Jeanette R.
Yelp
First things first: I am not a Yelper. Nor am I someone who takes advice on Trip Advisor when I travel. My husband and I do extensive research through other outlets such as Instagram, food & travel blogs, or hotel and friend recommendations. And this is the introduction that I'm going to start off with on every single review I decide to do from my most recent Italian & Swiss trip. This review is about Clouds in Zürich. INCREDIBLE views of the entire city. The service, however, can be debated. Now, granted, I do not speak German. I speak English, Spanish, and French, but when my husband did the reservations months in advance for the place to simply have a drink before our dinner reservations at a Michelin restaurant, they (Hotel Baur au Lac, a pretty exclusive and luxury hotel in Zürich) confirmed a table for us. Maybe a few things got lost in translation, but all in all, Clouds knew to expect us and from where. We went to Clouds with a local friend of ours and were seated at a table by the window with incredible views. We ordered a bottle of Cristal for 230 CHF, and they pleasingly served us the champagne. We had also worked up an appetite, and decided to order an appetizer before we headed off to our Michelin dinner at Pavillon. The three of us orders a bowl of soup each. The server then came back and informed us that we could not order the soup if we did not order a main entrée. We asked if we could move to the bistro (bar) side and have our champagne, and order the soup. She said that is fine. We gave up a fabulous table by the window on the restaurant side, just so we can have our champagne and soup on the bistro side. When we get to the bistro side, we attempted to order the same soup, only to be told, that the menu (in the same kitchen) is different, and we could not have the soup. Never mind the fact that we have already had 2 double espressos, a bottle of sparkling water, a bottle of Cristal, and reservations on the other side 3 months ahead. None of that mattered. We are genuinely disappointed in the service that was given to great tourists paying good money for an incredible time in an incredible city. We travel to Europe twice a year and sometimes cancel Michelin reservations just to eat great local food whether it costs €1000 or €30. The way Clouds delivered their service is unacceptable. We willingly moved per their requirements for ordering, because we were told we can order what we desire on the other side, gave up a great table, only to be denied. This isn't about the soup. Dinner at Pavillon far surpassed Clouds on every level. This was about the principle and how they were not willing to accept the fact that a couple of sophisticated multi-lingual Americans with a local resident at their establishment wanting something outside of their box or rules were not granted with a level of service delivered back in the states, France, and especially Italy.