Ivy’s Deli & Frozen Yogurt

Tried a variety of items and was disappointed in all of them. Nice waitress.

We went in with a groupon. Otherwise, we never would have found this place. When we walked in, there were two people sitting, but come to find out, they were the cook and waitress. The server was really sweet although she didn’t ask us what we wanted to drink. We got spring rolls, sweet potato cakes, vermicelli with chicken, and eel. Everything was really good. My vermicelli was ordered medium hot and had plenty of heat and flavor. The spring rolls had a really good sweet and sour sauce, although they were really small. I don’t know that we would order the sweet potato cakes again since they were a little bit bland. I will definitely go back for the vermicelli chicken.

This isn’t your typical Americanized Chinese food joint. This place is a gem — their real fruit smoothies are to die for, and their food is authentic and tasty. The owner is one of the nicest and eager to please people you will ever meet. Give it a try.

I’m a fan of hole in the wall restaurants that serve great food. This place is a whole in the wall but sadly it doesn’t serve great food in my opinion. I gave this place a try because the Maharajah which is next door was closed on the day I went to try it out (it’s closed on Monday’s). So I said what the heck and tried Ivy’s. So I went in and noticed that the décor is disjointed and mismatched. That normally doesn’t matter to me but I note this because the disjointed, mismatched, and confused characteristic is a thematic here. The menu is equally disjointed and confusing. It is a 8 ½×11 sheet of folded paper with a vast array of options listed in tiny font and is poorly organized. I found my way to the «lunch special» segment which is organized by day. I confess that I am a bit of Dim Sum amateur which perhaps contributed to my difficulty in deciphering the menu.
I ordered the curry chicken served over rice and an iced tea. The iced tea had a funky taste and aroma. It smelled and tasted of powered cocoa such as one might use to mix with milk to make chocolate milk. I like cocoa but not in my iced tea! When my plate arrived I noticed the meat was quite fatty and salty but edible. I did finish my meal. After I was done the server perhaps sensing that I was underwhelmed apologized and explained that another customer had also ordered the daily special in the pork option instead of chicken and they got confused and mixed the orders. The other customer got my curry chicken to go. I guess he was perplexed by the taste of his meal as well. I told the server that it was not a problem and that the food was good. Ok so I told a bit of a white lie. I didn’t dislike the food enough to hurt her feelings and tell her what I really thought but I didn’t like it enough to give it more than two stars. Bottom line is that there are way better hole in the wall joints than Ivy’s.

I stopped in and really liked what they did with the small space and cozy feel. The owner was extremely nice as most of the reviews commented on. I imagine some people prefer the all-​you-​can-​eat buffet experience, but this place does have some great and unique choices. Overall I think his selections are quite affordable, especially his combo specials of the day. His selections on his site only reflect about a third of what he serves so do not be put off on the limited choices on his website. Overall, I was very pleased to try something different.

Please do not let the 3 deter from checking this little joint out. I am just not very much of an Asian food fan. The offerings are limited here, so you really cannot be picky with the menu. Nonetheless, they prepare some quality Eastern grub. And I am from the East… ancestrally.
When I go to an affordable little joint such as Ivy’s, I like to drink. I called them and asked if I could bring some booze. They gladly responded with: «certainly.»
The restaurant is typical of other Asian eateries. The people are very helpful, but hands-​off. In fact, the family was eating their dadgum dinner while we were eating! The only negative thing was that I did not get offered any… sad day.
The pork ribs were well-​seasoned and surprisingly unchewy. Nice. The soup was not bad. There were 3 large crawfish in our seafood noodle soup. The shu mai (open pork potstickers) were pretty good, though the pork was a touch dense. Made fresh though – close to 20+ minutes to get them out!
Patronize this eatery, and check out the nearby institutions as well. I promise it will be worth your time, assuming you are in this area or live out this far. Location does suck.

I don’t care what all the naysayers think, this place is quirky and the owner is the nicest man I’ve ever met. He made recommendations under the assumption that idiot Americans come into the restaurant expecting to be served crappy chicken nuggets or french fries.
The owner was kind, super friendly, and provided excellent service. The food was good although I was expecting the mixed mushroom and tofu dish to be vegetarian and it came with a hunk of pork roast. The meal was still authentic and tasty and the dim sum was better than what I had at Get Some Dim Sum. I’m definitely coming back for the steamed rice buns with BBQ pork.

This place has great food and drinks. We’ve had the seafood combo soup three times and it’s so good. I tried one of their weekly specials, curry pork and rice. Nice chunks of meat and a mild curry. However, the place is sticky and hot and they leave the door open so flies come in like crazy. It’s hard to enjoy good food with five flies buzzing around. The owners are as nice as can be but yes, they hang around a little too much at the table and you start to feel the creepiness. So, bottom line is, food good, atmosphere bad. There’s got to be some code about keeping front doors open and hey, spend the money and turn on the A/​C — that’s how they will get repeat customers. For now, we are done with them and that’s too bad.

