Spoon World Buffet & Bar in Portsmouth

Went here with a group of people and a big chunk of the food we had (which varied drastically) was stale or old, at least tastewise. There were a few things that were decent but nothing felt great, even by the standard of buffets. I imagine they may be lacking enough plates because I swear someone tried to take the plates every few minutes..which while common for buffets...it felt a bit invasive. I still appreciate the service they just need to slow down a bit. The atmosphere was horrible honestly, the music was questionable and loud and every so often they had the worst and loudest Happy Birthday song I've ever heard. It was almost like they wanted us to leave as soon as possible. I found that despite having alergens listed, there was no clear indication on whether something was vegetarian or not. Like for example the spring rolls, generally you'd expect to be vegetarian but without any such indication it is a risk that could cause issues to some people. All in all I wouldn't personally recommend the place to anyone, though it is entirely possible they may have had an off day or something.

Everything was great except that the floor manager at that time named "R" was very sarcastic and unwelcoming, ruining my night. He should not be working there if he does not have enough patient to smile and accomodate customers.

Great choice of food and great atmosphere

When I had ice cream there was what seemed to be a pibic hair on the spoon!

Not a lot of stations open, and a lot of the food trays were empty. When I asked about it I was told there is more at weekends

Me and my family came tonight…Party of 12. From the get go it was great. Service from all staff was 10/10 and the food equally as good. A little disappointed that the Tepenyaki grill was down but didn’t really matter in the end. I measured my children before I went so wasn’t nothing to quibble about when we got there. I knew what I was paying. Thank you for a great evening

Always come here with my partner, we love the food and think it’s such great value! £21.99 and you can eat as much as you like, you can’t go wrong! And with £3.50 refillable drinks you never go thirsty, the service is amazing with the waiters being very attentive to watch when you have finished to remove the plate, had a little issue with watery sauce but was dealt with straight away and replaced, definitely wouldnt fault the food the service at all! 10/10 place

All good great place great food.. no duck dishes other than pancakes though. Other wise would be a five.

Tasty foods, good place. Recomment!

Fresh food and a clean dining area. Great spot for a buffet !

After hearing great reviews my partner was desperate to try this place so decided to go here this evening for My partners birthday and was severely disappointed. We looked online before we went and saw the prices for children and adults, on arriving we were told our children were too tall for the child's price because clearly once you grow over 150cm you are an adult! Baring in mind they opened at 5 and we got there at half past the food did not taste fresh. The food was luke warm at best, the lasagne had a thick layer of coagulated sauce on top that I originally tasting I thought was mash, my husband tried the lemon chicken on biting in he quickly realised it was very pink in the middle. Not once were we asked if everything was OK or checked in on not even when leaving. Won't be going here again.

The food is delicious. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is brilliant. The price is affordable for everyone, and it's lovely to have your dinner here. Totally recommend it 👌🏻. My favourite dish was the prawns and the spicy chicken.

Not sure I would visit again. Certainly don't like the fact you have to pay before you eat. Seemed like it was mafia run. Somebody watching your move.

Daughter is a very fussy eater but loves the thin sizzle steaks from the teppenyaki grill but doesn't eat much else. She had 4 small steaks during our time there but was then told she wasn't allowed any more as you are only supposed to have 1. This is supposed to be an all you can eat buffet and 4 small steaks do not exceed the price paid to dine there. Absolute joke and will take our custom elsewhere in future

Such a great choice of food to always try something different! Also, considering it's a world buffet, I would have expected a bit more variety, sadly there were no baked beans. The waiter always takes your dirty dish and there is always a clean plate to take. Also with the height discount below 150cm, what if a child is really tall? They can't help it.

Well we decided to pop in there as we had had a great day in Portsmouth. We arrived at 750(closes at 10pm) to be told kitchen was closed and no fresh food would be put out. Not brilliant. Decided to forget it

Paid 21.99£ for an all you can eat buffet. There was so much 😂😂😂 and it was definitely worth the price. Didn’t eat all tho

Literally the worst ‘restaurant’ I have ever been to. Service was shocking from the off, food was just sat drying out under the lights, staff were rude and didn’t understand English. Couldn’t pay me to re attend. The manger get two points having asked at the end how it was & was approachable re feedback.

