Dulwich Lyceum in Lambeth

I’m sorry to say that we were really disappointed with our most recent visit to Dulwich Lyceum. We have been regulars for nearly three years, and have been proud to have this as a local restaurant that we often taken visitors to. The recent menu changes are disappointing resulting in a confused offer. The previous menu offered an array of hot and cold tapas dishes which were both exciting and expertly assembled, for example a really superb octopus dish. The old menu encouraged sharing and was well executed using really good quality ingredients. The new menu is substantially reduced and offers a more traditional format, like any regular restaurant, this is a disappointing departure. Sadly, the experience was not helped by reduced portion sizes, cold plates and a cold restaurant. Additional physical changes, including the addition of tablecloths make the restaurant feel less Mediterranean unnecessarily stuffy. I really hope you can revert to your former offer which was excellent.

This restaurant is a conundrum, I have been here a number of occasions, somehow they manage to get some things very right, and others not quite so. I visited here last night, and waited almost 20 mins to get a menu and ask if i wanted a drink, but then for the rest of the evening service was good. Onto the food, they have changed the menu, there are a few items from their original menu, but several new items, unfortunately they dont work, there were 3 dishes which had sourdough, a meat platter, a cheese platter, and a duck rillette, none of the food we had was bad, it was well cooked, but something was missing. This is a restaurant that is capable of amazing food and service, but it really does need to be more consistent. I will return but tonight was a disappointment.

It was great to find that Dulwich Lyceum knows how to cook, flavour and present an original menu of treats. The waiting staff were sensitive to the requirements of our party, and, the free corkage meant that the bill, when it came, was very reasonable. The setting was nice and the decor and ambience were on point. All in all a lovely night out.

Restaurant located in west Dulwich, 2 minutes drive from south circular. Nice Mediterranean style dining space. Restaurant very quiet/near empty on visit but service was attentive and prompt. Mediterranean style menu. Courgette fritters to start were very good as was the olive oil houmous . Osso Bucco saffron risotto main full of flavour and substantial. Wine reasonably priced. Donut dessert didn’t work at all. Nice enough experience to warrant another visit.

This is by far one of the best restaurants in South East London. We are regular customers of Peckham Bazaar, its sister restaurant, a true local gem too. We went with family and had an excellent experience. Love the concept and rich construction of dishes - each dish takes you into a nice taste journey. I am a bit of a health freak so it is really reassuring to see that all ingredients used and herbs are fresh. For example, we had porcinis last night which were literally hand picked only a few hours ago - this is really luxurious. John, the owner & head chef, is a bit of a genius when it comes to combining the ingredients, seasoning, acidity, the flavour mix and presentation, all make for a unique and unforgettable dinning experience. Definitely a bargain and I disagree with some of the reviews saying that it is overpriced. If you buy as good quality ingredients and cook everything from fresh at home, I doubt it will be a lot cheaper. As for the ambience and service, I only have positive reviews. We were served by three different people, two ladies and a gentleman, they were all friendly and attentive, very welcoming and their hospitality enhanced our dining experience. I wish John and the team every success and really am looking forward to more food critics spotting his talent and read articles about him in the Guardian and make an entry soon in the Michelin Guide.

From start to finish, excellent all round. Service was impeccable, attentive, authentic and knowledgeable. Food was fresh, delicious and again, authentic. Highly recommend.

Food and service were good but it’s very expensive for the overall portion size and what you get. Shame really as it could be great.

This place has such potential but the service was poor with some drinks and meals not arriving at all. Would generally be very forgiving if places are busy but the response of the manager was extraordinarily rude. If overall atmosphere and customer experience is important to you I encourage you to read the managers responses to the bad google reviews. There seems to be a recurring theme of poor service and angry responses from management. There are better options in the area.

The food at DL is nice, although the larger sharing plates were quite pricey in proportion to their size. What really let DL down was the service. One of our party ordered a martini to start with. The waitress didn’t know the distinction between a dirty and neat martini. Fair enough, but there didn’t appear to be any attempt to find this out from a more experienced colleague. In any event, it never arrived. There was no explanation given as to why it hadn’t arrived. The starters/smaller sharing plates came out in good time and were nice/good value for money. We had real issues with the larger plates. There was a simple query from a pregnant member of our party re the goats cheese used. This seemed to flummox the waitress who came back at least once to re-confirm the entire order. Sadly this didn’t do the trick. One member of our party waited for approximately an hour for her main dish. There were several queries as to where it was. Dessert menus were then brought out. The response from the waitress was “do you still want it”? The waitress was generally pleasant but inexperienced/struggling. Fully appreciate the issues the hospitality industry are having at the moment finding staff. The late dish was included in the bill. We asked for it to be removed in the circumstances. The Assistant Manager then came over and asked if a Google review had already been left. She appeared angry and sought an opportunity to explain the situation. The cause of the issue? The menu “clarification” from our pregnant friend. The late dish was, in fact, for another member of the party. To blame the customer for the delay is extraordinary. Apologise profusely and take it off the bill. It’s as simple as that. The response to the Google review from the restaurant is disappointing to say the least. At best it is unprofessional, at worst it is aggressive. I note similar responses to other critical reviews. Very disappointing all around. I rarely leave a bad review but unfortunately these circumstances warranted it. 3/5 for food. Would be 0 for service.