They are very hospitable but the dim sum was somewhat a disappointment. The food tasted reheated and possibly bought from your local Asian Market. A bit expensive too.

Ivy’s Deli is not a sandwich shop and this restaurant can easily be missed. Inside, a border of happy flowers line the wall of this tiny restaurant with mismatched furniture tables, chairs and couches. It’s pretty warm inside, both in temperature and hospitality.
I came in here twice and the owner is a super nice fellow. First of all, the karaōke is not advertised, so I am unaware of this feature and there is no longer frozen yogurt. The website is different from what’s on the menu. And the buy one lunch, get one free applies only to a couple of the items (this is not clear on the ad.)
Like the furniture, the menu here is mismatched. You can get noodles, dim sum, dessert, rice plates, etc… They have a very large menu for a tiny restaurant. If I were only to rate the dessert, this place is definitely 4-​stars. Being a hole in the wall, you would think the price would be a bit lower, but it’s quite the opposite. I guess they have to charge more because they use fresh fruit – a huge positive in my book. The shaved ice with kiwi and grapefruit (about $ 5) was the perfect dessert on a summer evening in Austin. The «children’s park» ($ 7) ice cream sundae, with a real cherry on top, blue bell ice cream, fresh fruit.
I also tried the dim sum, which was not very good overall. The flavors were good, but the execution was poor. I ordered the soup dumpling, but when I received them, all the broth had spilled out of the dumplings. What’s the point in ordering soup dumplings if there is no soup inside? The pork rice roll had too much sauce and the pork filing was dry. The steam sticky rice was mushy, and the coconut dumplings did not have the chewy texture that I expected. The price is comparable to other dim sum places on Lamar, but I think the portions here are smaller.
Dessert — great! Food — -needs some work. Hopefully, they will find their grove and this can be a great little place to hang out.

The baked flounder was great! Great little place, hope they get some buzz going and are around for awhile. The owner is very friendly and genuinely appreciates his customers.

Food is delicious, dessert is good, but the bubble tea drink is not authentic, too light and too sweet. I only like red bean smoothie.
The owner couple speak Cantonese. But the food is not all Cantonese.
I highly recommend their mixed spicy chicken wings and black bean roasted ribs.
One more thing I like this place is you can sing karaōke for free! And their machine has a lot of new songs.

I walked in around noon on a weekday. It was empty. An employee handed me a menu, the proceeded to stand only about a foot away from me to get my order.
Ma’am, I can speak at a normal volume so you do not have to get so close to me.
So, I started to get all uncomfortable with my personal space being violated. Since I want able to speak, she began to misinterpret my uncomfortableness with indecision. She then starts to provide options for what I might like. I said no thanks to everything she proposed, turned around and escaped.
Perhaps Axe body spray really does work?

Disgusting!!!
I ordered the wonton soup, and when the server, who acted like she would rather be in hell with her back broke finally brought me my food, I felt like I was back in college trying to combat the «freshman fifteen» by way of the cabbage soup diet.
My 7 year old daughter will normally eat her soup, and then everyone elses.
She took one sip and literally gagged.
A few mushy dumplings swimming in a tasteless broth full of semi cooked cabbage is not tradition wonton soup by any means,
The spring rolls were okay, but when my daughter asked for sweet n sour sauce, they brought her ketchup.(All of this could have been avoided if the paper menus had a brief description of the items offered.)
1 bowl of soup, an egg roll, and 1 drink was $ 17.00.
I guess they have to charge an arm and leg since no one else was in the restaurant on a Friday at 12:30.
And when I gave the server a $ 20.00 She asked me if I had the exact change.
I made my disappointment very obvious in hopes that the owner/​cook would come talk to me. But the waitress was oblivious, since
She spent the entire time we were there on her laptop.
I hate to see neighborhood joints go out of business, but i would be shocked if this one did not.
I will never return that’s for sure!
i

we had an assortment of dim sum, it was all excellent.
the atmosphere is a bit odd, don’t let that turn you off. the food is excellent and the family that runs it are very hospitable.
my recommendation: wanton soup. extremely honest home-​made chicken broth with cabbage and pork/​mushroom wanton dumplings.
also the ginger ice cream was excellent.

