We have been dining at the Ivy for years and until our most recent visit have always found it a relaxing welcoming place serving excellent, comforting food. Whenever we were going to be in Los Angeles, whether en route to Australia<link> or for an extended stay in town, our first stop was the Ivy, to get us into the LA rhythm.
We hadn't been there in almost two years. The food was as good as ever, but the Ivy has gone corporate. We still love the gumbo ya ya and we still love the chopped salad and the cajun fried soft shell crabs, but we were not happy with the rushed service and the get 'em in, get 'em out atmosphere. This was even worse, since we were the only people in the dining room.
Maybe we came on a bad day. Maybe the Ivy has been taken over by New Yorker wannabees. It still looks like we'll have to find a new spot to get into the LA way of things.
