The Dolphin in Portsmouth

Gone back to the glory days. Pub is so much better now under new management. Worth a visit food is good as are drinks

After watching the fireworks, we had an amazing meal. The small plates were delicious, the pie was perfect comfort food, and the service was excellent. A great spot with a cozy vibe—highly recommend!

Yet another fantastic visit to this charming historical pub! The atmosphere was spot-on, and I couldn’t have been happier with the lamb shank off the specials board—it was melt-in-your-mouth perfection. To top it off, the honeycomb brownie was the perfect sweet finish. Gina, our server, was exceptional and incredibly attentive, making the experience even better.

... Fabulous pub! Landlord professional, helpful and friendly... staff equally the latter. My husband had the signature burger, and I ordered the ham bon bons... both delicious! ... Beer and my dry rose wine perfect. I highly recommend this pub... so pleased to find a new local that exudes high standards... will be back to try their breakfast menu.

A busy pub with good food and a great selection of beers.

A really disappointing roast here today. Everyone's gravy was cold. My daughters was cold apart from the meat. I sent my boyfriends back, as it was really cold. It came back on a hot plate, but the food was still cold. Not really acceptable when it was £19 for his beef roast. We waited ages for our drinks, and main course. I won't be returning, unfortunately.

A dog friendly pub with welcoming staff. Decor has been updated since our last visit and looks inviting. We had the halloumi burger, which was delicious! Comes in a brioche bun, with salad and a good amount of fries. Would highly recommend

As well as the oldest pubs in Portsmouth, it is one of the best. Amazing atmosphere, great beer and wine, all with fantastic staff. Would highly recommend either weekends or weekdays at any time

Great service, good food. The Canadians

Went for the curry and comedy night! Excellent food... great comedy... terrific atmosphere... great staff too! ...looking forward to the next event.

Five stars isn't enough! Just enjoyed my Sunday dinner in here and everything was absolutely superb in all respects. Excellent service, friendly staff and the food was wonderful.

Had great lunch at this pub. It has real character. Gina was friendly and efficient. Food was good, better than average for a pub, lots of interesting choices on the menu. Very positive experience, more than we expected.

Great lunch recently, good food, friendly and efficient service. Pub had nice atmosphere, lots of character.

Had a lovely Sunday chicken burger here.. service was good and dogs allowed...spacious dining area.would go again.

Nice little bat with good views, food was good and well priced. Service was great, very friendly.

Meh ....ran out of roasts (understandable as it was 5pm) chose pie and mash with season veg, got microwaved mash, a tasteless pie and frozen peas ! For 15 quid !! My partner had the burger it was average at best as we walked out i noticed the specials board with clam chowder(my fave) no one mentioned a specials board !!!! ...won't be back. ..disappointed

What a lovely place and great food - absolute gem. A very special mention for the hospitality- bent over backwards to sort out a Gluten free and potato free main course dinner for me. Highly recommend

Delicious Sunday lunch as usual! I had the pork belly. Succulent meat with decently cooked vegetables. Nice rich gravy and huge delicious homemade Yorkshire pudding!Excellent service from the friendly owner and team. Never disappoints! Love coming here! One of my top 5 Sunday lunch choices

Came here before Victorious festival with my boyfriend. Staff are incredibly polite and lovely, hot drinks included a biscoff and the food is fantastic. Great value for money. 10/10

Friendly, great food and lovely to visit.

We popped into this lovely pub for a drink and the guy behind the bar Antonio was very welcoming and friendly! Served us with efficiency and a great smile 😊

This used to be a lovely old pub of old portsmouth & it's changed hands a few times over the last few years, but there are always dirty glasses on the side of the bar & empties left on the tables, uncleaned. Dirty tables, & this is sad to see for a historical pub. It gives off the vibe that it's cheap & dirty. Staff seem lazy. Something needs to be done to turn it around. Or you will not change the minds of any of the locals.

