The Dolphin Reviews Summary

Category: Seafood restaurant

Address: 7 The Quay, Ilfracombe, EX34 9EQ, United Kingdom

Phone: +441271879297

Rating: 4.0
based on 178 reviews.

Service

Pros:

  • "Service was friendly and food was quick to arrive."
  • "The waitress was friendly and helpful too."
  • "Staff were very attentive and looked after us whilst we were there."
  • "A special mention to the lovely lady who was fantastic with my 2yo & 4m old."
  • "The staff is very friendly and always available to help you!"
  • "Service was quick, staff polite & helpful."
  • "Staff are really friendly and polite and really efficient."

Cons:

  • "Even the 'head waiter' was rolling cigarettes in front of clients whilst they're eating."
  • "Never been in a place before with such rude staff who ask you your order and then continues to have an argument with another member of staff."
  • "Waitress had no idea what a mixed grill consisted of and couldn't be bothered to find out."
  • "The service was poor as the staff were inattentive, chatting amongst themselves which left us feeling unsatisfied."
  • "The member of staff who finally arrived must have been disturbed from checking her phone as her manner was so rude."
  • "Service was awful! My son asked for a cola whilst ordering and then changed his mind and wanted orange. Too much trouble for waitress apparently once she inputs in tablet, you can’t change your order!"
  • "Had to wait ages for our food and the woman who works out the front was more interested in chatting with a friend who was walking past."

Food Quality

Pros:

  • "Absolutely gorgeous fish and chips. Freshly cooked."
  • "The fish is freshly cooked and the chips are great."
  • "Food was great, fairly priced and the staff really look after their guests!"
  • "Probably the least greasy large cod I've ever eaten..very good...apparently a daily change of frying oil is the reason."
  • "The panang curry and 3 bean chilli were very delicious."
  • "The best F&c we've had for a long time."
  • "Food cooked fresh, fish batter crispy & light."

Cons:

  • "Shockingly bad fish and chips!!? The fish was literally 3 bites."
  • "The large cod was the same size as the small, the chips tasted reheated and the beans were inedible as they looked and tasted like they had been sat boiling away for the whole day."
  • "Eating in however was a rip off for burnt food and 1.95 for half a glass of coke."
  • "The small fish was covered in so much batter that the meat was barely findable."
  • "Halloumi fries were so overcooked there was no halloumi left in them."
  • "Chips were very dry and over cooked, topped off by so much salt that they could have been preserved until winter!"
  • "The food was absolutely awful. We ordered two portions of fish and chips, which was served cold. The fish was dry and the batter was chewy as if it had been left out for days."

Location & Atmosphere

Pros:

  • "Restaurant in good position on the harbour side."
  • "Lovely fish and chips. Right on the harbour so you can sit on bench opposite and eat al fresco - just as it should be."
  • "First time in Ilfracombe it's such a friendly place of course the views are stunning."
  • "Right on the harbour, our party of six stopped here after two hour’s sea fishing, very nice indeed, generous portions, chips were perfect, just about golden & no burnt overcooked ones, batter on the fish was light & crispy & just enough."
  • "Nice view of the harbour too."
  • "We enjoyed the view of the pier from our window table."
  • "Lovely food and excellent location next to the pier."

Cons:

  • "The only benefit was watching the rough sea!!"
  • "Other than the staff laughing at me and my son. The staff completely made my Austic son uncomfortable."
  • "The staff were eating their own packed lunches on the table next to ours, not the most pleasant experience!"
  • "They seem to like the door open even though it was a cool October day which caused a draught and another customer mentioned that to the staff too."
  • "Service was appalling as well, had to wait 5 minutes after our food came out before getting a waiters attention for some knives and forks."
  • "The kids haddock was barely battered and still had a fin on the fish which was sharp."
  • "The food itself is letting the place down. I had the Seafood Delight which had raw cod chunks on the plate."

Value for Money

Pros:

  • "Takeaway is fantastic and fairly priced."
  • "The prices here are very reasonable for the quality and quantity you get."
  • "Lovely waitresses moved tables around to sit a very large party of 12 of us."
  • "Great food at a terrific price point and with great service."
  • "5 star food and beyond! The food was very fresh and as good as anywhere for quality and extremely good value."
  • "Lovely fish and chips had the offer of fish and chips for £12.80 which included peas and a soft drink, really good portion which was value for money."
  • "Big portions at good prices."

Cons:

  • "One thing that took away was being charged £8.50 for a potato and tinned tuna - seems very expensive and confusing as that's the same price as a jacket and large piece of cod."
  • "Overpriced and tasteless. £10 for two small pieces of rubbery squid, two prawns, two tiny (10p sized) bits of cod and seven cold chips."
  • "Chips were undercooked, very small portions for the price."
  • "However the food is actually very good despite being overpriced."
  • "It cost 26 pound for 4 people. I will not be coming back and do not recommend this takeaway."
  • "Very expensive, rubbish food!!!"
  • "Charged £1.00 for a gherkin which was so disappointing."

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