Ocean Palace at Harbour Heights in Poole

We booked a table for 12 in August for my daughters birthday.. total disaster.. terrible service! .. took half an hour before we were offered any drinks or even a menu.. took another 20 minutes until they took the order... other 20 minutes still no drinks or our food orders taken which by the way was set menus .. so not hard... drinks some forgotten others wrong had to tell the waiter 3x At this point my patience was running out.. but we were a large party and at this time in the evening we really had no other options but to endure this 🎪 s... show until the end. .. the atmosphere.. another example the lightning in there was up so much it was like shopping in a 90s New look store or being in a collapsed super nova.. we asked if they could maybe turn it down a bit.. which they declined... When the food eventually came out the portion sizes were small and were poor quality.. .. the crispy shredded beef was so chewy we couldn't eat it.. the sauce that was poured over it seemed to be maple syrup. None of the staff came over to check on our meals.. asked if we needed any more drinks ?.. i observed them mostly talking to themselves .. twice members of our table had to go over to them to get there attention they seemed totally oblivious to what was going on around the restaurant. It wasn't very busy so there was no excuse for this... We asked for the bill which we requested to be spilt .. this is the one and only time we saw the manager.. he appeared quickly telling us this was not possible and too Complicated to do... we just wanted to pay and leave. On the way out one of the waiters had the front to say 'have a nice evening'.. to which i quickly responded i will now this is over with!. I will never return here again.. there using the reputation from the old Ocean Place that used to be at West Cliff.. trust me this place is nothing like it.. The hotel and veiws over the bay are why people are lured in. Overpriced.. poor service.. terrible food.. bad atmosphere.. avoid at all costs!.

A very nice Chinese meal in beautiful surroundings spoilt by a lack of waiting staff.

1st & last time we will eat here. Service absolutely appalling, staff unhelpful & unfriendly & food average. Would not recommend.

Lovely view. Very friendly staff. Food is like Takeaway Interior is outdated. Can be so much better but I think the owner isn't interested in spending money and making it a 5 star experience.

Disappointing. It's a shame because this restaurant promised so much. The setting is fantastic and the views are amazing. However... When we arrived they didn't know about our booking, even though we had phoned and booked earlier in the week. They eventually "remembered it" but that was nearly half an hour later. It was 30 minutes before we were offered drinks, and another 10 minutes before they arrived. The "menus" were actually just the pamphlets they post through peoples letterboxes. The food, when it arrived, was good and enjoyed by most, but one of our party had warm (read almost cold) food delivered to them. All in all it was a very disappointing experience. It should be a high class restaurant given its location. But it feels very much like a takeaway being operated at a posh table. I'm surprised the Harbour Heights allows it to operate given their normal clientele. Great food, great location, spoiled by poor and haphazard service.

We are locals but haven't been back to the restaurant since the pandemic. We used to go for lunch.. as enjoy lunchtimes out.. and evenings in. Excellent food.. and we have known the lovely staff for years, when they used to be in a different venue. We may need to venture out.. of an evening!

Exquisitely fresh food in a very relaxed atmosphere with exceptional views. The staff were most courteous and very knowledgeable on the dish variants. We will definitely return.

The worst restaurant meal I've had for years

The restaurant in the main bar area is now Amalfi Italian with a Chinese Restaurant in the annexe part.

Lovely restaurant with fantastic service and amazing food!

Lovely restaurant, very hospitable staff, great food, good pricing, I’ll be coming again!

Staff were very friendly, food very good

Lovely food and setting- well worth a visit

This is a great Chinese restaurant. One of the better Chinese we have been too! Not greasy at all and to food was all great and the staff were really friendly. Will definitely be back.

Highly recommend - great food, not greasy, lovely staff and well priced! Defo the best Chinese in Dorset

One of the best places to have a coffee accompanied by the most wonderful views.