What a find! Over from Australia and came across this gem on our first night. Such a warm feel to the place with its old beams, great lighting and historical memorabilia dotted throughout the place. Warm and friendly welcome and top customer service. Food choice was great, covering a range to suit everyone and when it came to the table, sooo good. Went back on our second night (ladt night) and felt totally relaxed and at home. This is a must if you're in town. 😊

We had a lovely dinner. Staff so friendly and helpful. Cosy place to be.

A really nice pub towards the old town. The fish and chips were exceptional and drinks were reasonably priced. We saw a few roasts going by which also looked delicious. Service was quick and friendly.

Ordered a Guinness, was free poured.... the picture say it all

We went for the fish and chips and were not disappointed. Fabulous meal of fresh fish. Really lovely staff. Super time - thank you!

The fish and chips and prawns were so fresh and delicious. As was the desert.

All 5 adults enjoyed the meals, fish and chips, pie and mash, glorious food, nice and chilled. Loved it

Lovely pub for a chat and a beer.

Unfriendly unattentive and just not nice. Tables all reserved with a function about to take place at the rear. No where to sit. Very poor service and just not friendly even when being served. THIS PLACE IS RUBBISH

Booked a table very last minute for Saturday evening. Accommodated us in the bar area. 2 of the same starter were not available, however when asked the staff asked the kitchen to amend one of the starters which was done immediately. Lovely food, great service especially as they were very busy. Good value for money, mentioned that the menu online didn't match with the menu available which they didn't know about as they had changed to summer menu yesterday. Duly noted and assured it will be sorted. Thanks to kirsty for above and beyond customer service.

Beautiful old building good food and service.

Beautiful, historic, clean and seriously welcoming. Excellent choice of craft beers, a wine list that is seducing. The true winner is the food menu - original dishes, thoughtful and totally alluring. Anne and Ted from Oz thoroughly enjoyed. Salutations x

Didn't get to order food. Horrible service. Waited a hour at table for staff to order my food. Ended up walking out. Wasn't even that busy

I recently visited The Dolphin for my wife's birthday after a good friend of mine recommended it. I had heard that it had undergone a refurbishment and change of management. As one of the oldest pubs in Portsmouth, I was intrigued to see what it was like now, considering its interesting reputation in the past. I am very pleased to say that I had a lovely time and my family thoroughly enjoyed it. The pub now caters to families, is dog-friendly, and the staff were excellent, going above and beyond to make our experience enjoyable. They even brought out the cake I had brought for my wife and sang happy birthday to her. The menu was impressive, offering typical Sunday roast options as well as traditional seaside meals like fish and chips, along with a great selection of burgers. The kids loved their meals, and even my 6-month-old daughter seemed content in her highchair, taking in the good atmosphere. I would highly recommend anyone looking for a Sunday lunch to visit The Dolphin and enjoy all the benefits it has to offer.

Popped in to watch the 2nd half of the Spain vs Croatia match. I want packed but nice vibe even with a large group of lads in. Bar staff were friendly to our large group which consisted of children and made some killer cocktails. The black old fashioned was good, but the elderflower Southside cocktail was bloody good.

We were recommended this place, but will say it wasn’t as great as we thought it would have been. Cauliflower starter was nice but cauliflower was overcooked before it had its coating on, so it was quite mushy. Steak and Ale Pie, pastry thick and dry with hardly any filling. Cabbage had hardly seen the boiling water so near enough raw. Eton Mess very sloppy…. Disappointing. Staff were friendly and very helpful. Sadly meal was great.

Really good murder mystery night. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was really good. Everyone was having a great time solving the crime. The staff were good fun and handled an evening with about 60 people attending very well.

Great friendly staff and lovely food! Will definitely be back soon

Very old pub with a modern twist. Good beer and friendly service, within easy reach of the cathedral and coast

Great pub with a warm welcome and comfortable enough just for drinks or a meal.

