Imperial Haus in Cheltenham

Full disclaimer - I haven't been because I had made a booking for Saturday 5th October and prepaid £65 (which they took immediately). On 4th October at about 10pm I got an email cancelling my reservation. They have not answered any emails since then and have not refunded my money. Posting this to either trigger a response and to warn others not to prepay anything to these people. Given the radio silence I am concerned there is a scam being operated tbh

The smell of incense is over powering in there, to try and mask the smell of damp. The service. We waited 20 minutes for our drinks order to be taken, and there were only one other table of 2, we were a table of 3. Although the decor was something beautiful and different unfortunately the waiting, the smell and the service let it down massively. I never ever leave a bad review, but it got to the point where I wanted to leave before our drinks arrived as 3 drinks took a further 20 minutes to be delivered to the table correctly. And to add the cocktails weren't nice at all that we had. Very disappointed.

First time coming to this place and would definitely return, we were a group of 8 and the staff were really attentive, friendly and accommodating especially Toby who was so nice. The place itself is such a vibe and really “boujee”. Cocktials really nice and at a good price ranging from £9-11. Had a fab time and would definitely return, thanks so much for a lovely evening!

Been here a few times, staff were great and check in on my table multiple times I over the course of my visit. While the drinks were not the cheapest cocktails I have had, they are made in a way that I the customer can see them being made and tated great. On my most recent visit the staff were fantastic and very helpful as they have been on my past visits. A huge shout out to Toby and Bambi who made my time great. The venue was great, a little out of the way cocktail bar with great decor and I would love the opportunity to see the upstairs area of the bar on my next visit.

Drinks very average yet at heightened prices. The menu is very basic. Staff very rude during several visits now it’s always been a let down due to numerous reasons the latest being refused drinks due to a friend “slurring” her words following two cocktails as she wears double braces (!!). Service went from bad previously (I.E slow and inattentive) to now having a 19 year old Bambi accusing my friends of being too drunk at the age of 35 following 2 (!!) drinks due to her wearing braces. Can see how it keeps going downhill unfortunately despite giving the bar several chances it keeps getting worse service wise rather than better.

Really cool place to go for a pre drink 🍸

My granddaughters boyfriend booked this venue for my granddaughters surprise 30th birthday, it was a disaster from the beginning although the booking her boyfriend received from the venue said from 7pm/2am, when I arrived to meet the lady with the birthday cake at 6;45 we were told we couldn't get into the room until 8pm as there was a hen party in front of us, none of the staff seemed to know what was going on, when my daughter arrived and I explained to her what was going on or not going on, she obviously tried to sort it out and was told in no uncertain terms if we insisted on complaining our party would be cancelled, obviously we couldn't risk letting all the people who had been invited down or the fact it was a surprise celebration for my granddaughters 30th birthday, my granddaughters boyfriend had to cancel a taxi twice which was booked to bring him & my granddaughter to the venue, it was only the fact a lady in the hen party heard our plight and offered to hurry their party on so we could get into the room and thanks to her we managed to get in the room set our cake and balloons up minutes before the birthday girl arrived, I tend to agree with another reviewer on here this venue for insta pics is great but for special parties give it a wide birth there is no organisation and none of the staff seem to know what they are doing....My thanks goes out to the lovely lady in the Hen party who saved the day and I'm only sorry they had to rush their meal to accommodate us, whoever runs this venue needs to go back to the drawing board and hang their heads in shame...

30 minutes, 2 tables in and no drink. £40 deposit for a table non redeemable against drinks and 8 people in the venue. Do yourself a favour and avoid like mad.

The place is stunning the owner was on poor form and made me feel like a child and unwelcomed. I was spoken to with disdain and ushered away from the bar as it was table service only however this was poorly managed and I was happier to leave than to stay.. Beautiful place poorly executed.. Not sure what the deal is it was very much like the custom wasn't wanted I would not recommend sadly., unless I didn't like you then I'd say yeah go here for a great night!!

