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The Ivy House Restaurant

4.0 (197 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

The Ivy House Restaurant Photos

THE IVY HOUSE RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Romantic
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - The Ivy House Restaurant

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Philly Sandwich
Brandy D.

This historical restaurant is just so adorable! There are many little rooms inside and outside on patio. They have a little gift shop/boutique on the top floor of the restaurant. The server was nice but not very knowledgeable or friendly. The food looked great but unfortunately was very bland. Not sure if that is because it caters to lots of seniors but there was no seasoning and most of the food. I had a steak and the seasoning was added with the butter while cooking. Nothing on or marinated before and it tasted as so. The peanut butter pie was delicious!

the front entrance
Hayli Z.

This place was so cute! Definitely that old, southern style. They didn't have a big menu/a lot of options and not many vegetarian options but I made a meal out of the fried green tomatoes. What really surprised me were the cheese fritters. These aren't your typical Mozzarella sticks you see on appetizers, no. These were pimento cheese balls with a crispy, textured coating that were so good I could've just eaten those. The dining area was adorable and very cozy and the service was attentive even though they were busy. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the raspberry lemonade, it had a weird aftertaste I'm not sure if it was the lemonade or the raspberry syrup so wouldn't get that again. I feel like this would be a really cute spot for weekend brunch but they only offer lunch and dinner. But definitely seems like a great location to have brunch in.

Prime Rib, corn bread, carrots, green beans, baked potato and roll.
Ray H.

Very neat venue with tasty food and good service. We had three kids and four adults. Everyone was happy and full. Stop in and try it. If planning ahead, they take reservations. Worth writing home about.

Fried shrimps with salad and loaded baked potato
Josh K.

We found ourselves in the quaint Florida town of Williston one Saturday and wanted to stop in for a quick lunch. We had been here multiple times before, but this is the first time writing a review. The separate dining rooms are charming and are decorated from a past time and surround the four or five tables per room. In my opinion, the star of the menu is the fried chicken, but there are so many wonderful items to choose from. We had the fried shrimp plate as well as the chicken salad croissant. Don't forget to start with the fried green tomatoes and end your meal with a slice of chocolate cake! Definitely a must stop if you are in Williston!

Fried Green Tomates - best I've ever had!
Tony M.

Wonderful place & incredible food! We felt right at home! Best fried green tomatoes I've ever had! Pecan crusted chicken was delicious. Fresh, flavorful coffee like from my grandma's kitchen decades ago.

Half order of Fried Green Tomatoes(5)
Alayna J.

Going to the Ivy House is a rare treat that we indulge in a couple times a year. If we lived closer I'm sure we would go more frequently, and when they had the location in Alachua it seems we went at least once a month. The food is very yummy and a great price. It is worth it to get either the fried green tomato or the Mac and cheese ball appetizer. My favorite entree is the Krispy Chicken but I've also had their pork chops and fish basket which were both great. They don't hold back on the butter for the veggies and both the cornbread and yeast rolls are out of this world. Now I must admit, I have been off and on with their mac and cheese. This last visit (lunch if maybe that plays a factor) it was perfect. Every now and again it is just no good, completely different consistency and quality of cheese. One of the things they are known for is their raspberry syrup. I find their raspberry tea to be a little too much for me, but it is perfect when mixed half and half with their plain sweet tea. The raspberry salad dressing is wonderful if you like sweet salad dressings. Finally, dessert. Over the years I think I have had every dessert they offer. They include- milk cake (tres leches), coconut cake, chocolate cake, peanut butter pie, and buttermilk walnut pie. For me, the two that really stand out are their milk cake and the buttermilk walnut pie. They are out of the way if you're in Gainesville. However, a nice weekend lunch spent in their cute themed rooms or if you're lucky, the back porch, is a great way to spend some quality time eating.

Fish & shrimp plate
Sam E.

My husband and I took a drive to Williston today, 2/9, from Ocala and we both were ready for a bite. I looked on Yelp to see what all was around the area and The Ivy House Restaurant was listed. The time was after 2 so if any rush they had was gone. My husband ordered the fish and butterflied shrimp plate with fries, salad, cornbread and a roll. I tried the fried pork chop sandwich with salad. We were both very pleased with what we had and we definitely will be back and have plans on bringing family here the end of next month while they're here visiting. So glad we stopped by and tried this place out. Very decorative and staff so friendly. We even got to go drinks which our waitress suggested.

Daily menu in front porch.
Janette R.

