I used to go to The Dolphin years ago when I lived down the road in Bell Green. In those days it was a quiet place, frequented mostly by an elderly clientele, where you could enjoy a very good pint of Directors. It went downhill a little, and about ten years ago was reincarnated in its present form. It has remained a true local pub, but now serves a fantastic range of well-kept beers. Bar staff are friendly and the food menu is extensive. Well worth a visit.
The beer is a bit pricey, but the environment is very good. Comfortable and roomy. Choice of beers is OK. If you are deciding between the Dolphin and the Golden Lion, then it's no contest, choose the Dolphin.
The best gastropub in SE London. Friendly service, and welcome. Great selection of food and drink. Guest beers a favourite of mine.
Great food, good wine and friendly staff. All round great pub
Such a nice pub with a beautiful garden. The staff very helpful and friendly
Lovely lunch yesterday took olive to celebrate her 90 th birthday.Food and staff first class made it special for her .xxxx
Great pub, good food and beer! Just a shame parents can't read the rules about children's behaviour and seem to think it's ok to let them run wild.....and yes I have children and I can read!
Great food , good wine , lovely atmosphere
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If you're a follower of my posts, you know I'm not afraid to travel for a good meal - London is my menu and I fully intended to taste everything on it - but as the saying goes, there's no place like home and the comforts of your favourite local. We all have one; a favourite cafe, restaurant or more commonly, a pub.
My happy place is The Dolphin located at the foot of Sydenham high street - a real find in an area which is in the midst of a gentrification takeover. It basically has everything a boy could ask for; a good selection of beers (bottled and on tap), wine and also some pretty top notch food. In the winter, it's warm and welcoming providing some much needed relief from the bitter cold but a switch in the season affords you the opportunity to enjoy its sizeable beer garden which is one of the best I’ve seen in my 6 years of pub crawling (and I have done a lot of crawling...).
Were this pub located more centrally to the City, I've no doubt it'd get much more attention but as it is, I will happily let this little gem of the south be and just sit back in bliss and enjoy watching time pass me by.
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The Dolphin is part of a small pubco and prepares it's meals freshly on the premises. I recently ate a traditional Sunday lunch there which was well prepared and tasty. They pile the whole thing on the plate in something resembling a pyramid which, whilst clearly deliberate, does not provide the impression I think they're after.
The pub is very clean and well organised, the staff very efficient but not particularly approachable, and there is a well kept garden which is pleasant to sit around in during summer. The booze is well looked after, but slightly on the pricey side, A civilised sort of place. I'd certainly go there again for a meal but not just for a drink as I can do that elsewhere and not have to pay so much!
Lovely pub with great tasting food. The beer garden is is spacious and has a lovely atmosphere. I would definitely go back.
Nice pub & very nice beer garden in the Sydenham area. Had Hofmeister beer with Haddock fish & chips.
This is a lovely neighborhood pub. Staff are really friendly and very nice ambience. Great garden. Food is consistently good, best day to go is Sunday as the roasts are banging. Great pizza. But it's a place where you can't change anything that isn't on the app! We had the bread and dip starter which comes with a lot of dip but little bread - but a request for more bread - can't compute! Overall recommended.
Really nice Sunday lunch at the Dolphin, prompt and polite service.
Portion size was spot on, I had the chicken and a big portion of chicken, with 3 roast potatoes, a couple of carrots, parsnips, some cabbage and a big Yorkshire. My only criticism would be the skin on the chicken wasn't crispy and the parsnips could have also been roasted a little more, but all edible and great flavour.
Had the tiramisu for dessert which was also good, one of our party had the brownie but didn't rate it that highly.
All in all a good value, tasty Sunday lunch 👍
Our waitress was great. The pizza was well cooked ( could of done with a little more cheese). But you could really taste the oregano in the sauce, and the dough was delicious. The chicken burger was delicious as well. Chicken could have been cooked for a little longer, but that's just my taste. The one thing that got to me a little was the Gin. So a Guinness and double gin with lemonade was £16. The price should match the elegance of the gin. Gin glass , with ice and fruit. Not in a half pint glass with no fruit. It just didn't marry up. The Guinness was lovely and cold. I would definitely go there again. The Garden area was great and the staff were fantastic.
I'm a big fan of the Dolphin, it's probably my favourite pub in the area. I've been there for a hearty Sunday roast, a midweek pizza (they have a proper pizza oven) and a Saturday night hang with mates and it serves all those purposes really well; the Dolphin is a good all rounder! They have a decent selection of cask and keg ales, a massive garden out the back with a table tennis and a few tables at the front if you want to watch the traffic go by, if that's your thing.
Lovely pub, friendly service and one of the best manicured gardens I have seen. This is close to five stars. However, card only table service, a limited selection of ales and an excellent but pizza heavy menu left me...wanting.
Delightful beer garden and great service, veggie burger isn't great but their pizzas are lovely especially on the Monday Deal.
Very friendly pub with cosy atmosphere, subtle music, good selection of beers, great decor and an open fire. Staff is very friendly too. And there is a black cat Francis who lives in a pub for cat lovers :) Amazing place to chill out in the evening.
Good beer (especially if you like IPA), good pizza, friendly and helpful staff, really nice vibe. The lighting is super flattering, so a this would be a great place to come for a date. Highly recommended.
Food is OK if a bit pricey. The staff are all great. The garden is very nice in the sun and large. No parking on site.
Great Sunday roast - tasty with all the trimmings, reasonably priced, good wine list, lovely atmosphere
Chris “devPanda” Bannister
+5
Great pub, big beer garden out the back. Very friendly and attentive staff. Will be back
Had a fantastic pizza and a lovely refreshing pint here. Friendly and attentive staff, we will be back!!!
Best pub in Sydenham. Good beer selection with great pizza. And fireplace to boot. Just needs a little spruce here and there and would live there.
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