Scammed my friend out of a trial shift for 4 hours and won’t respond to messages, this places runs on scamming people for free work because it has absolutely no income as the service is abysmal and all these reviews are so telling. Owner is an absolute disorganised waste of time, orders no support or training to their staff and honesty should be shut down

Really lovely atmosphere. Great, quick service. Will be coming here again

Looks really cool, with different themed places to sit such as swings, boat or bird cage. Great cocktails and excellent service…

shocking management, Sophie disrespected my family when i asked her about why the food was taking so long. She criticised my family for no reason ! will not be returning here again

Went to Imperial Haus for my birthday in September 2021. I booked a table for 6 people 3 weeks in advance. When I arrived there were people sitting on our reserved table. Therefore we were given a replacement table by the door which didn’t cater for the number of people I booked for there was only around 4 seats. We were seated right by the front door in a very small seating area which was not what I expected as I booked almost a month in advance. In addition we struggled to get a server to cater for us even though we were right next to the bar. And when we did order drinks they took 20 mins to arrive! And some orders were missing i.e my friend ordered a Pinot Grigio and it didn’t arrive so we had to complain. We spent approximately 30 minutes here even though I booked seats for longer (two hour slot 8pm-10pm) we decided to go somewhere else. I think the bar is “over hyped” with the aesthetic and customer service needs to be improved.

Super cute place lovely drinks and perfect for photos. Great vibes for NYE!!

Great place, lovely staff and amazing drinks

Great experience and cocktails!!

Very nice atmosphere. Quirky place that's nicely decorated. Was a bit small for our party but guessing that's our fault for booking 2 floors and not 3. Service was friendly but very slow.

Hired for a work event, staff were lovely but a bit slow to serve. Food was ordered in and seemed to be via justeat or similar so was average

The the cheapest place fire drinks (£7-8 for a single) but a cute venue and atmosphere

Wow - What an amazing place they’ve created here. It’s absolutely stunning! We were initially put off booking Imperial Haus as we assumed it would be ridiculous money but we had 50 guests attend and everyone had a fantastic night. Having hired our own singer we were worried about a DJ but the bar staff and manager on the evening, Hannah made sure there was a suitable playlist at all times. The service wasn’t the quickest as I’ve read in other reviews but the drinks were worth the wait. Planning an event can be super stressful but with Sophie on hand to help you don’t need to worry. She helped us create a night to remember. Our new favourite spot ❤️

Attended a birthday party here, venue looks great and has potential to be a great location for parties. The gents toilets were blocked and incredibly dirty. Hope the plumbing issue gets resolved soon. The new members of staff did their best in the upstairs room, but lacked support from experienced members of staff making the whole drinks ordering process slow and the quality really poor. Then ordered downstairs later in the evening to find miserable staff (behind the bar) and a very frustrating ordering process. Not sure I'd rush back there.

Beautiful bar. Stunning decor. Staff are excellent - really helpful, friendly and efficient. Can't wait to visit again.

Must of sent about 10 emails and messages regarding booking for a hen party but not one reply so booked on line but couldnt book what was offered on a phone call Service was very slow drinks were very hit and miss and you could see the quality difference from the first one to second drink No mocktails selection available for 2 mum's to be very disorganised place Really wasnt the best experience

Worst cocktail bar I’ve ever been to. Saturday night, took 40 mins for their ‘express’ cocktail they told us to order to get them quickly. It was not very busy, and as a group all ordering the sane drink it is appauling it took so long. overpriced drinks. i honestly wouldn't bother to come here

Great night on Friday! Lovely atmosphere and great cocktails!!!

1 hour. That is how long a couple members of our party waited before our first drinks even reached the table. When we asked where they were they took our order again twice before disappearing again. Then it was another 40 minutes before our next order was taken to which half of the order was forgotten and not brought out. Service was sub par at absolute best considering the place was not busy. Glasses were not cleared from the tables or tables wiped meaning all surfaces were sticky. There was a much larger hen party group that seemed to have their order taken and drinks delivered far quicker than we did. Do not recommend unless you come on a week day and you are the only customer.

Terrible service. Constantly forgetting the drinks and being extremely slow. Drinks were hit and misses. One thing going for them is a nice aesthetic on the ground floor

Nice venue & drinks however terrible service. Arranged for a birthday drinks here, the policy was give 12 hours notice if anyone unable to come (I’d placed drinks orders in advance due to high numbers). Two people couldn’t come so let them know- only got one response out of 2. Then on arrival some drinks were ready but due to them being set out on tables we didn’t know what was what and therefore missed that they’d included in the served us were the cancelled drinks. We drank them and paid for them but then we realised had been double charged on one of the transactions. Contacted them explaining the whole situation and lots of excuses and no reply. Any other company would’ve given these drinks complimentary and followed up on it all including extra mistake charge. Summary being ok if you’re going in a small group but don’t recommend a group booking which is a real shame.

my second time going to this venue and both occasions have been appalling, there is a massive lack in communication between staff and clearly no organisation skills. Went with the hope of giving our friend a nice 30th birthday experience and we walked away with nothing but disappointment. To top It off a service charge was left on the total bill even after making a complain to management, who was nothing but rude to us. It’s a beautiful location so it’s unfortunate that it’s let down by the people who created something that could be amazing if ran to a high standard.