Really enjoyed our trip to the Dolphin for a roast. Lovely, attentive service and great tasting food. Would definitely recommend

Excellent service and very nice food, 2 Sunday lunches and 1 from specials-excellent

New ownership a positive , but the smell of rancid oil and fish is a complete put off . What a pity use to be a great Pub a few years ago

Lovely pub with good friendly staff

Love this real ale pub.. can't speak for the food

Starters okay, My main had cold mash, the other had a pie which was rock hard. My main was changed to fish pie, but this had not much fish content, potato like glue, peas cold. When we mentioned this to staff, they were not experienced to deal with complaints, One dark haired lady got the hump, and could hardly face me, & said she would speak to her supervisor, the supervisor came out & seemed surprised when I said I was not paying for my main as both my meals were not up to standard & my husband had to eat his meal alone whilst my 2nd meal was being prepared. The cook/kp came out of the kitchen to see who was complaining about his food, but did not comment. Expected better, left very disappointed.

My partner ,my two children and i visited the dolphin for a sunday roast We were greeted by a very friendly member of staff called Jerry and munites after we were shown to our table i’m so happy we come across this amazing place !!b atmosphere was amazing and the food was delightful!! for starters we had the garlic king prawns and the deep fried hake both was super tasty and cooked to perfection! For main my children and my self had a roast . kids had chicken that was lovely and i had the beef with a side of cauliflower cheese….i haven’t tasted such a good and well cooked beef for a long time long time !!! baby carrots was a lovely touch and the UNLIMITED home made yorkshire pudding also great !! my husband had the chicken burger with a side of home made coleslaw!! again he was not disappointed!! chicken was tender and super tasty ! It’s a 10 out of 10 from all four of us!! We have already rebooked for the following Sunday!!! Looks like we finally found our Favourite place !!!

Visited the pub 3 times over the weekend great place

My first time in Portsmouth and I went to this pub, I had a great time! Magda working behind the bar was a wonderful, happy, funny, beautiful human who kept the drinks flowing! Thanks for a great evening.

Ideal spot after some shopping/ movie/ evening walk by the old Portsmouth area / Gun Wharf.A very friendly team member acknowledged our entry and seated us.They were very pleasant and welcoming. Nice ambience, felt very positive throughout the evening spent there.Food was great.we really enjoyed our visit and will be visiting again.Many thanks to chef JD and team for a wonderful evening with delicious food and drinks.

Lovely, tasty and fresh food. Good selection of dishes available on the menu. The staff were very welcoming and attentive, would highly recommend a visit!

Visited Saturday night for a meal, great experience best fish and chips I've had in a long time, Alhana was very attentive.

Fabulous discovery. perfectly cooked fresh food we had the roast beef and the sea bream special, absolutely delicious. Great selection of wines. gena who served us was very knowledgeable and answered every question we had ,fantastic service everyone was so friendly and lovely to talk to and the pub is very cozy and warming can't wait to return

Great welcome on arrival and very attentive staff. Food was very tasty, fresh and delicious! Cant’t fault The Dolphin, would highly recommend a visit!

A lovely pub with a good selection of beers and a nice atmosphere. The fish pie was delicious, and the staff was very welcoming. Apple crumble was generously portioned and lovely, but less sugar would improve its taste.

Simply Delicious! Really great value, lovely atmosphere and service, and most importantly food was yummy. The kids meal were a bargain, fresh and thumbs up approval from my two fussy kiddies. Will be back soon!

Great Roast lunch today. The beef was delicious. Loved the lush desserts 🍨. Great friendly service.

It's a pity that previous reviews cannot be expunged. This is a completely new establishment. Friendly, caring, busy but attentive and honest. The food was spot on. Fish and fowl both equally excellent. It's all fresh - none of the frozen/reheated guff from before. Four (FOUR!) cask ales make for an excellent session from a refreshing starter pale ale at 3.8% up to a 5.1% brew for later - well kept. We were asked at regular intervals if we were happy. We were, despite the busy hours on a Sunday, with numerous parties (including an entire choir covering services in the cathedral opposite) and everyone else's different requirements. We will revisit soon.

