The Clouds Cafe — Restaurant in Portsmouth

Pros Stunning views over the Solent

Cons £80 for a high tea for 2 with stale scones and dry cake, we felt very ripped off to say the least. Lack of staff, lack of urgency. Inexperienced staff with no idea what anything costs behind the bar.

Wiping table down with a dirty J cloth and no antibacterial spray. Restaurant tables wiped but all crumbs deposited on floor. Toilet not fit for purpose.

My wife was given a present by her work for afternoon tea at Spinnaker Tower, we booked for last Friday and had a phone call on the Friday morning to tell us the lift was defective so our tea was cancelled, this was not a big problem to us as we are local but people who travelled would have been very disappointed to be told on the day. We turned up 30 mins before our tea was due and had some stunning views over the Solent we make our way to the lift to be taken up to the area for High Tea was being served, we were given the choice of 2 tablets one but the door and the other in the middle of the restaurant, we choice the one in the middle. There were 44 people for high tea unfortunately the only had one chap serving with another member of staff behind the bar making tea and coffee at the speed of tortoise. After over half an hour with no contact by staff and no prices displayed at the bar I went on line to look at the bar menu and found the house red Merlot at £6.50 a glass. I went to bar and ordered 2 glasses, I tried to pay and was presented with a bill for £18, I said to the girl it was £13. I asked how much a bottle was only to be told it’s £27 a bottle. I asked to see the bottle and to my amusement it was a very basic Merlot. I showed the waitress the price advertised on their website and was told the website had not been updated and it’s now £9 a glass. I cancelled the wine order and went back to our table and waited for our high tea which never materialised. The very stressed waiter finally got to our table only to tell us they had made high tea for 42 people and not 44. At this stage my morale was shattered lol and I decided to go for gold and ask if we could have our wine, he agreed but said we could not pay for it until approved by a supervisor. Our wine arrived and eventually our high tea which looked fine. There were 8 finger sandwiches followed by stale scones and dried cake. At the end of the tea I went to the loo only to find the waste toilet paper bin overflowing and a slippy soap floor, I looked at the last time the toilet was checked only to find it had just been signed off on the back of the door as clean 3 minutes before maybe a visit to specsavers for that member of staff would be a good thing. After we finished our tea I tried to pay for the wine but was told I would need to wait for a supervisor to take my money, eventually a supervisor turned up and immediately challenged me on the price of the wine, she asked me where I got the information, I showed her the on line menu displayed on the website, I was asked to prove it by getting the menu on my phone as she had no hard copies and took my phone away to confirm the cost of wine, what a shambles.

On a scale of 1 to 10 a...

We were a bit disappointed with our brunch experience. We had a 90 minute slot but no one came to even speak to us until 20 minutes in, when they brought the food. Unlimited tea and coffee....except there was no coffee as the machine was broken. No alternative soft drinks offered. We weren't offered drinks until about 30 minutes in, after we were served our food. On the whole, the food itself was good - except for the croissants which were very dense and undercooked so we couldn't eat them. The general experience of the tower was good, with of course lovely views. The attendants manning the lift were a highlight - very friendly and made the experience feel...

I booked high tea for my family early December. For the price I paid, I expected good quality food and service as the bare minimum.

The food was stale and the “unlimited” coffee and tea was something I could make at home - if not, better.

There was also some mix up with the booking, which was something the team didn’t discuss with each other, so we were left to sat for a while before getting our food.

The staff also left a poor impression, appearing increasingly frustrated throughout the night. I understand we're all human, but yikes.

It was meant to be a special treat and occasion for my family but instead, left with an extremely...