Celeb spot’s ‘no change’ voucher leaves such a bad taste

IF you’re thinking of treating a friend to a gift voucher for The Ivy restaurant, it might be best not to be too generous.

The high-end eaterie, whose London venue is popular with the celebrity set, opened the doors of its new Dublin restaurant in July.

Now it has that emerged The Ivy’s policy dictates that vouchers have to be used in one go, with the restaurant declining to let customers spend any unused money on another occasion.

The policy was highlighted on RTÉ’s Liveline yesterday by gym owner Pat Henry, who explained how two of his members had given two vouchers each worth €250 to family friends.

The two respective bills came to €120 and €125, but the families were shocked to learn they couldn’t spend the balance, of €130 and €125, during a second visit.

One pregnant mother and her family ended up buying two bottles of wine – which she was unable to drink – as they did not want to lose the balance of the voucher, Mr Henry said.

‘People give vouchers to people getting married, and you wouldn’t

think to say to them, “You have to go and use the whole lot while you’re there”,’ Mr Henry told the Irish Daily Mail.

‘So people are going in and they’re not expecting this. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

‘They [The Ivy] have the money. It’s not as if they’re going to lose anything, and they should honour the gift voucher,’ said Mr Henry. ‘I just think from a PR point of view, it’s a bad move.’

Head of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, Dermott Jewell, branded policies such as that of the Ivy’s as ‘purely wrong’ – and argued this was due to a lack of clear guidelines or legislation regarding vouchers.

‘In general terms, what has been happening up to now is that

if you have a gift voucher and you spend some of it, you get the difference in a renewed voucher for the leftover balance,’ he said.

‘That is only fair because somebody already spent the money and the voucher cannot become of no value because a restaurant, or any other business, suddenly refuses to give you change.’

The Ivy’s strict policy doesn’t seem to be the norm for other high-end restaurants in Dublin.

Michelin Star restaurant Chapter One on Parnell Square Star haunt: The Ivy, Dawson Street, which opened in July. Inset: Its glitzy interior

places an 18-month expiry date on its vouchers but holders do not have to spend the complete value in one sitting so can use it on another visit.

At The Bull and Castle restaurant in Lord Edward Street, Dublin, holders do not have to use the full value on one night, said a staff member.

The Ivy, on Dawson Street, was contacted for comment and a staff member said someone would respond. No-one replied at the time of going to press.

The restaurant’s website states: ‘Gift vouchers may be used for brunch (where applicable), lunch and dinner, but no cash or change can be given if the bill total is less than the value of the certificate. Whole monetary vouchers can only be used for a single transaction. Pre-booking is essential.’

‘Somebody already spent the money’