Disgusting service booked a table for 9.30 where we were seated by the entrance. We asked if we could move and we were told we could have the birdcage by 10pm. By 10.15 we were told they were just paying the bill. Next minute another group of girls moved in there. The managers behaviour was totally unprofessional she told us we have a table so there’s not a lot she can do. She took one drink off the bill because we said we were unhappy paying in full. And I’ve now walked away realising I’ve also paid a service charge for the awful service we have received.

Place with deep „instagram look”, interesting a bit plastic but still. Drinks ok in general bit overpriced… HOWEVER THE WORST SERVICE I HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN AT ANY BAR. LOT TO IMPROVE!!!

Absolutely gorgeous venue, service couldn’t of been any better, immediate service with your orders. 100% recommend.

Utterly frustrated with the lack of communication. We were given a tab at the end of the night which was not ours. After paying and following up on the issue, we have had no correspondence back and this happened a month ago.

Excellent drinks and very quirky and fun atmosphere. Unfortunately we didn’t have the best experience and the communication from the bar since has been abysmal. When we arrived we were seated over half an hour late and had to wait for a party to vacate our table. This was after the bar had already delayed our booking by an hour. At the end of the night, the party were given a bill for £135 even though we all paid as we went along, ordering at the bar and through the wait staff. We asked for a breakdown of the bill and were told it would be emailed, which didn’t happen. I have since asked numerous times for this. We have now been trying to speak to someone at Imperial Haus for over a month but no one is getting back to us. We have had one message to say they are looking in to it but nothing since. Such a shame as the place is lovely and the drinks are fantastic but none of our party of 12 will be returning. Awful communication and service.

Pretty decor and an 'instagram gem'...that's about it. The drinks were average yet held a premium price tag and the service was very chaotically slow. We got served 4 drinks before 9:30pm in 2 hours. Sadly, would not return unless the service improves.

Had the best time!! Hannah our Server was incredible!! we will definitely be back! Booked table 9-11 and we’re shown to our incredible seats….IN A BOAT! Then, having had a peruse of the amazing menu, we asked Hannah for some recommendations based on our tastes. Hannah nailed it EVERY SINGLE TIME! Couldn’t have had a better time x

A unique bar with funky decor and plenty of seating. Thanks Hannah for your lovely personal service...can not wait to come back again 🍸😊🍹

The atmosphere was a just a bit off, not enough space if you're in a group of more than 4 people. There was also this horrible smell from what I believe was incense that went right up your nose and made it an uncomfortable stay. Edit it response* we had already asked to move twice and was not offered upstairs seating or an area away from the smell (which I did make aware to staff we did not enjoy), thank very much though for trying.

What a gorgeous spot. They really have put everything into every detail here. Stunning. A small venue so would highly recommend booking (as we did) the cocktail menu is extensive and inquisitive. The areas you can sit are all beautiful and unique. Highly recommend a visit!

This must be the hidden gem of Cheltenham? WOW! This place certainly did impress me. The cocktails were amazing! They catered towards dietary requirements regarding allergies. The staff were quick and attentive. Ended up spending all night in this quirky bar after other choices disappointed us all. I will definitely be visiting Cheltenham again just to visit this bar again! The decor is out of this world! The music is spot on! Thank you for giving us such a good night!

Lovely atmosphere, and goregous decor. Service was fantastic! For me, it could do with some simpler cocktail options as for my palette I didn't really enjoy the ones I had but my friends loved them!

Pictures make this place look a lot better than it seems. Overall quite tired and service was odd and rushed. Wouldn't return.

Fantastic decor and staff very friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately my cocktail glass was barely half full, which when paying £10 for a cocktail is disappointing, and a friend who had a non-alcoholic cocktail paid £12 for one drink, which is the same as with alcohol and quite a lot of money. Sadly this led to us drinking less than we had intended and leaving a bit earlier, which is a shame as the drinks are very tasty and I love the atmosphere in here

great drinks, fab music, amazing interiors and most of all, friendly and attentive staff. Always go here whenever I’m in town, such a unique cocktail bar x