Jolly good experience love the confy chair on my bony buttocks 🤠

Spoons world buffet & bar is just... Alright... We reserved a table and ended up waiting 15 mins before sitting down. It's incredibly noisy and there is a large air con unit humm that can't be drowned out The availability of food is incredible however it all just tastes.. ok... There was nothing that stood out or was amazing the quality of the food was just all a bit bland even tho there was so much variety. Massive signs on the doors saying they would not accept parties of 2, and just seems like a massive money grab for the amount you pay for food and drinks that you can drink and eat in your allotted 1.5 hour time frame Best part of the evening was spending time with the people I went with and the fresh crepe station was nice

Lovely food, same standard everytime we’ve gone. Good selection.

Great food at a reasonable price, the selection was vast.

A very amazing place to dine. I had a good time and enjoyed the meal.

All you can eat... what more can you ask for.... lovely clean dinning... friendly staff

Be aware that the kitchen stops cooking at 7 pm; so the buffet is not resupplied after that. I.e. it's there till it's gone! We went at 8pm and most of the popular selections were finished. So over-priced and not good value for after 7pm diners.

Reviews for this were not great, but I gave it a try anyway. This was my first visit and last. It's a cattle shed. Usher everyone in and out again. Tables have an hour and 30 minutes time limit, which is short if with a group. The food was under par and overpriced. Drinks are expensive, and everyone is sat close together, which is ok if you don't mind the table next to you listening to what you say. There is no atmosphere there, and it felt like a cattle shed. If you are not there early or have booked, expect to queue.

This is the worst buffet I have ever had & one of the worst customer service experience. The lady at the reception was so rude I asked her about the parking ticket she said can’t you read all the information is on the ticket. She said you know as I have been there plenty of time. Sorry it’s my first time here. Well the food is cheap and cheerful. Food is all cold, some lukewarm & the food was very dry. I only had one plate of food and a dessert and left within 30 minutes. I’d say 80% of the food is frozen & deep fried. Don’t recommend it, not worth the price & shouldn’t have to tolerate rude behaviour.

Verry bad experience where the staff tryed to physically remove a drink from my hand infront of the person I was with and all other people in the restaurant. I had paid for food and purchased a drink and the staff tryed to physically remove the drink from my hand because he hadn't checked his machine. Never before have I been physically attacked in a restaurant over their own mistake. Ruined my and the person I was with meals, we left with no sorry after only having a plate of food in a all you can eat. Never even tryed to rectify this situation. Avoid!

I was very disappointed when I came here around 7pm to find out they had already shut the kitchen when they still had 3 hours left of opening, what was out already was what they had left I’ve never heard of any other buffet doing this. My advice would be go when they open at 5pm not at 7pm

Fantastic. Nice atmosphere and very clean toilets. Varieties of sumptuous 😋😋😋 meals. My friend said I had a great time. It's suitable for families, love birds or just friends hangout.

Expect nothing less for a buffet style restaurant. Food is hit and miss, so are the staff. Children are priced based on height, which I feel is ridiculous. Probably won't go back now that my ten year old is over height, she just doesn't warrant full price based on appetite.

We've been here a few times, but the kitchen staff are always very rude to us, especially the seafood kitchen staff. He said the seafood was out of stock, 10 of us would never come back again.

the kitchen staff are always very rude, especially the seafood kitchen staff. 😡😡😡😡😡😡 I bought VIP tickets but didn't get what I expected Very very bad Never come back anymore

We went for a friend's birthday. We had to pay on the door before going up to the food hall, the greetings lady was very miserable. It was nicely decorated. The tables are a little too close to eachother for our liking. We had a family to the back and the front of our "party" so no real privacy. There was loads of seats around but we were all sat super close? Doesn't make sense to me. The food selection was great, the food was super yummy and hot! Only downside was the Prawn crackers and poppadoms were very stale. Drinks are reasonably priced also. Staff constantly taking your plates when you'd finished which was nice. Would go again.