Lunch for two on Sunday in restaurant was lovely and beautiful view from requested table but I ordered smoked salmon Had to ask for lemon and then had to ask for napkins not what expect from this sort of place Waiter on duty was a bit abrupt

Not kid friendly and supervisor wanted us to be silent with 3 little children under 2 even though we spent £400, wouldn't recommend, I come here ever year, I'm very sad Shelly jo

Had a beautiful and tasty meal with 5 of my dearest friends. We went for 3 of the same set meals for 2 which worked out adequate for the 6 of us. We added a few extra side dishes which we shared. A nice surprise for brother & sister who had recently had their respective birthdays. Thoroughly recommend this place, a hidden gem and I can now say I've eaten at this place at 3 different locations but the quality of the food and staff remained the same

First visit, last visit! Background, a family meal for 6 on a Saturday evening high season arrival at 8pm, spend £250. Let's start by stating that the food, presentation and attention was very good. We finished our mains by about 9:20 and the table was hastily cleared (good service we thought). Then the wheels fell off! There was no further contact by waiting staff, so at 9:40 we asked for the desert menu. The (assumed) manager/senior waitress informed us that the kitchen was closed from 9:30 so no deserts available except a scoop of ice cream. We all looked dumbfounded and were told frostily that we should have booked an earlier arrival. And that was it. As we finished drinks the empties were almost taken from our hands as staff were clearly hovering around us. We were asked to pay the bill, and the atmosphere turned distinctly chilly as it was clear they wanted everyone (including those ones couple of other tables), out. Now I can fully understand a policy of not taking new arrivals after 9:30, but to cut off existing customers with no warning whatsoever, is inexcusable, particularly on a Saturday night. So no, they won't be seeing us again and I think if the hotel itself backs conduct of this nature it can only do huge reputational damage.

Lovely place to visit. Great food, nice staff & fabulous views. Highly recommended.

We've had a fantastic lunch, great service. especially the service delivered from Josh the manager. highly recommend the place.

Worthwhile visit, staff, ambiance & food were excellent..! We will be back!

We have been going to Ocean Palace in its various homes for about 20 years. We even got it last week as a takeaway on our wedding night! The food is terrific, hands down the best Chinese restaurant outside London. It's expensive for a takeaway and the portions aren't huge but the quality is terrific.

Best Chinese meal I have had, staff were excellent 👌

Absolutely brilliant, food and care were superb!!

Food was of poor quality but service was shocking. Rude staff who had no concept of customer service. Would not recommend.

Meals were nicely presented. Service was a bit slow to follow up The waitress could have sold us at least 3 more drinks and suggested desserts etc

Top top top gaff!!!! Different class!!!!!!!!!

Pleasantly surprised.Clean, good service with a fantastic view.Not a great lover of Chinese but have to admit was well worth the money.All freshly cooked & best Chinese food I have ever tasted .Not cheap but that shows in the quality of the food & location.Was worth paying that little bit more.Will visit again

Great food very nice views over poole harbour

Food was excellent 👌but service was a bit slow and the price was higher than I expected

Really disappointing, over priced for quality of food, on top of which they have a cheek to add a service charge for appalling service, loads of staff who just keep disappearing, when you do get someone’s attention they never come back. Thought this would be the replacement for City Bay Views especially as its at Harbour Heights - clearly not, they have a long way to go to be anywhere near close to the food and service they offered and they didn’t charge for service as they earned it!! Wouldn’t got back on the strength of this visit, views are still great but that’s about it.

Lovely food and atmosphere Staff friendly

Lovely views over Poole Harbour - that’s as good as it gets. Below average food and poor service (a takeaway would have been better). Overcharged to the tune of £70 - and how £20 is 10% (service charge) of £71 I have no idea. The management here are clearly incompetent due to their inability to recruit and train able bodied staff. First and last time here.

Excellent, travelled all over the world and Ocean Palace are on point with quality. Crispy Beef and Peking Duck highly recommended.