Very disappointed. Would not go back. Visit 1 October at 8.30 50th birthday treat 3 people. Start to finish, the whole thing was a sorry affair. We arrived and waited ages to even be acknowledged. When the MD eventually came to the door, he couldn't find our booking. He left us standing at the door to check there was a table ready. When he came back, we were given some soggy dog-eared A5 sized paper menu's and unceremoniously shoved in a tiny dark cubby hole, which I believe is called the Amethyst Booth, and left to our own devices. After popping the torches on on our phones to actually see the menu, we picked a special cocktail only to be told by the waitress when she arrived 25 mins later, that they weren't serving that cocktail! We chose again, ordered 3 cocktail s and a tray of shots. After 25 mins, a different waitress came over to ask what we ordered, when we told her, she came back with only the shots which were so full, the tray was dripping over the table and our legs. 5 mins later 2 out of our 3 our cocktails arrived with the 3rd one a good few mins after that and all were only half full! Having only booked the table for 2 hrs, we were asked if we would like another, I asked if it would take another 25 mins to get them, to which the waitress's went to the bar to ask. She came back said it would be ok and we ordered another round. 10 mins after our order was taken the waitress came back and advised that the bar needed to make more syrup for our cocktails and so there would be a delay of 10 mins. By the time we had our second drink we had already been in the building for 1hr 45. The bill arrived very swiftly for £106 which included a service charge of 10%! Whilst the cocktails were nice when they eventually arrived, the dark dingy table, cost, speed of service and lack of customer care means we had a very poor experience to the point of never wanting to return.

Rude owners. Mediocre drinks for the price.

Amazing amazing amazing!! What more can I say! The place is the most beautiful place I've been in and I've been to a lot of lovely places in London and this place is now my favourite. The staff were absolutely wonderful and the drinks were gorgeous. I lived the crystals and that everything is locally made. Perfect5 *****

Wow what a place. Interior is amazing, the owner so friendly and chatty. Cocktail list was varied and the ones I did try tasted delicious. Can be hard to find if you don't know where to look

Pretty place, Useless staff, mediocre drinks. - We were at at our table for an hour and they only managed to serve us 1 round of drinks. - Had to approach a member of staff and ask them to serve us a second round. - We had to leave our table to be served the second round, then it took over 20 minutes to get our drinks. - our bill had to be amended twice after staff made mistakes with our tab - staff were rude & poorly trained - I asked why we were only served 1 round of drinks in a 40 minute period and the manger told me that because “none of the drinks are pre mixed” that 1 round per group, per hour is “usual” Absolutely mental. Will be going to the alchemist instead from now on.

Truly amazing venue! If you visit Cheltenham for an evening out, this cocktail bar is worth visiting for the experience & of course the cocktails!

Beautiful setting, top class bar. Design is very quirky and sophisticated. Reasonable prices and a wide selection of unique cocktails. Very friendly staff. All seating was reserved on arrival, but the staff still accommodated for us and arranged our seating.

Lovely setting but unfortunately extremely slow service

Really nice place, So different, The owner very good making sure all ok, Helping with which cocktails are best for you, Woodland poison is really nice and different for a cocktail, You have to book but that is ok, We will certainly be going back as nice atmosphere, Friendly staff and really good fun night, Would definitely recommend

Beautiful interior of the bar and definitely a Instagram spot for photos. It’s a shame the service is not the same. My first drink took 40 minutes to arrive and I only had an hour slot booked. I asked where my drink was at 20 minutes in and I was told it was on its way. 10 minutes later the waitress told me they can’t make my drink. Obviously wasn’t on it way, if it took 30 minutes to realise the ingredients were not in stock. Then finally got my drink 40 minutes after ordering. Didn’t receive any compensation for the wait. Will not be returning.

The owner is a horrible person, would not recommend, very rude and ignorant

A lovely little bar! Attended with a large group after Cheltenham ladies day... cocktails were delicious, the music and atmosphere was great and the staff were lovely! Our server Verity was fabulous, nothing was too much trouble for her. Really cute little place - would definitely recommend!

Beautiful place indeed, however for the money people pay for averagely made looking drinks, not to say some drinks served in a can which simply looks cheap in the place like this, the following things are so bad that I would never come back: 1. The coats being hanged behind the curtain at the entrance and not secured - a respectful estaishmemt would have a person looking after coats. 2. We ordered 2 Prosecco bottles - with around 30-45 minutes break in between and the glasses were NOT changed - not just in the face of covid, but the standard service to have these changed when the bottle is over - just a standard way of service. 3. Booking a table for 6 people 3 months in advance you would expect to go to the main room and not seated at the reception… but apparently they can’t seat 6 people in the main room. My friend was disappointed.

Immersed in fantasy from the get go, incredible decor, great drinks and attentive staff. So happy I booked a table! The perfect intimate place to go on a date or with friends. Will be here time and time again! Thanks Sophie and team.

Not a cheap night, but great cocktails and atmosphere. The drinks are all very well presented and have the novelty factor. Would say the service was a bit slow for a Saturday night, and some staff need to be a bit more cheerful to customers!

