IvyWild Sewanee

Ivy Wild was our favorite restaurant in the Sewanee area. Unfortunately, we recently ate at Ivy Wild and were completely disappointed in all aspects of our meal.
The meal began by being told as we were placing our order (not prior to our ordering), that there was no more Salmon (one of the few selections on the limited menu — and three of us were planning on ordering the Salmon). After looking at the menu again, one of our diners ordered the lamb ragout. Our server returned from the kitchen to let us know that the there was only one Lamb Ragout available (and our table ordered two). This diner had to re-​think her order for the second time! We had 7:30pm reservations, so dining on the late side could not be an excuse for running out of 2 of the 6 entrees available!
The service was slow The bartender, who came to our table to open the wine, broke the cork in the bottle. The portions were very small (The carrot and beet salad had about 3 tiny slices of beets the size of a quarter and 6 slices of baby carrots!!) The food is also very pricey.
The real kicker is the 20% service fee on all food and alcohol! (We paid 20% to have 4 available entrees and to have the cork broken in the wine bottle!) In addition to that there is a 15% fee on the wine and tax on all of it! If you chose to go, bring your own wine. It is not worth purchasing wine at the restaurant.
The only reason I am even giving 1 star is that the food is tasty, just not worth the price.
Such a shame as this was our favorite restaurant in the local Sewanee/​Monteagle area. Unfortunately, we will not return.

This is a true gourmet find in the small village of Sewanee. The food is high end and the award winning chef is creative, inventive and flexible (I am every chef’s worst nightmare with lots of dietary restrictions.) We were thrilled with our dinner. While it was not the least expensive meal we have ever had, the reward was great and the meal was fantastic and worth the investment. We moved to TN from SoCal via NYC, Santa Fe and Miami, and while Nashville and Chatanooga have wonderful food, it is a delight to find such a high quality, healthy dining experience in this small town in the heartland. For us it will now be a destination restaurant — it is that good!

All the reviews are right, the food is excellent. Great service and atmosphere as well.

What a gem! The most wonderful food. Found IvyWild through Unilocal and it did not disappoint. Friday evening, no reservation and we were seated immediately. It’s BYOB and based on the number of tables with wine knew we’d happened onto a treat, for only regulars would know, right?
After ordering, the brought us a small skewer of marinated feta and vegetables. Divine! Their emphasis is local organic and it was heaven! My husband ordered a filet. I’m an Iowa girl so tend to be snobby about my beef, well the chef –a Texan (and they can be equally snobby, ‘Hook ‘em Horns’), told us the beef is grass fed up to the last 20 days, so, healthy and totally yummy! Cooked to perfection! His mashed potatoes were topped with carmelized onions he raved about. We posted the photo.
I ordered a grilled salmon, served medium and it was just perfect… on the outside… a slight crunch… and melted in your mouth on the inside. The smoked Gouda grits were creamy and not overpowering and all topped with cherry tomatoes, chayote squash and poblano pepper, served in a corn husk ‘boat.’ Perfection! We declined dessert and the cheeses as we were very satisfied with the entrée.
This food is amazing to find in little Sewanee but would be an equal find anywhere. We’re from Nashville. a great food town and IvyWild would hold its own nicely. I think a night at the Adams Edgeworth (BnB in Monteagle Assembly) with dinner at IvyWild would be a delight! We’ll be back. Open Th-​Sat.

We visit IvyWild every time we come to SAS. I feel for the owner… Opening such a creative, inventive restaurant in an area whose only other choice for high-​end dining is the rather predictable and boring High Point was a risk. Luckily, it’s a risk that gourmands benefit from. Every item on every plate is designed to compliment other items, both visually and taste-​wise. The presentations are outstanding and the quality of the food is top-​notch. Enough platitudes, here are the specifics.
My wife and I had 8pm reservations on the Saturday night before SAS graduation. We knew several students would be there celebrating and that the staff might be overwhelmed (they were). Kudos to everybody working last night for keeping it together during a mad rush. For appetizers, T had the blue crab tartlet with cucumber salad, ginger aïoli, and soy reduction. Perfectly sweet crab meat countered by the ginger and soy. I went for the more adventurous IvyWild Egg Benedict, which started with a base of ground pumpernickel «dirt», topped with housemade Canadian bacon, a beautifully poached egg, and a dab of Hollandaise. VERY creative, VERY tasty.
For dinner, T had the filet, which was cooked perfectly and teamed with black garlic risotto and arugula pesto. She said it was one of the most tender steaks she’d eaten and cooked to perfection (this after we lived in Chicago for 12 years!). I went for the porcini-​crusted trout on top of cheese grits with a side of green beans and walnuts.
New to IvyWild is a collection of Tennessee cheeses, which we sampled for our dessert. Let me just say that the Bonnie Blue Farm goat cheese is amazing. This was excellent food, very friendly service, and prices that are comparable to high-​end restaurants that you’d visit in Atlanta or Chicago. THANK YOU for opening in Sewanee!

Speechless.
Indescribably phenomenal food.
We went for an anniversary dinner on a Friday night 6pm (we were the only folks there that early — which we loved!). The place was pretty near full by the time we left.
The Beef Filet was hands-​down the best beef I’ve ever put in my mouth. The Black Garlic Risotto was out of this world. What am I saying? EVERYTHING was out of this world. I kid you not — this was the best meal I have ever had in my 32 years of existence.
I can’t wait to go back. I think this is going to be an anniversary tradition for us.