We had some free time on Saturday evening, so my husband and I wanted to go to a special “pre-Anniversary” dinner. (Our eighth wedding anniversary is on June 15th…yay!) I asked some of the locals for romantic dinner suggestions. Crustacean in Beverly Hills was a top pick, but they were booked until 10 PM that night. No. To our surprise, The Ivy restaurant had an opening for 7 PM that night, so that is where we went.
Eating at The Ivy was a wonderful experience. The setting wasn’t especially romantic, but that was alright. The guidebooks had made us a little hesitant. The Ivy is a place where a lot of celebrities and “industry people” dine, so we had read that a.) it’s hard for everyday people to get a reservation and b.) that diners were not treated well unless they were celebrities. Then, I had my own doubts. Often, the food at big name restaurants that I have visited in the past is overrated and/or the portions are so small that I am hungry afterwards. I am happy to report that the Ivy was nothing like what we read nor what I thought. Maybe we were lucky, but we were able to get a reservation for the same night. The service was excellent (our waiter Jonte was perfectly attentive). The food was delicious – especially the crabcake appetizer and the shrimp dish that my husband ordered. The portions were so generous that we couldn’t even eat everything!
I don’t have any pictures of the actual restaurant and food…my husband asked me not to take any. He was right…it would have looked a little tacky. However, I had to get some type of visual memory…so I took photos of the bathroom. (I wasn’t bothering anyone there and you can kind of get a feel for the restaurant by looking at the wallpaper!)