Staff are rude and obnoxious and the drinks are over priced. Decor is the only thing that makes this place stand out, so if that is what you like then go to a local garden centre instead and save yourself the money and the aggressive glances from the staff.

I came here for a hen do, and the drinks were well made and had a good alcohol content. However it was cold on the premises and when asking for straws, napkins and ice, the service was not up to standard. The staff were curt and indecisive, and took a long time to come back to us to ask us for more drinks and to generally be served. Beautiful decor, but the service is what is the most important as that is what you return again and again for.

Such a great spot with amazing service and atmosphere. The drinks were lovely, especially liked the fact you could order little jars of retro sweets or chocolate - great touch. The decor was so extra, but really well done. The perfect spot for a girls night out.

Really fun bar with lots of drinks choices, good atmosphere and decor

We prebooked an enchanted table on the website for 6 People, at booking stage the website confirmed that’s what we were booking and left our card details to secure the booking, when we arrived they sat us in the reception area by the front door and bought the drinks menu when we asked when we were going to be seated we were advised that they do not seat groups of 6 in the enchanted area the manager also advised it states that in their website, I have repeated the booking process today ( not that I would ever go there again) just to see the statement advising they do not seat groups of 6 and I still can’t see it so this review is to advise that if you are a group bigger than 4 give this place a miss or they will sit you on tiny stools in the reception area, also we paid £87 for 6 very average cocktails so very pricey

Lovely place, fab cocktails but expensive

Fabulous venue and experience. Expensive but was a treat. The kind of place you go to take the obligatory photos for The Gram and probably not return until the next special occasion.

Bad experience. Waited 15 minutes for Drinks which where terrible low on alcohol very over priced your just paying for the novelty. Staff all walking around without a clue. Couldn’t wait to leave won’t be returning.

Lovely decor, tasty cocktails, but VERY expensive! £12 per cocktail!

Great experience at this new bar in Cheltenham, there is nowhere else like it! Service and drinks were fabulous, will be recommending to all my friends.

I recently went with friends and it did not disappoint! Best cocktails in Cheltenham ✨ Interior is beautifully thought out and the service was perfect. Will be back very soon!

Beautiful interior 🦚 Amazing cocktails 🍸

Lovely little find, it's just opposite the town hall so we went for after dinner drinks. Best espresso martini I've had and the decor is amazing - hard to work out which is the best seat (theres swings, a boat..a birdcage!) Staff were lovely and made sure we had everything we needed Will definitely be back

Was a very busy evening in store so service was slow but understandable given the circumstances. Certainly a unique place but not somewhere I'd regular.

Our first evening together in nearly a year was ruined by one member of staff who bullied our group. We were sat enjoying our evening when said member of staff who claimed to be the “owner” came over to our table and asked one member of our group if they were going outside for a cigarette (after hearing that another member was planning on doing so). When this person said no they were told to go outside and when the staff member was challenged as to the reason why none was given. We were told to go outside or he would evict us. No other staff including security were supporting him, the bar staff watched awkwardly as this happened, again none of them came to support him... the lady that brought our bill even apologised to us about his behaviour as she didn’t know what the issue was and apparently he is “just like that” This member of staff continued to bully our group claiming that he was concerned about one members safety (and how we would get home) despite us being a group of women part made up of essential NHS & public sector workers with extensive medical training and a clear plan on where we were staying (not that we need to justify that to him) On member of our group even supports numerous pubs and their businesses for a management company and is thus extensively familiar will behavioural practices, rules, codes of conduct and regulations in bars/pubs even this person was given no reason as to why we were being harassed. Eventually the member of staff claimed that one member of our party was too drunk and had been swaying. Surely if this staff member felt one of our party was too drunk they would have been comfortable telling us this and allowing us to get some tap water. This did not happen As we walked out this man (who was not wearing a mask indoor or outdoor) got in the face of one of the women in our party and told her to go to pizza express next door and that she might be welcome there. He said this front of other customers that were waiting and belittled those in our group. He also said that we could “come back in 6 weeks because that’s how long it takes to get a table”. For reference we booked our table about 4 days before we went and we were only seated for about an hour, all of the other staff were brilliant but based on this one person we would never spend a single penny in imperial haus again. This man made grown women cry, we are appalled at the behaviour and if the is how paying customers are treated then I can only imagine that staff turnover will be through the roof and this place will only last a few months.

Wow - what a place. So unique and a fresh feel for Cheltenham. The cocktail list was well thought out and worth trying! I had the kissing potion - just wow! Coming out of lockdown, this was such an experience to go out for weekend drinks. I will be back!