What a terrific place to stop in at! Home cooking, great service along with an eclectic victorian style place. Try their shrimp, corn casserole, sweet tea and without a doubt their crispy fried chicken on ANYTHING will be the way to go!

Barbecue shrimp
Joanna H.

It's like eating at grandmas house!! Literally. Looks like you just went in her house full of stuff and old things. Lots of little rooms with tables for dining. Southern menu. You will not leave hungry. Soooo much food. Good value for the money. We both enjoyed our meal. Quick, friendly service.

Buttermilk walnut pie. Delicious
Kimberly R.

Have been wanting to have lunch here for quite some time. Today was the day. Beautiful old style home turned restaurant. It was like taking a step back in time. We were seated right away and our waitress took our order. Our waitress was very attentive and helpful. After the lunch feast we walked upstairs to tour the boutique and to get an appreciation of how it must've been to live in such a home. We are looking forward to many return visits.

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13 days ago

Good food and friendly service. My husband liked their baked fish. I like their vegetables. Looking forward to their reopening.

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5 months ago

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7 months ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

Can't wait for this restaurant to reopen. Food and service are awesome. They have wonderful choices and good drinks.

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

We came to the devils den and stopped in here for lunch. Awesome food service was great.

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3 years ago

It was fantastic. The service, the food, and the ambiance are great. It seems they have a new menu, but the same pleasant faces helping....

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4 years ago

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Stumpknockers On The River - Alligator appetizer

Stumpknockers On The River

3.8(318 reviews)
28.2 mi
•$$

Stuffed flounder was excellent. Prices reasonable for a legit seafood restaurant in fish country…read more Indoor or outdoor seating available. Access is a bit dicey -- Highway 200 narrows for the old bridge over the Withlacoochee, cars are going fast and there's no margin for error while you are poking along trying to turn in our back out onto the highway.

I went with my daughter on a Friday night. Very friendly people and family environment. There is…read moreindoor and outdoor seating. We sat outdoors this restaurant is by the river. You feel the peace that the waters and surrounded by oaks and nature. And there is a full bar outdoors as well The food was ok. We had clam chowder soup wasn't my favorite but had worse. And we ordered two appetizers escargot which I don't recommend it included 5 snails on top of a lot of small mushrooms and it wasn't seasoned well!! Hard to match my previous escargot plates in other restaurants. The other appetizer was gator bites. I liked that! For our main entree we shared a seafood combo but you had to choose from fried, boiled or blackened and we chose fried they couldn't accommodate having half the plate cooked a different way so was just too much fried seafood. The platter brings shrimp, white fish, scallops, à crab cake, and oysters. The shrimp were big and tasty, and the white fish was delicious scallops were also good but the rest not so much. It's hard to eat all fried and all seasoned the same except the crab cake ( a lot of veggies in it and not enough crab so you don't really eating à crab cake) I hope this helps

Photos
Stumpknockers On The River - Bud lattes

Bud lattes

Stumpknockers On The River - Surf and turf

Surf and turf

Stumpknockers On The River - Looking out at the river!

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Looking out at the river!

Salt Creek Restaurant - Thin n crispy chicken breast less than 1/2 breast portion)(no breading) served with cheese on oversized bun

Salt Creek Restaurant

4.3(39 reviews)
42.5 mi
•$$

Ordered Chicken sandwich, the piece of chicken came with cheese basically melted on, like it spent…read morehours under heatlamps- the cheese not listed on menu to come with chicken was not wanted. The chicken was disturbingly small Chicken- butchered thin( less than 1/2 breast portion) The chicken not breaded, breast filet sliced served on an oversized bun, which belittles the poor chicken. When complained another breast sandwich was sent right away, but was not cooked. How can you send out RAW chicken! Chef ramsey would be infuriated! also portioned smaller than bread and full of gristle. Un- edible. Made due with over-cooked first order to appease my appetite, and not to complain a thirtd time. but both a sad looking chicken choice for the $10.99 price tag. However, our Waitress tried to compensate for the cooks poor or lack of skill: by only charging the price of the french fries. For a day of just taking a drive and finding this restaurant on the water, he view was gorgeous on the suwanee. Lovely day, nice weather and many airboats and finshing along the banks, the food I would skip. (At least the chicken) however my friend who ordered the blackened fish sandwich also a small portion of fish, but was pleased with the flavor and cook. So it may be a hit or miss type of place. The one star review is on the chicken sandwich. I guess the saying goes don't order something land when at a seafood restaurant.

