On March 4, the Ivy Room opened its new grill station, replacing the eatery’s typical rotating hot meal options. The grill — which has been moved to the Ivy Room from the Sharpe Refectory — now serves half-beef, half-mushroom burgers, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, pretzel bites and more, as well as some vegan options.
Brown Dining Services announced the change in an Instagram post last month. Although the grill has moved downstairs to the Ivy Room, the Ratty will continue to offer staples like French fries, grilled chicken and black bean burgers, according to a Today@Brown post from Dining Services. The Ivy Room’s make-your-own smoothie bar and grab-and-go sushi and salad options will remain unchanged.
The new offerings do not affect pricing at the Ivy Room, wrote Vice President of Dining Services George Barboza in an email to The Herald. A meal swipe will cover one of the grill offerings, with “french fries or (an)other side, and a fountain beverage.”
Barboza wrote that the change was part of Dining Services’s efforts “to introduce new and exciting menu options.”
Inspiration for the update came from Dining Services’s weekly meetings, in which “concepts are introduced and the latest food trends are analyzed to bring the healthiest and freshest options into our units,” Barboza added.
But not all students are excited about the change.
Zoë Kountoupes-Wilson ’28 said she used to look forward to checking the Ivy Room menu every day — but not since the offerings have changed. “It is just fried chicken and pretzels” every day, she said.
Brandon Magloire ’27 noted that the new offerings seem too similar to the options at Josiah’s, Brown’s late-night eatery that serves chicken sandwiches, the same half-beef, half-mushroom burgers, salads and a rotating entree.
Since Jo’s and the Ivy Room are the only dining halls open after 9 p.m. during the week, Magloire said the change has reduced the “variety” of Brown’s late-night bites. “I can definitely see the same food options getting really old really fast,” he added.
Both Magloire and Aidan Flores ’27 said they noticed a drop in the quality of food at the Ivy Room. Flores said the new addition is “definitely inferior to what we had before” because “it just tastes really bad.”
Flores also criticized the new half-mushroom, half-beef burger that Dining Services introduced to Jo’s at the start of the semester in hopes of increasing sustainability on campus. This 50/50 burger, now offered in the Ivy Room, has sparked controversy over its taste and quality.
Barboza emphasized that Dining Services remains receptive to student feedback.
