Harden's says
One of the biggest restaurant openings of the year, The Ivy's foray into Manchester has four floors of dining rooms, with a separate pan-Asian restaurant (Ivy Asia), bar, private dining and roof garden.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“You wouldn’t go for ‘haute cuisine’, but as a jolly place to eat comfort food in a spectacular setting, it is hard to beat” – that’s the upbeat view, anyway, on this now-“ubiquitous” brasserie chain. Eight years and 40 openings later, the spin-offs increasingly eclipse the Theatreland original (see also), whose Edwardian features provide the style-guide for its nationwide ‘roll out’. “Even if the unchallenging food reaches no heights, there’s a consistent buzz”, which makes them a “posh”, “fun” choice for a get-together, if not a particularly foodie one. This is particularly the case at the landmark London off-shoots: at ‘Chelsea Garden’ (“gorgeous greenery”); Kensington (“slick”, with a “pretty glitzy crowd”); and on the Thames (“great views over Tower Bridge”). But while it’s always been acknowledged that the mass offering is “a shadow of the mothership’s” – with “average grub at not-so-average prices” – the feeling that the brand has become just “a chain that does not excite” is gaining ever-stronger currency. Service seems more “stretched” nowadays, and a sliding ambience rating is making the whole offering seem ever-more “overrated, for all its modern art and perky décor”.
Summary
One of the biggest restaurant openings of the last Diners Poll, The Ivy’s foray into Manchester has four floors of dining rooms, with a separate pan-Asian operation on the second floor (see Ivy Asia), bar, private dining and roof garden. When it comes to the more conventional ground-floor brasserie, one early report paints a picture now familiar around the country: “If you look beneath the shiny surface, the food is overpriced and fayre average. It’s fine so long as expectations aren’t high... but they’re built up by the glitz. Basically it’s like Bill’s in an expensive setting with a couple of quid added on to everything”.
Summary
One of the biggest restaurant openings of the year, The Ivy’s foray into Manchester has four floors of dining rooms, with a separate pan-Asian operation on the second floor (see Ivy Asia), bar, private dining and roof garden. When it comes to the more conventional ground-floor brasserie, one early report paints a picture now familiar around the country: “If you look beneath the shiny surface, the food is overpriced and fayre average. It’s fine so long as expectations aren’t high... but they’re built up by the glitz. Basically it’s like Bill’s in an expensive setting with a couple of quid added on to everything”.
For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at The Ivy Spinningfields?
Restaurant details
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £16.95 | £21.50 |  |
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| Pretheatre | £16.95 | £21.50 | |
|
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Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £9.70 | £22.20 | £5.00 | £6.95 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £23.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.95 |
| Extras |
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|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
Opening hours
| Monday | 8 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 8 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 8 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 8 am‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 8 am‑10:30 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am‑10:30 pm |
| Sunday | 9 am‑10 pm |
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