The Dolphin Inn - Thorpeness

I went to this restaurant for lunch with some friends who live in the area. The Sunday lunch was excellent and very reasonably priced, especially with the option to add a crumble for just £1 with a roast meal.

I was under the impression that vegan Thursdays would mean mostly vegan food on the menu that wasn’t really the case I think there were 4 options for mains with plenty more options for non vegans and no specials. I’m not even sure the menu was any different to any other day of the week. I had the butternut squash and bean filo parcels which were good, but nothing special. My partner had the chickpea burger, I had a try of it and it was so salty it was almost inedible. Other feedback was that the cauliflower vegan dish was also good and the cod cheek dish was bland. All expensive at around £18 per main. There were 1 or 2 vegan desserts. I think we enjoyed the desserts more than the mains. I would expect a much higher quality for the price and I don’t think this is a good example of how good vegan food can be. I felt a little bit responsible for taking the family there after reading the rave reviews on here. Something must have changed significantly at this restaurant since the previous reviews were written. It’s the only explanation I can think of. Updated from previous review on 2023 06 18

Had a really lovely nut roast for Sunday lunch and there were a few vegan options on the menu to choose from. Also loved that they gave a discount if you have oat milk in your hot drink, instead of charging extra!

Dinner for four. The vegan options were tasty but expensive for what they are. Our friends had fish which had to go back because it smelt terrible. They both ended up having the vegan option instead. Highly recommend the manager swaps the daylight bulbs in the dining room to tungsten (2700k on the box). The daylight bulbs are cold, bright and not at all welcoming. Cold lighting makes it feel like a cheap bar in Eastern Europe.

We always go here in a Thursday as they have many more vegan choices available via the Specials Board. Excellent pub, great service, fab staff and the food is top notch