We visited here for the first time in a little while and were so glad that we did. The food is fabulous - the monkfish risotto a particular highlight - and the service was also excellent. The wine list is interesting and very reasonably priced for the quality. It’s tough going for all restaurants at the moment so I would recommend that all residents of West Dulwich come and support this local gem.

We tried five dishes and two desserts. Amazing wine mainly from Greece. All incredibly well cooked and served. Very friendly staff. All in all a great experience

Food was delicious Staff are also great The dining room was too congested and noisy (c'mon, post-lockdown don't pack people in so much) Service was terrible, menu and drinks 30 mins after arriving, dishes not arriving at all or literally 1.5 hours after being ordered Victim of their own success? PS For god's sake, ditch the gorgonzola and figs!! Inedible!!

We had a superb meal here and all of us enjoyed our food. However, we have never been here before and would totally agree with the review below regarding the explanation of the menu. There are no starters or mains despite the menu looking like there is. Also, just watch you are actually given the wine that you have ordered off the wine menu, not a substitute that wasn't mentioned until we did by the waiter. We had a lovely evening though and would most definitely return.

Firstly the food was delicious, an interesting and balanced menu with lovely tastes. However, the experience was very confusing. I notice that in her review Fay Maschler says 'The relatively short menu is all of a piece, no divisions into courses'. This is no longer the case - there is a physical line between starters and main courses, even if they are not titled as such. So, in the absence of 'Have you been here before' and 'This is how our menu works' we assumed this was a conventional restaurant. We were therefore very surprised when my wife's main course came when she was halfway through her starter. We were then told this was a meze restaurant. Mine didn't come until she had almost finished hers, which meant I largely ate it alone. (Incidentally, having ordered what we thought were starters, after a reasonable interval my wife's came, at which point I was told my choice was no longer available, which surely should have been apparent earlier. I was given an alternative, rather than another look at the menu.) All this was a shame. Apart from the bizarre placing of the scallop shells on inedible cracked wheat the food was very good. The mixing of main dishes with small plates is a slightly strange meze idea, but it should be explained.

Really delicious food. I was particularly impressed with the baba ganoush, and the smoked fish croquettes. The restaurant ambience is great, and the staff are perfect. We will be back, and you should go too!

The Dulwich Lyceum has fabulous food. I visited for the first time on Saturday August 21st, and I shall definitely go back next time I'm in London. The service was exemplary, despite them appearing to be a little short-staffed for the number of covers. They...

Parsimonious portions that looked pretty, but I needed to go home and eat toast. Service was haphazard.

We came here just before the first lockdown & had such a lovely time we thought we would return. It was just as good perhaps even better as the first time. The menu does change regularly and dishes which mainly focus on the eastern Mediterranean...

Delicious food, guidance on what to order, flexibility - one of the best birthday dinners ever! Lovely waitress and manager. Ideal menu for sharing dishes and I'd especially recommend the fish and lamb.

Inventive small plates based on Greek and other Eastern Mediterranean cooking. Nice Greek wine list.

So pleased when this reopened post first lockdown although also enjoyed some great home delivery in that time. This place deserves to survive. The addition of the amazing Thamsin to the team who has added her own touch and finesse makes this THE restaurant to...

Had a dine at home meal tonight. It was amazing. Ordered by email the day before and got a confirmation via email then a text to confirm payment. Dishes were amazing. Heated up the mains dishes for 10 mins as per instructions. Just like being...

God, I have been missing restaurants during lockdown. I read on twitter that Dulwich Lyceum had started a delivery service. We had not been before, always been meaning to, never quite got round to it but I was determined to give their delivery service a...

This restaurant proves that a combination of Western and Eastern cuisine with a Greek bias produces maybe the tastiest food in the world. Quite a statement I know, but we were all seriously impressed with our Sunday lunch. Luckily there were five of us which...

First time we visited this relative newcomer. Favorably impressed with the food, in particular the grilled octopus and the cauliflower, although no dish we tried was disappointing. Given the tapas style of the food we could have done with some better explanation of the menu...

After reading some good reviews and on the great food that I’ve eaten at Peckham Bazaar (the sister restaurant to the Lyceum) decided to book on Saturday evening. . The restaurant was busy but everything was perfectly cooked and presented: Beautifully cooked red mullet and...

Having eaten at their sister restaurant Peckham Bazaar several times we were thrilled when this opened near to our new home. Last night was our second visit to Lyceum and we were not disappointed. John, the owner and chef, was on the pass which pleased...

The Dulwich Lyceum is located in a small parade of shops next to a Tesco Express and the building at previously housed a couple of failed Italian restuarants so it was not an aupicious start for our dinner. However we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening....

The food was ok , but when you order the food comes out in any order the chef decides. I found this very annoying . Also it was very slow. The waitress did not know what half the ingredients were. Disappointing and expensive.

I have visited the Dulwich Lyceum four times now since it opened a couple of months ago - dinner three times and once for lunch. Each time the menu was different and most dishes were exceptionally tasty. There are lots of unusual ingredients used so...