given the complete lack of service. For a restaurant that markets itself as polished and upscale, this was a surprisingly poor experience. Clear communication, basic friendliness, and attentiveness should be non-negotiable at this level. And, yes, the nameless phantom should stick to folding table cloths instead of interacting with guests.

Unfortunately I had a steak that was almost inedible. My wife had a pate starter with only 2 small pieces of bread. Insufficient for the size of the pate. The main meal was luke warm. Portions were small. There was no finesse to the service which was surprising. We expected better. The restaurant was cold and made it uncomfortable to stay for long.

We went to the Ivy in York for my birthday, on Tuesday 13th of January. We’ve always had excellent service at this venue but we were very disappointed this time . We arrived and went to the reception area , there was no official receptionists as usual . We waited, the staff saw us but we were totally ignored. We were stood there for a good 3 minutes before a waitress eventually came over , a simple good evening I’ll be with you in a moment would have been the minimum. This did spoil the start to the evening, the food was very good as usual and the waitress did warm up and brought me a lovely birthday ice-cream dessert . When the bill came we didn’t pay all the service charge as we didn’t feel the service we received deserved 12.5%

(Is one star the best I’m new here) The Ivy is hands down the best restaurant ever. From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere feels special—beautiful décor, warm lighting, and a lively yet relaxed vibe. The food is absolutely outstanding, with every dish tasting fresh, perfectly prepared, and full of flavor. The service is just as impressive: attentive, friendly, and genuinely welcoming. Every visit feels like a treat, and The Ivy never disappoints. I couldn’t recommend it more.