Ivy House Restaurant

The Ivy House is ALMOST as good as having lunch at Grandma's house. In fact, when I visit my Meme in Williston, this is about the only place she'll agree to go to. Located in the tiny town's main drag, the huge Victorian-style house offers a maze of quaint, cute dining rooms usually filled with familiar local faces. These days, the folks in Gainesville and Ocala have heard the good word of Ivy House and often make the 20-minute drive to savor the flavor alongside the Williston residents.

They have a southern style menu filled with yumtastic dishes like Fried Shrimp, Chicken Salad Croissants, Pulled Pork Sandwiches and more, but I come for one thing and one thing only: The Krispy Chicken Special. Baked golden brown with butter and crunchy rice krispies, the chicken breast is served on a positively packed plate consisting of a dinner roll AND crumbly cornbread, fresh salad with the sweet and tangy house honey mustard dressing, and a vegetable of the day that is guaranteed to be country-fied (think field peas or collard greens.) This is truly one of my favorite meals of all time and, when paired with their super sweet Raspberry Tea, it reaches another level of DELISH, ya'll.

Another sweet selling point of Ivy House is their sincere Southern hospitality. They will happily accomodate special events like birthdays and showers with private rooms decorated to the nines with special personalized place settings. The ladies at the front door treat every guest like a dear niece or nephew when they enter, and the servers continue the graciousness from greeting to check. The Ivy House is a true gem and has earned it's reputation as a WIlliston institution.

Sad to say that our latest lunches at this restaurant have found the food to be going slowly down hill.  Last week the Crispy Chicken special was anything but, unless you count the layer of Rice Crispies on top. Service was spotty and a tad on the flustered side of professional. The restaurant is still very pretty and nicely decorated and it remains the best in Williston, but no longer worth a special trip...

This was our first visit to the Ivy House.  We were a party of four and ordered off the lunch menu. Everything tasted fresh and was nicely served.  The corn bread and desserts were outstanding.  The prices were reasonable.  Liked the atmosphere and it was fun browsing in the gift shop after we finished our meal.  We will definitely go back.