First, I’d like to give credit to the marketing skills of the owner/​manager.
Gordon Ramsey has said on more than one occasion to a mom-​and-​pop type place, that business does not come to you; you have to seek the business. So he usually sends them in the street with pamphlets to tell total strangers about their business, and BAM – sales increase.
Taking a page from this playbook, as we were leaving next-​door Maharaja, we almost passed this unassuming little Asian deli had it not been for the owner coming outside and handing us each a flier with their full menu. He was really sweet, and said that we could try all kinds of smoothies, from orange to black bean. We thanked him, and started strolling away. Finally, we felt we should reward his earnestness and go ahead and try a smoothie, even if we were already stuffed from Indian food. We’d consider it dessert.
I have to admit, the interior of the place is simultaneously quirky yet charming. Instead of the usual chairs and tables, you have, well, sofas and tables. Actual love seats that could be in anybody’s living room are set up with a regular run of the mill deli table. In the corner are two, large comfortable chairs, and the space is Wi-​Fi equipped.
Let’s not forget the karaōke. Yes – karaōke. The machine was running for the duration of our visit, and actually played such songs as «My Way» and «Home on the Range». The cliché actually made me beam, in the good way. How crazy would it to bring a group here to karaōke?
In summary, it’s like Starbucks’ quaint Asian relative.
The owner was very accommodating, and it appeared his wife and daughter were at the table next to us eating noodles. As far as fresh fruit smoothies, Neal ordered a kiwi, and I ordered an apple. The owner convinced us to add the tapioca pearl balls and make it one of those «bubble» drinks, which was interesting because I couldn’t figure out if bubble drinks were still «in» or not. But I hadn’t had one since college, so we agreed.
He explained that he uses only real, fresh fruit – not powder. And I loved the texture of the tapioca pearls as they came up the extra wide straw.
Ivy’s Deli has quite an extensive menu, to put it lightly. It’s a tiny little place, but their menu runs the gamut from authentic appetizers (spring rolls, curried fish balls, and dumplings) to Deli specials (Vermicelli, roasted eel, BBQ pork), to desserts (smoothies, shaved ice, cactus with honey). Their menu states they are also the only store in Austin with imported Japanese ice cream (with flavors such as green tea, ginger, and red bean). Last but not least, their tables feature a flip book of sundaes and frozen yogurt specials, one of the most adorable being the «Children’s Park», made with colorful ice cream and fresh fruit. That would be so cute for a parent to take their kid out to get something that looked so pretty, especially during the summertime.
The menu offers so much, it’s almost a prerequisite to come back. Plus, the owner is just an awesome, welcoming man. Basically, I haven’t had 90% of what’s on here; and if they’re sellin’ it – I’m buyin’.
4 karaōke songs out of 5 for Ivy.

Another new joint right in my neighborhood. I was intrigued by all the photos posted outside advertising their food so I decided to try it one day. While there are many items I would like to try, their prices are quite high leaving you purchasing only one item per visit.

Big, comfy chairs, free WIFI, smoothies, free Kaaroke. how can anyone not like this place? We had a pineapple smoothie and 2 red bean smoothies (with pearl balls), surfed the net, and sang karaōke (2 hours) for $ 11. The owner is super nice! I didn’t try the food yet, but the menu looked great. I will go back soon.

I stopped by today (a Saturday) on my lunch hour, rather intrigued about some «authentic» Hong Kong recipes.
I ordered take out, Shiu Mai, an order of Black Pepper Chicken Wings,
and Won-​Ton Soup. My bill was $ 13 and some change.
The dumplings and wings came in the same styrofoam container. I wasn’t offered any dipping sauce ot anything to pour over the dumplings.
They don’t use MSG, so the dumplings (4 for $ 4) were just OK. Filling rather chewy, had it been nuked? Not sure.
The «wing-​portion» wing order (4 for $ 4) was scary. Skin very soft like the dumpling skins, they didn’t come apart like cooked chicken should. So-​so, at best, if not fully cooked.
The soup order was large — ($ 5, maybe?), had probably six Won-​Tons,
unusual smelling soup, but not bad. The Won-​Ton filling may have been
shrimp and pork ?
The soup was the best of the three, by far. Not sure I will go back.
(Two stars is a stretch)…

*FRO-​YO Review Only*
I saw a Frozen Yogurt sign while having some BBQ today in this strip mall that time has been unkind to.
I decided to check this place out as it looked new and interesting and unique and it didn’t dissappoint in that area.
When you walk in there is a lot to take in. The green wall of fro-​yo, the Chinese TV shows, the large lazy-​boys and sofa seating. I didn’t even notice until I left all the menus along the wall — sort of like a hostage taking ransom note.
The hostess was a very attentive helper for self serve frozen yogurt place. Unfortunately one of the machines was not working and when I dispensed my fro-​yo it shot water all over the product I already had in my bowl so I had to start over.
I ended up with the chocolate and blueberry. The product came out thick in a round shape
The chocolate — had a good flavor. There were dark and light spots so I’m not sure how it mixes in the mixer. It was a little on the icy side and not creamy though, but not to the degree as icemilk.
Blueberry — came out purple and it was hard for my brain not to process the flavor as grape. Same texture as chocolate, wasn’t a huge fan of the flavor.
I would like to come back and try other items on their menu, it was an interesting place and I hate to ding a new place just getting started but I didn’t have a great initial impression.