Spoon World Buffet & Bar — Restaurant in Ipswich

When my online booking wasn’t confirmed, I should have paid more attention to the universe! After several minutes of waiting by the entrance & no acknowledgement, I approached the bar. Only to be met with a frosty reception. Four times I gave my name, to be met with “insert random male name”, twice. I’m female (cisgender) & was wearing a dress. I already pointed out that I’d made the booking under my name. Then I was gesticulated at rudely, to stand in the corner, by some cupboards. No waiting seats. I dread to think what it’s like when it’s busier. The reception area needs a rethink.

After another 7 minutes of waiting & dodging staff, who were searching said cupboards, (for their missing hosting skills). I was then waved at, with a grimace, to pay upfront. I was then surprisingly asked, if I wanted to wait some more, in cupboard corner, or be seated. I of course chose the latter & was marched towards the rear of the building, without being asked where I wanted to sit. There were plenty of empty tables, mainly in the middle of the restaurant. At this point I realised the 2 female staff, were on their own for front of house.

Although there’s an impressive selection of food, we wasted over half a plate each, that was either overcooked, undercooked or below expectations. There’s too much choice to manage. My son had a pork dumpling that was filled with bones. Luckily he didn’t break a tooth.

The atmosphere was good, reference the clientèle. Aside from a noisy table with (special needs, I suspect) kids shouting & making puking sounds, a few tables from us.

The place was tidy but would benefit from a deep clean. Noticeable sticky marks up the walls. The loos are communal. The booth seating is awkward, making you slip forward, feeling like you are falling off the seat. We had the Venga boys on repeat & other raucous Y2k music towards closing. I suspect it was to get people to leave quicker.

The décor is interesting & the prices are reasonable but I personally wouldn’t come back here in a hurry. My teenage son & his girlfriend said that they would & invite their friends. They were buzzing off the bottomless 3.50 soft...

I really wanted to love this spoons as much as the one in Chatham. I previously lived in Kent and most occasions were celebrated at the chatham branch, so when I moved out of area hearing the news that one would be coming to Ipswich I was so excited. I have been twice now. Once was a lunch time visit. Yes there was less on offer at this time but aside from missing out on the Eton Mess (my dessert of choice) I was very satisfied with the visit. I was however confused as to why the left the lids to the food open? My second visit was very disappointing. This time was an evening meal. The food was barely warm (open lids - again why??? It allows the food to go cold for crying out loud!) And the pasta/noodles had completely dried out where they'd been left open to the air. The chatham branch always closed the lids. Their food was always hot and never dry. Ipswich branch - take note!! We then watched staff reheat pizza in a microwave! Dessert, I managed to get my Eton Mess but otherwise there was nothing out. My guess is they ran out as nothing was replenished. My partner wasn't impressed as there was nothing for him to have other than ice cream. Which was visibly melting in the freezer. All in all, I do think they need to take tips from a well established branch. You simply cannot keep lids open. Your food won't stay hot and it will dry out. Two days on and it seems our Luke warm food has somewhat disagreed with us. I wanted so much to love this Spoons but they've just not got it quite right unfortunately. I think I will stick to Chatham when we go and visit family. Last thing anyone wants is food poisoning from barely warm food. Very disappointed to say the least. My one positive is that the staff are very friendly and helpful. I was overcharged without realising and a staff member actually came to find me in order to refund me. They could have kept tight lipped but we're so apologetic. I'll keep an eye on those lids in passing. Should they keep them down, we'll try again but until then it's...

First time ever going to a Spoons, hearing so much about how excellent they are rude not to pay a visit. Greeted by some amazing staff who were instantly courteous and polite, paid £20 per person and immediately shown to a table. Very clean, spacious and music wasn’t too loud. Well when we got up to check out the cuisine we were astounded by how many dishes were available, just didn’t know what to go for first. I went straight in for the Indian cuisine & what a choice there is, second choice was Chinese cuisine & sushi, followed by pizza. To be honest there’s so much it was a hard decision to choose. We didn’t have long as we had an appointment, but you can stay all evening and just take your time and enjoy the atmosphere. Plenty of desserts to choose from from ice cream, jelly, cakes, apple crumble & custard, a huge chocolate fountain with marshmallows, the list is endless. Highly recommend this establishment from the moment we walked in we knew it was going to be great, very clean toilets, tables, I always check the floor too see if there has been any food left totally clean, which is always a big plus. We would like to thank all the staff here for a fantastic meal, Bravo 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

This establishment 💯% gets a 5 star ⭐️& we shall return for a second helping & I’ll make sure I don’t have any food the night before, so I’m starving when we get...