The food in this place is disgustingly bland the manager would not hear a number of are complaints the price on the website is not what they charge at the door again when I took this to the manager his response to not only my self but 4 other family’s was if you don’t like it leave ! When we asked for a refund without even sitting he just laughed in are faces Avoid this place if you can treat your family to a better place

Scam artists literally no food and wasn't cooking anymore and still charged us, was rude after explaining to them. Refused refund for food not eaten. Didn't just happen to us either, happened to friends. They loosing out on recurring business so its their loss, they probably be closed in a year or two.

Man on the front desk was very rude, i said my son wont be eating as he cant swallow and is on a specialised liquid diet, and my 4 year old has already eaten as he is a very fussy eater, he replies abruptly "NOT MY PROBLEM YOU GET A TICKET LIKE A CINEMA"

Let's talk grilled seafood.. new introduction of grilled lobster.. I had the not so pleasurable experience of the grilled lobster and 2 halves of crab.. soooo over cooked all the lobster tasted of was oil... too much oil!!! And the poor tiny bits of crab.. absolute waste of a life.. by the time they were over cooked and flattened to beyond recognition there wasn't even half a teaspoon of meat remaining.. absolute waste of an animals life.. at least make it worth it.. I do not recommend 😐

Good place to go with friends if you want a cheap meal and need to cater for multiple tastes. Indian, Chinese, pizza, and English food is available as a self-service buffet, and all you can eat for 1.5 hours. The food was a bit hit and miss, some dishes were excellent with others (the rice) were undercooked (crunchy). The drinks are also expensive.

Food was hot and tasty, not always refilled when low. Spicy chicken extremely hot but tasty. Pizza bland. Not as good as first visit 4 years ago.

Went on Saturday 29th for son’s birthday. Very disappointing experience for first visit. Had we had been told on entry when we paid there was a very very limited selection of food available due to early closure we would have gone somewhere else. We spoke to the very arrogant manager who showed no sympathy or apology. Our table was booked for 8pm the place closed at 9.30pm for what we were told was for cleaning and they don’t like cooking food and wasting it! No discount or refund given. Fake online advertising only food available were a selection of Chinese, two Indian curries, sushi and a few slices of plain pizza. Desserts closed with a couple plates of desserts. We chose this place so we could have a variety. Where is the advertised Kebab, Carvary, Cantonese. Surely this place should be given a penalty/fine for false advertising.

Very poor web said open till 11pm told shutting 930 had no time could only get table for 8pm staff said you need to get desert 9.05pm as they were closing . It 10 min later staff were cleaning up all round trying to get them out

Chicken was raw and when I complained I was told it was actually over cooked not raw (I’ve never seen over cooked chicken pink!!)

Terrible management and the music is so loudly.

STAY AWAY OF TEPPANYAKI, due to the fact that the grill cooks forget to clean the surface between orders, all the seafood have a very bitter taste from the burnt left over previous order. Nuddles war extremely bad flavor and two of them very dry. Most of the meat in general was very dry due to overkook or the reheated. Inside was very hot, need better ventilation.

Very poor service, said our card payment didn’t go through because it was pending. Well excuse me, pending means the transaction is authorised and being processed. Checked bank account and explained this. But the rude gentleman at the drinks counter was having none of it and made us pay again. They then charged us twice! Won’t be coming back!

Never again cold food over priced

Do yourself a favour and avoid if you don't want to get food poisoning.

This place is clean is full of lovely dishes. Kudos to Cirilo and his team!

My visit to Spoons was an absolute disaster. They did warn me upon entry, but I had no idea it would be this bad. There was hardly any food left since they weren’t refilling due to low customer turnout. What little was available had turned stale from sitting under high-heat warmer lights for too long. The rice was so dry it was almost like eating uncooked grains, and the naan bread/chicken/chips had transformed into something resembling biscuits! Meanwhile, the chefs were just standing around laughing, probably wondering why we were even there. And yet, they still had the nerve to charge me the full price of £21.00 despite failing to provide what was supposed to be on offer for that money. If you’re planning to go to this place during the week, do yourself a favor and call in advance or have a plan B. What a nightmare! Note: Desserts selection was good and enough available!

