I just had dinner there tonight (6/27). The atmosphere is very nice, service was very good, and the food was ok. We had ceviche and crab cake for appetizers, which were both very good. The entrees were quite disappointing, though: my wife had shrimps and scallops, which were excellent quality-wise, but she got 3 shrimp and 2 scallops on a bed of lettuce. That was it! and this was a 26$ dish! I got a Paella (or something like that) which has a mix of chicken breast, chorizo, lobster meat (very few of that), clams and mussels, calamari and 4 shrimp, all mixed in rice and peas. The rice and peas seemed to have come from one of those mixes you buy frozen at the supermarket. The chicken was fairly dry, and it did not at all look like a fancy 32$ dish. We drank water and did not have dessert, and ended up paying 100$ with tip, which is insane! This is what we paid at The Ferry House, where the service and food are probably the best in town. Also in the same price range (103$ for a couple with tip) is Tre Piani in the Village – another place that is WAY BETTER than this one. Not to mention Blue Point Grill or Witherspoon Grill.

So, bottom line: the food was ok, but it should be priced at about half of what it is now. Until they change that, I recommend you eat at any of the places I mentioned above. Doing that will at least make you feel your 100$ were well spent.

Went here for lunch today with my wife. We had the shrimp Tempura Roll for an appetizer. It was great. I had an onion Soup Gratinee. The soup was too sweet and gummy, but the cheese melting was good and slightly burnt and crispy.
Moving on to our entrees, I had a steak sandwich for 15+ dollars – no taste, plus it had red peppers on it ,when on the menu it was not mentioned. My wife had the 19.00 mussels entree. Just a bowl of 19.00 lunch mussels -not even good.
Over all with tip 72.00 for lunch.
I will be shocked if this place is still in business in 4 months.
Service was great.

I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I WAS A BIT CONCERNED TO TRY JL IVY BASED ON THE REVIEWS ON THIS SITE BUT I AM VERY GLAD THAT I DID! I TOOK BY 19 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER FOR A LADIES LUNCH AND COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE DELIGHTED. AS WE WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR, WE WERE WARMLY GREETED BY THE HOSTESS MAKING US FEEL RIGHT AT HOME AND WELCOME IMMEDIATELY. THE RESTAURANT IS LOVELY AND LOOKS SO DIFFERENT THAN IT DID AT RUSTY SCUPPER! THE SERVER WAS VERY ATTENTIVE: RECITING THE SPECIALS AND HAD THE RIGHT BLEND OF CHARM, GOOD SERVICE AND CORDIALITY WITHOUT BEING OVER BEARING OR ANNOYING. I HAD A DELICIOUS SHRIMP COCKTAIL AND ORDERED GRILLED CHICKEN ON THE CHOPPED SALAD. MY DAUGHTER HAD A CROQUE MONSIEUR WHICH RIVALLED SOME OF THE RESTAURANTS WE DINED IN WHEN WE WENT TO PARIS. WE SHARED THE APPLE TART FOR DESSERT WHICH I HAVE TO SAY WAS NEAR PERFECT! ALL IN ALL, I LOVED JL IVY. IT WAS EXPENSIVE BUT CERTAINLY A LOVELY PLACE TO DINE.

My fiance and I dined there a month or so ago and the food was so awful we still talk about it! How the medium fillet mignon ended up so dry and leathery is truly a mystery (especially since we always do a much better job with fillets from Wegmans ourselves). The reluctance to prepare the scallop and shrimp dish with only shrimp made me suspect they used pre-made items (particularly since it was nothing fancy – just shrimp and scallop with garlic butter). The waiter was terribly pushy and annoying. All in all, this place is far too pompous for the standard of their fare!

With regard to the sushi – my expectations were high once the waiter declared their sushi the best in Princeton. While the sushi we ordered did not meet those expectations, if we ever bother going back, it would only be to give the sushi another go. It was good enough to be better than everything else Princeton has to offer as long as one ignores Ajihei.