Don’t bother going more and more down hill Over priced mediocre food at best My wife and I so miss city bay views ! Now that was a proper Chinese restaurant we use to frequent once a week

Great views food was good we would definitely come back

As we were hotel residents we were kindly slipped in without booking at 7 pm on Saturday night. Friendly staff. Prawn crackers, good. Chicken noodle soup was a tasty treat and excellent, although a few veg in the mix were superfluous. We took only one main course between the two of us as we are getting a full breakfast in the hotel tomorrow morning followed by a wedding (yes the wedding is on Sunday)! Chicken Satay and rice was very good and more than sufficient. Later on the Bailey's coffee was ordered hot and so it was delivered.

This is now the restuarant at the Harbour Heights. It is extremely expensive for what you get in terms of portion size. We ordered appetizers to share. There were two pancake rolls which we did not realise would be all we got. We had other dishes all with tiny portions and they don't seem to know what a wine spritzer is. The service is appalling. Apart from the view we were hugely disappointed. A very expensive mistake made here. We won't be going again except to have a drink on the terrace perhaps. So very very disappointing.

The food was as delicious as it was before the move of the restaurant. I have some reservations as to the service. The main came out almost 50 minutes after the starters and some of it was not as hot or fresh as we would like it to be. Also some of the portion sizes have shrunk since our last visit considerably while the prices remained the same. Serious room for improvement.

Very rude staff !! Not friendly what so ever !! Then they have a cheek to charge £12.50 service charge ?? For what !! Rude service . Very expensive . Food was actually very nice and so were the views . Unfortunately we will not be returning Jue to staff making us feel very uncomfortable and a bit intimidated .not a nice experience . Worse customer service ever .

Not impressed at all, went for a works retirement do of 14 with buffet menu chosen prior. Unfriendly staff, got the order wrong, three price increases per head from when first booked and then tried to serve us food from a cheaper menu choice and at the end tried to charge us for the next menu up. Disaster from start to finish. We were not asked if we wanted water at the table and had to visit the bar during our meal if we wished to buy a drink with a ridiculous waiting time even for that :( Food was okay when we finally got served from the right menu but vastly overpriced and not value for money at all. Shame as the setting is beautiful. Also added service charge which was discretionary but surely they were having a laugh with that service. Never again.

Absolutely disgusted with my experience here. The service was slow and unhelpful. We were a pre-booked party of 14. The three choices of menus were poor and limited for the prices quoted and from booking three weeks prior to the event, the prices were put up by £2 a menu and after dining they tried to hike the bill up by another £2 a menu (from £25 originally quoted for the 4 star menu to £29 on the night). The actual food was reasonable but I have tasted better takeaways and we had to get up from the table to go to the bar for our own drinks, but couples or small parties of four were served drinks at their tables I observed. DO NOT ARRANGE A DINING PARTY HERE!!

Average takeaway food at 3 times the price, please note the inside restaurant photo displayed on this google review is of the Haven Hotel restaurant not the Harbour Heights

Didn't particularly like table and asked the owner if they had any others in a totally empty restaurant.Steve came over,refused to let us move and told us we were lucky to have a table( although we had previuously booked).My guests were shocked by his attitude , and a bill of over £105 for 3 people of 2 who were not drinking is crazy for a chinese.Have followed this restaurant from when it was in christchurch road ,but no more- food now just about average, and too busy with tourists in harbout heights who can be ripped off.

I have been informed that Ocean Palace moving from Sandbanks Hotel to Harbour Heights on April 1st. I am told it will be open 7 days a week.

Great food, service and location. Would recommend.

Food nice service good but no space given inbetween courses.

Very good food, and probably a fantastic sea view ... if it hadn't been dark!

I ordered Californian salad and was served a bowl of salad with orange soaked in olive oil and goat cheese, badly executed dish. My cocktail had traces of alcohol it was mainly juice. Cannot say I would recommend the place.

Moved from Bournemouth. Genuine Chinese Food. You can PARK in the sandbanks hotel's parking space. The security at the gate will ask for your reservation for the restaurant.