Definitely wouldn't recommend I've been here before in the past and was really nice went for my birthday yesterday afternoon and it's gone down hill the food was over cooked, my partner chicken wings were raw and the chips were rock hard! And making me pay £4 for my 1 year old son that just had dinner before we got there as he doesn't eat much and £11 for my 5 year old who has a eating problem so she doesn't eat all she had was a plate of dessert!! And the staff hoover round you like flies grabbing the plates when haven't even finished yet!! Wouldn't go here again they've definitely lost a customer avoid!! Avoid!! Avoid!! Money grabbers !!

Jason is cool running such busy place. Thoroughly enjoyed.

It was so good my children had too much she didn't eat for 3 days which was good for me because I didn't have to cook🤣🤣🤣

Brilliant place to take the family or for a special occasion. Wonderful selection of food.

Went here on a Saturday afternoon as just passing by. Wouldn't recommend the £22 each price tag as they cannot call it 'World Food' when they only strictly serve Chinese chicken and chips and the odd curry or pizza.. which was all very cold as the lids were kept open. (Not the most hygienic place). Drinks are also not included which we found out once we were in there. Honestly felt like a massive rip off unfortunately. Only go here if you want cold, gone off food... there are much better establishishments in Portsmouth.

Visited with large group - 13 in total and food was ok but VERY poor selection of Gluten Free, 4 dishes in total and some deserts. Overcharged me by 1 person and although they advertise 10% discount for EMS, teachers, uni they only applied it for 1 person not the 5 of us who qualified. Manger (Tommy) was rude and served other people while we were trying to resolve some of the issues we had. Won’t return.

What a place ... food is absolutely amazing so glad this was recommended to us will defo be returning excellent value for the selection of food.

Very good place to meet up with friends 😀, relaxing atmosphere, delicious food.

went there today and it was booty complimented the lady at the front desk and she was nice food was terrible chicken was pink sushi was nasty and sauces were watery and gross pasta was watery and bland and chips were flavourless jelly was solid mousse made us sick and food was cold water was lukewarm and none of the food looked appealing waiters werent very welcoming only nice thing was the ice cream and the chocolate fountain wouldnt recommend

We've tried quite a few 'world buffets' and this one is consistently my favourite. There is a great range of foods, lots of prawns & Peking duck on offer, plus steak, scallops, prawns etc cooked to order. There are also lots of desserts available, including crepes cooked to order & a chocolate fountain. Sometimes some of the food items can be a tad greasy but going to a world buffet you are not expecting amazing food, but everything is good. The staff are friendly and clear plates really regularly, so the dining area is quite clean. However it is a bit noisy & I would prefer the tables to be slightly further apart, but I understand that they want to get as many diners as possible seated. A great place to go if lots of your party like different things, our kids love it, especially the sushi.

The food was unfortunately super salty. The family and I went as we enjoy Asian cuisine and had more variety in a buffet than just ordering from a Chinese. But the food was so so salty. We tried most things and just wasn't for us. Near £60 for 3 people just for food and even the bottomless drinks there wasn't much of a choice either.

Totally agree with other reviewers who state it is mainly a Chinese Buffett.There is certainly not enough choice from other countries. The food and service was good but I would hate to be someone from a country that wasn’t oriental because that is the only music that was played in the 90 minutes we were there. Would I go again.? Possibly but it wouldn’t be my first choice. I noticed that the lift wasn’t working. I am disabled but luckily I can walk up stairs . What happens if you are in a wheelchair. I bet that this review doesn’t get read or replied to.

