The Ivy Gourmet is a social club for New York City area residents who appreciate fine dining. The purpose is to make new friends, meet interesting people, and try new restaurants. While the word “Ivy” is in our name, membership is not limited to alumni of Ivy League schools. However, membership is by invitation only.

Membership is $99 per year with a one-time application fee of $25, and a trial period of 30 days. The price of each dinner ranges from $79 and up for a 3-course meal with a glass of wine and a cup of coffee or tea, and all prices include tax & tip. Within the first 30 days of membership, if you decide that The Ivy Gourmet is not for you, you will receive a refund of the membership (but not the application fee), no questions asked. (We might send you an email with a link to a short survey asking the reasons why you decided not to remain a member, but we promise, that’s it.)

The Ivy Gourmet organizes dinner events at upscale restaurants exclusively for its members.

We ask that you take advantage of the 30-day trial membership and join The Ivy Gourmet secure in the knowledge that within the first month, if you decide that The Ivy Gourmet is not for you (but we think that you will), you will receive a refund of the membership, less the application fee.

The Ivy Gourmet averages 4-6 planned dinners or events per month.

You can RSVP and pay for an event on our secure website by browsing through the events and conveniently booking. Prepayment for events is required; we base the reservation on the number of paid attendees. If you show up at an event without having paid, there might not be space for you.

The host for the evening will be at the door to greet you and introduce you to other new and long-time members. There is usually a 45-60 minute cash bar where everyone mixes and mingles before the meal. At the pre-arranged time, we all sit down to dinner and enjoy a delicious meal. After the meal is over, there is no uncomfortable feeling about how much you will owe when the check arrives — because there is no check.

As a member, you may attend as many or as few events as you wish. We have over 60 dinner events a year and you are welcome to attend them all.

Yes, we welcome and encourage you to introduce your friends to The Ivy Gourmet. There is a $10 supplement per guest, which may be more or less for certain special dinner events. Simply purchase the appropriate tickets when you book an event online and let us know their name(s) in the order notes section.

We understand that sometimes plans unexpectedly change, but when organizing these events, restaurants do impose certain minimums and guarantees. Therefore we have the following generous refund policy:

If you cancel:

• 8 days (or more) before a dinner, you may cancel for a full refund, less a $5 cancellation fee
• 5-7 days before a dinner, you will receive a credit toward a future event, valid for up to 6 months, less a $10 change fee
• 0-4 days before a dinner (or if you do not show up), no refund or credit

Certain events may have different refund policies, which will be clearly displayed on that event page.

Ticketed events (tours, shows, and ANY non-dinner event) are non-refundable within 7 days of the event.

If a dinner or an event is canceled by The Ivy Gourmet, you will receive a full refund or credit (with no expiration date) toward a future dinner or your annual dues for the full amount with no cancellation or change fee.

The male/female ratio varies, but currently it is consistent with the trend in NYC among singles: more women than men. However, each dinner and each event brings out a different group depending on the type of meal (for example, a brunch attracts more women, a steakhouse attracts more men)… so at a given event, you never know!

Members of The Ivy Gourmet typically in their 30s and 40s.

We find that people tend to enjoy the company of people in their peer group, so we generally assign seating at the dinner table by age range. However, we also understand that not everybody can get along with everybody, and we take reasonable seating requests into consideration.

No. The Ivy Gourmet will never provide your private or contact information to another member. However, if you meet someone whose contact information you would like, we provide them with your email or phone number, and then it is up to them to respond.