The Palm House - Weymouth and Portland

I had a terrible experience at this restaurant. We went for the Mermaid experience, but it was not well-organized. We ended up leaving before my grandchildren could participate in any of the activities. The hot drinks and breakfast sandwiches we had were not enjoyable and, in my opinion, way too expensive. Unfortunately, we will not be coming back.

This is a great place to take young children on a rainy day. The play area and toys could use some updating, but our son still had a great time. The food was tasty and it's a convenient spot for parents to unwind while their kids play.

We visited today with our 2 young children. The 'soft play ' area is a fenced off carpeted area with a few totally filthy sofas and some toys- almost all of which are broken, missing pieces, ran out of battery, etc. Some complete puzzles are nailed to the wall, but confusingly so high up to be out of most childrens reach. Lots and lots of clearly 2nd/3rd/4th hand/ fit for the dump plastic slides, pushalongs etc, plus a small wooden playhouse with badly splintered wood and clearly visible screws. The slide on it had a large and sharp crack in the side. Needless to say we didnt stay very long. I did purchase a small item for my daughter and while waiting in the queue I heard the woman taking the order be INCREDIBLY rude to the ladies she was serving. They asked, very politely and reasonably, if a dish could be altered slightly and was told 'No. Im the cook and no way. ' They then asked for an Oasis drink. She said 'Well yeah you can get that yourself cause like I 'm pregnant! Now is that it? '. I personally worked a very physically demanding job until well into my 3rd trimester- with both children, as was my choice. If the woman serving felt that walking 8 steps to her right and opening a fridge to lift a small bottle from an elbow height shelf was physically beyond her then perhaps she needs to consider whether shes fit to be at work at all. If I 'd been spoken to that I would have cancelled the entire order (of considerable size, at over £40) and just left. Pregnant or not, there was no excuse for being that rude. Be warned, this isnt soft play- its like a graveyard for rejected, old, sad and broken toys, and its filthy. Some of the items inside looked like they hadnt even had a cursory wipe in at least 6 months! Both children will no doubt both have colds in a few days time. Avoid!

We eat here regularly. Particularly the cookie dough

I used to go to the Palm House with my 2 Yr old once or twice most weeks prior to lockdown, and we can 't wait for it to reopen. In one wing you 'll find the best play cafe in the local area (in my opinion . It 's laid out in such a way that you can keep an eye on your kids from the comfort of your table or couch, rather than having to chase them around, meaning you can drink your deluxe campfire hot chocolate (with actual toasted marshmallows in relative peace before it gets cold! The central wing of the building is just a normal cafe, so you don 't have to have children to enjoy the palm house. You are still within earshot of the play area though, so it 's not the quietest place. There is also a private function room available for parties, etc. and local groups and events are regularly hosted here, such as the recently launched Young at Heart events where senior citizens and children can meet, play and share each others wisdom. Food-wise, they serve everything you would expect from a cafe (hot drinks, cakes, sandwiches, etc. plus a menu of reasonably priced pancakes and waffles with a delicious variety of toppings to choose from. These can take a while to be cooked during busier times, as they only have a couple of grills so can only make so many at a time, but for a small local business what more would you expect? Pro tip: if you are planning to order pancakes or waffles, let them know as soon as you come in, as the grills take a while to heat up.