Fabulous pub with great service. Delicious food and good beer.

Lovely meal & a pint, dog friendly, great service, very friendly & characterful surroundings

No longer does sky sports but good food

Pomptastic times to be had by all in Portsmouth’s oldest pub. Really quite pricey, but worth a visit 💙

This is our first time visiting Portsmouth and wanted to have a proper pub experience and enjoy ourselves on a Saturday night. Magda was super kind and very attending, we loved how throughly she answered all of our questions and even gave a few tips about local clubs. Great experience overall. Thank you

Had a great evening with friends. Great food and location. Very friendly staff especially Magda with great jokes!

Great to see The Dolphin return to a friendly local . Popped in for a drink and some snacks had a selection of the starter dishes which were great for sharing .If visiting Old Portsmouth definitely worth a visit

Went there recently and had a lovely time with my partner. Ambiance was just right, given it was afternoon and typical weather outside. Greeted with a warm hello and the service was great. Mags in particular stood out, with her warm smile and recommendations for our drinks, a real credit to the business. Thoroughly recommend.

Really nice atmosphere, fits this part of town really well. Fantastic selection food and drink, and great service from Magda, really made our day!

Such a turnaround, recently taken over by a new team, so we felt we had to try it out. The food was fantastic, service was incredibly attentive and friendly. We would highly recommended this pub, a real gem in Portsmouth! We will definitely return!

In this neck of the woods its the one you want to go in. Unpretentious and easy-going vibe. Definitely still a pub and thankfully not a restaurant, though food smelled good. Great, friendly barman, sent us off to Palmerston road when the bar closed. Ordinary service, nice and ordinary, that's what I was looking for. Decent ambient tunes and well pitched ambient lighting. Spacious not cavernous. Back yard. No games. Old and nautical in a brilliant way.

I didn't go in there, it was closed

Getting better, still. Some teething problems with new management but getting lovely

Great pub in Old Portsmouth, the oldest in Portsmouth as legend has it. Food was excellent and first class service. Will diffently visit again.

Really good food. The Salmon and the fish pie were lovely. Nice atmosphere. Great for watching the Rugby. They had a good range of drinks, including Blue Moon.

Lovely old pub in Portsmouth, its quite open plan which makes it feel large and airy.

Didn't have any food but what a lovely pub with lovely staff.

Great Landlady with a great team, serving a great choice of drinks and beautiful food, so glad it has been taken over from the last lot that ran it into the ground!! Thank you!!

I had not been here for many years and decided to visit, knowing there was new management. We were a party of four and could not fault the Dolphin as a venue on the 'come-back' trail - the staff were polite, hospitable, efficient, and well-presented. The bar is well stocked and a very welcoming place to be. The atmosphere was relaxed and very pleasant. The dining areas have an old-world charm; the menu hits the spot in not being overly complicated, and the food is excellent, sourced from local suppliers; our fish was supplied from the local fishmongers within walking distance from the pub, while the vegetarian roast was superb as was the roast beef. It was refreshing also not to have football (soccer) playing on the TV, which I'm told is part of a strategy to renew the pub's image while supporting local suppliers and upholding the historical provenance of being Portsmouth's oldest pub. We'll definitely be back!

Oldest pub in Portsmouth but very modern interior. Food excellent and far surpassed usual pub food.

Oldest pub in Portsmouth, good bar, great garden.

Went for beer and a meal, with the wife when we were babysitting the daughter's chow chow dog. the staff are extremely warm and friendly in a traditional pub atmosphere. The dog was provided with water and offered snax, she had a lot of attention. My wife had the moules and I, a fish pie, both of which were tasty and good value. We will be returning.

We were only passing as we were in the old quarter of Portsmouth, this bar is opposite the old city cathedral, so we called in, just had a quick drink, no food, but what we saw looked really nice and comments from those customers was very positive.

Typical English place, fantastic cuisine and super service.