Plenty of choice of food, felt tables a little to close, front of house staff friendly,

Been here a few times and always enjoy the food etc

Nice venue, some of the staff serving were a bit blunt but it was busy. Food was good but found a bit cold at times. Plates were very hot and had to use a cloth to hold them. All the above being said we would return as it is something different that caters everyone.

Went on Saturday lunch with my adult children. Food was so so, not very hot or flavoursome and some was just nasty! Don't like that you had to pay before you went upstairs, if we had seen the food first we probably wouldn't of stayed. Would not return.

Big variety of food, kids love it. For me everything is average rather than a single style amazing (which is why I eat out). Free soft drink refills great for kids

Never had any problems here, the food is good and there are plenty of different foods.

*BE AWARE* I was told to pay full adult price (£18.99) for my 10 year old "child" because she was 3cm taller than 150cm. My daughter is tall for her age but doesn't have a huge appetite, so their excuse that this rule is in place because children over 150cm can consume more food is absolutely ridiculous. How is that even a reason? 🤣 She's not very ambitious with food either, so when we ate at Spoon, she only had 2 plates of chicken nuggets/chips/olives/pickled onions and a couple of desserts. We attended Spoon for a family members birthday, so whilst I was aware that she probably wouldn't eat a lot of the options available, I was definitely NOT aware that I'd have to pay an adult price for that. The staff looked harassed and weren't overly welcoming. One drinks machine wasn't working and the food was largely just Chinese cuisine. Great for fans of Chinese food, but this place definitely doesn't cater for much else. The spinach pasta was so watery, the sushi section only had 2 vegetarian varieties (one being tofu which isn't to everyone's taste), the salad bar looked very sorry for itself 🤣 and they only had options of pepperoni pizza or cheese, but the cheese pizza was inedible. This could be such a great place but it's totally lacking in imagination and variety. Not if you like Chinese food though, there's LOADS of that. Positives: The Chinese vegetables, mushrooms and meat-free noodles were nice. That's all I ate. Definitely wasn't worth £44 though and not a place I would take my family again.

This is the best place to be at

More than 100 plates I recommend it's fantastic

Your typical resort style all you can eat canteen. It’s difficult to call it a restaurant as it doesn’t have the restaurant quiet, relaxed meal atmosphere. Highly recommend that you book in advance. We booked early evening and were lucky because within 30-45 minutes after we arrived, the place was full. Dining time is restricted to 90 minutes but I somehow believe that may not always be enforceable. It’s called a World Buffet but the food available was a large selection of standard Chinese dishes, a few basic Indian dishes and from Italy, pizza and pasta. That’s it. But on the positive side the sushi bar is well served and freshly stocked and all the dishes are replenished as soon as they begin to run low. Unfortunately, I found the rice was dry and under cooked but the lemon chicken was wonderful, along with the seafood options available, as was the mushrooms in black bean sauce. The service was good and as you can imagine due to the high volume of customers there plenty of staff on duty to clear the tables and even discreetly sweep the floor. In summary, it’s a good place to go with the kids/ family members for that quick gobble down Chinese meal.

Fifteen family members didn't book in until late afternoon for a 6pm meal. We had a great welcome, table set for 16, everything explained and off we went to the food. Some very negative reviews had made us anxious , but we found the opposite. Food was great ..no it's not 4 star Michelin!! ... but good variety. Grill chef took great care with scallops and king prawns. Desserts looked good and favourite was crepe with lemon and sugar specially cooked. Used plates were regularly cleared. Great experience.

Went with family and grandchildren, for my husbands 60th birthday.

Had a lovely dinner that evening, had never been before to that buffet, great value for money if seafood is definitely your thing, I tried to get lots of sushi, prawns, noodles etc. Loads of drinks are on the side 👍

Turned up one hour before And was told kitchens shut mate no food left

You need to go take the drinks by yourself from the bar area. They use cheap and smelly plastic cups which really put me off. Service isn't great. The female cashier at the entrance isn't polite as well. I don't recommend this place. The car park also costs £6 for parking just over an hour.

