The Dolphin Reviews Summary

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Came in for football and the atmosphere was amazing."
• "This pub is a memory to never forget. Had to go twice with my partner, that's how amazing the atmosphere was."
• "Filled with old wooden beams and open fires this place is bursting with charm and charisma."
• "Such a cosy atmosphere for enjoying some proper pub food!"
• "The pub has overly warm atmosphere on a cold night."
• "Atmosphere was great too with people watching football."
• "Friendly pub in amazing setting in Old Portsmouth, far enough away from being over run with students from the uni, but busy enough to have a great atmosphere."

Cons:

• "A lot of the atmosphere has been squeezed out of this lovely old pub."
• "Just doesn't seem to be any atmosphere."
• "The pub was completely empty at lunchtime. Other pubs nearby were busy as we found out. Hence no atmosphere."
• "The crowds of old don't seem to be as regular and the atmosphere somewhat suffered."
• "Visited yesterday 19th March for Mother’s Day, the pub was busy but lacked atmosphere and felt cold, I had to keep my jacket on."
• "The Dolphin was clean and presentable, but lacked atmosphere."
• "The presentation is not great; they're just relying on their reputation as the oldest pub in town. A place to avoid!"

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Really friendly historic pub in the old part of Portsmouth."
• "We pop down for a breakfast before taking ferry for Isle of Wight, we were really stunned how friendly and welcoming staff was, especially for our kids."
• "Scott was very kind and reassuring and went out of his way to make sure that our table received outstanding service through the evening."
• "The staff were really polite and looked after our table."
• "Visited for lunch with my family and two dogs, we were made very welcome by all the staff."
• "The staff are all great and friendly."
• "The staff provide a very friendly and personalised service, even when you just walk up to the bar till to order your food."

Cons:

• "Nice pub but when I visited on Christmas eve before the Nativity in the Cathedral it was woefully understaffed."
• "No member of staff asked if everything was OK and it wasn't!"
• "No 'Hello' from bar staff."
• "Arrived at 9 p/m with around 12 colleagues. No warm welcome, bar staff surly."
• "The guy serving decided to ignore me and served all four men before thinking to look at me."
• "I really can't explain why people say the staff are friendly (the manager is the worst) when they clearly are awful."
• "Miserable staff. I felt like a burden to order."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "You cannot beat the Sunday Roast at The Dolphin! Firstly it’s huge, with loads of meat, veg, potatoes & gravy."
• "My fish and chips was delicious. Crispy beer battered fish and the best chips I have had in a long time."
• "The scampi & chips is £10.45 and was tasty and well presented."
• "The food is always cooked fresh."
• "I had the mix grill and it was all cooked to perfection."
• "The food was absolutely lovely and generous portions."
• "The food was brilliant."