Spent a lovely evening having dinner with my partner and kids. The bar staff were really friendly and our waiter Jerry was amazing. Table service with a smile! Food arrived quickly and was delicious! Definitely recommended a visit

Very nice pre theatre dinner at this newly renovated pub in old Portsmouth. Staff very friendly and help full. Food was excellent. I’ll be back for the cod curry sometime soon.

I've stayed away for two years after bad customer service put me off. A friend and I tried it today. Though certain drinks were off, staff were friendly/apologetic. Food was good.

The new owners haven't done much more than repainted but that has changed the atmosphere entirely. It's dark, bordering on gloomy and I love it. It's allegedly Portsmouth's oldest pub and the new look gives it a historical feel again. The previous incarnation of light and airy really put me off. We didn't eat on this occasion but the Sunday roasts looked and smelt fantastic. We'll definitely check it out. I was really pleased with the selection of beers/lagers on tap. My wife had a dry rose which she enjoyed. Can't wait to return, I won't be driving next time. 😁

We are so pleased we came across the Dolphin pub on our walk from Southsea to Portsmouth on Sunday. We were warmly greeted by a young man who helped us make a decision about where to sit when our group couldn't decide and really knew his stuff regarding our drinks requests. The food was all delicious, 3 of our group had the roasts, beef, chicken and pork, and 1 of us had fish and chips. The portions were plentiful, and we took advantage of the extra homemade Yorkshires and gravy too. All the staff were efficient, friendly and professional. We had a chat with the new landlady who told us they had only reopened under her new management on Thursday. The restaurant got very busy and had a warm buzzing atmosphere, we will keep this on our list to visit again when we are in the area.

Our welcome was very warm and friendly. Our food was delicious ,best Sunday roast we’ve had out to date . Pudding amazing. Thank you .

Great for hosting family functions, food was good, so was the music & drinks. Atmosphere was very welcoming and the staff are so friendly.

This was the first time we visited The Dolpin. The staff were excellent, polite and very friendly. The drinks were cold, and all sorts aplenty. We really enjoyed the food and service. Highly recommended.

Attended the Dolphin for a friends event, was hosted spectacularly and food was fantastic. New management have clearly gone all out on making the oldest pub in Portsmouth, the best venue in town. Would highly recommend.

Such an iconic building and location within Old Portsmouth - but still doesn't deliver . . .

Regrettably, our Sunday visit to this establishment was far from the positive experiences highlighted in Google reviews. Despite the advertised Sunday roast with abundant trimmings and unlimited Yorkies, reality delivered a meagre portion with mediocre mashed potatoes, uninspiring servings of potatoes and carrots lacking in flavour, a scarce presence of onions, and a gravy that could only be described as resembling something out of a packet—altogether falling below our expectations. The dubious combination of quantity and quality left much to be desired. In attempting to diversify our order with a side of chips, we were informed that the pub refrains from serving chips on Sundays(!) Additionally, our request for cauliflower and cheese met with disappointment as it was not available. The limited Sunday menu further exacerbated our culinary predicament. The barman's assistance seemed, at best, indifferent and lacking in enthusiasm. Never again.

Good historic pub selling good quality drinks with a pub food menu. Worth a visit, recommended! 😀🍻

Love this pub, just go in there sometimes after a brisk walk around Southsea. Their food looks delicious but not ate in there yet. Two drinks £13. Friendly staff.

Not very good service or food for that matter, poor all the way through tbhwy, really did not meet any of my expectations or my mother's, highly disappointed, and that's all I'd like to say about that

A great beer drinking pub with an awesome pub quiz.

We came here today for lunch and a catch-up with friends. I've been living in the area a long time, but not had the chance to come here before, but was delighted to discover this pub! Food was outstanding, and for a brilliant price, the drinks were excellent, the service was sound and the staff lovely. Small garden area out the back, and dog friendly, so we were able to nip the puppy out back regularly. Overall, I highly recommend a visit here!