We called ahead as we have a small well behaved Pomeranian that goes just about everywhere with us…read moreand confirmed that had outside seating. Had some light rain on the way to Suwannee only to discover their "covered" outdoor seating is no longer safe due to structure issues. The staff was kind enough to allow is to sit inside. I must say the seafood was the best I've had in the area and will definitely be making the 30 minute drive more often.

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Salt Creek Restaurant - No special lenses, these are the true colors.

No special lenses, these are the true colors.

Salt Creek Restaurant - Replacement chicken, raw/undercooked, full of gristle

Replacement chicken, raw/undercooked, full of gristle

Salt Creek Restaurant - Suwannee Sunset

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Suwannee Sunset

Fresh Seafood Market & Crab Shack - Live crab

Fresh Seafood Market & Crab Shack

4.0(5 reviews)
56.8 mi
•$$

I love seafood and this little neighborhood seafood market has it. The store is clean and it…read moredoesn't smell undesirable like stale fish. The store clerk was kind and very pleasant to the customers. Everything looked fresh and the miscellaneous items were stacked nicely as well. There was a lady outside in the parking lot asking patrons for money who eventual came inside and asked the store clerk if she could use the restroom; the store clerk was polite and said yes. I overheard this exchange but I felt it was worth mentioning and three stars at the very least. When I asked if they used butter or margarine on their fantastic looking crab trays and the clerk said margarine. I appreciated her honesty but everyone knows how extremely unhealthy margarine is; margarine is not five star quality. The overall experience and interaction was five stars but the margarine is a negative one for sure and needs to be reconsidered.

The seafood is fresh and very good ,but I was very surprised at the girl working the counter.She…read morewas very flirtatious with my husband.She was showing a lot of skin and just seemed ti be trying to hook up with him right in front of me.She had no respect or honor about herself .Now my husband wants to by fish from there all the time just to talk to her.Even though she said she was engaged to be married.She flirts with men to get them to come there to buy fish .Business must be bad in Lake City if business owners are resorting to this tactic.Be glad when she gets married and moves to Canada.I honestly don't like this girl at all ,the way she looks at men like they are a piece of meat.Seriously ,I don't understand why she just can't be professional and just sell the fish.I mean it's all too much .She is not professional at all.I would not recommend this business to anyone.

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Fresh Seafood Market & Crab Shack - Fresh seafood & garlic crab tray shrimp snow crab oyster mussel crawfish and fresh fish & shrimp

Fresh seafood & garlic crab tray shrimp snow crab oyster mussel crawfish and fresh fish & shrimp

Fresh Seafood Market & Crab Shack - Garlic blue crab tray

Garlic blue crab tray

Fresh Seafood Market & Crab Shack

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Harry and The Natives - Ahi Tuna, guacamole, ginger, cilantro, spicy mayo 
served on 4 crispy Nori chips

Harry and The Natives

4.1(124 reviews)
46.9 mi
•$$

Thd food at Harry and the natives is excellent! our server Paul was very attentiv while we were…read moreeating and when our meal was complete. Henry the chef is why we came back for a second meal. His meals are so, so good. I would recommend this restaurant as #1 in the Villages.

After a few dinners here, hands down my favorite place in The Villages. Often times when visiting…read moreThe Villages I have to temper my expectations as to food quality and flavor. But when I first visited Harry and the Natives about 6 months ago I realized this place was different. Now, I can honestly say it's a place 'I look forward to' vs. a lot of The Villages food options which are 'places i settle for'. Pricing is fair for the quality you get. The drinks are Tiki inspired and delicious (I highly recommend the Village Dodo) and you can tell they pride themselves of freshness and quality. They have some of the best crab cakes I've ever had, a bit pricey but they are almost 100% crab (almost not binder/filler) and if you know the price of crab these days you'd understand the pricing. For me, a Village Dodo drink, Filet Mignon medium rare 'surf and turf' style with a crab cake, and creamed spinach side served outside with the tiki torches blaring is near perfection in a meal.

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Harry and The Natives - So many fun times at Harry & The Natives!

So many fun times at Harry & The Natives!

Harry and The Natives - Whipped Feta- With honey, black pepper, chives and naan dippers 
 (Sub to Mike's Hot Honey® to spice it up)

Whipped Feta- With honey, black pepper, chives and naan dippers (Sub to Mike's Hot Honey® to spice it up)

Harry and The Natives - Made in House Lemon Ice Box Pie

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Made in House Lemon Ice Box Pie

The Ivy House Restaurant - southern - Updated June 2026

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