As long as you time it right lovely food hot and plenty of choice

Good food at a very reasonable price

We ate many times there and every time everything was spotless, but tonight something didn't quite work in some areas. The grilled prawn and scallop were well undercooked, the battered wings were soaked in oil and pancakes were chewy.

Enjoyed my first experience at Spoon. There's a huge variety of food to choose from across Asian, Indian, African, European. Good quality ingredients and fresh food. Highly recommended. Excellent value for money!

Really nice place to east and relax

The food here is always hot and plentiful. The staff are so efficient, but obviously can get very loud when full of customers

So many choices! The food is so good and the staff are friendly and helpful. Very disappointed that the dumplings were only available on the weekends. They are literally the best thing there.

Good food, fresh food, very tasty! Very clean restaurant, Nice people, best service!

My first time here. Food is very good. Tasty and hot. Not a fan of lots of tables in a big noisy space but for £20 a head you can't moan

Plenty of choice for food with a spacious and friendly enviroment..

Need to update their menu prices online as was £14.99 per person when I booked online and £18.99 tonight when I went at 6pm. The lady on her head phones said it’s up to the customers to update the prices online. Will never go again. Absolute money making company. Wasn’t impressed with the food. Prawns cold. Pasta awful and soggy pizzaz no flavour. Took my boys there for the first time and awful

Don’t agree with the fact I had to pay £10 for my 3 year old (38 months old) who barely ate 1 full plate of food… Food was nice, lots of options. Friendly waiter who gave service with a smile!

Went last night for birthday meal, the man on door staff was extremely rude, would ignore you when talking too or tell you to wait a minute and speak to the people behind in the que. After booking you still need to wait in the que even though you have booked a time. Food was decent - wasn’t anything special. Actual waitresses/waiters were lovely

It's been a very great time any time I visit spoons,their services are top notch

Very nice and good for the price

The welcome we received was really warm, we had never been before it was very well explained how it all works, the food was lovely and the variety really suited my family and the desserts are awesome especially the steamed custard Buns we will certainly be returning 😀

Lovely place , polite workers and good food As long as you pay to enter , you can eat whatever food you want there.

Great variety of dishes and enjoyable atmosphere. It will be ideal place to go with family and friends. The location is convenient as it is right in front the NCP car parking, which is ridiculously immense. However, the only downside will be the NCP parking as 9/10 the paying machine will not be working and the charge is different to the actual notice Board.

Didn't have a great time on my last visit, service was ok the only nice people I found were the ones taking plates, all other staff were either rude or looked at you like you just insulted them. Food was very watery as my partner put it "you can tell the macaroni cheese is a cheap box one that they have added too much water too". A lot of the food was quite bland too. I went around a year ago and it was alright, nothing to write home about but good enough to come back to, unfortunately i wont be coming back now.

Great variety and unlimited as long as you can handle!!

Fantastic. Good place to spend time with family

You should definitely go there if you want to try new foods Loved it and would definitely recommend it for others

Visited a little late in the day, after 7pm, and were charged £19 each, £17 for a 'meh' bottle of Chilean white wine and £3 for a bottomless glass. Unplanned, so didn't know about the free parking: note, the car park outside the door is expensive. Wide range of food, obviously. Trying a little of everything to discover favourites showed that 'baby' sausages are a worldwide phenomenon - who knew? Some of the meat dishes were a little chewy but on the whole everything I tried was good. My partner did try the pizza and, much to my dismay, only took a couple of bites from each because it was either a tasteless base or bland topping - and she loves pizza. Being a late start I was not too surprised to see serving dishes with little in them, although those that were empty had had their labels removed to that we were not taunted by what we had missed. It was a little strange that the staff started clearing up around 8:20pm; we didn't have the floor swept beneath our feet but the empty tables on either side did, raising personal concerns with stirring up dust. Even this late there were children running around or playing hide and seek amongst the tables - why do parents think this is acceptable? I don't eat in a playground and shouldn't have to endure shrieking and dancing about my table. Hope they enjoyed the pizza... We left at 9pm and, interestingly, the staff were sorting themselves out to sit down and eat what had been left.