Caesars @ Dolphin

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#9 of 124 Restaurants in Braintree££ - £££, Italian, Pizza, Vegetarian friendly

+44 1376 321143+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

12:00 - 18:00

Wed

9:30 - 22:30

Thu

9:30 - 22:30

Fri

9:30 - 23:00

Sat

9:30 - 22:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

210 reviews

#9 of 124 Restaurants in Braintree

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Italian, Pizza, European, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

“... meal but it got better; the duck breast was tender and did not taste 'gam...”

“The ONLY thing missing is a Michelin star!”

“... , the freshly made foccia bread , amazing olives , and calamari to die for.”

“Best food in Braintree by far , calamari was spot on Lovely open fires and lo...”

Location and contact

Coggeshall Road, Braintree CM77 8EU England

+44 1376 321143

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Can a vegan person get a good meal at this restaurant?

Yes

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About

Modern European Restaurant High quality food at an affordable price - locally sourced - served in a comfortable, friendly, and relaxed environment”

CUISINES

Italian, Pizza, European

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Wheelchair Accessible

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4.5

210 reviews

Excellent

178

Very good

Average

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Terrible

Hides425

4 contributions

Lovely restaurant with fantastic pizza!

Feb 2020 • none

Great evening with good friends. What a lovely restaurant - the staff were very friendly and the pizza was so tasty. The pizza chef is actually from Naples so no wonder we were all spoilt with great food. The menu is varied and very reasonably priced so I will be returning soon to try some pasta dishes and more of the lovely house red vino! Shame I can't make the valentines evening as the set menu looks stunning! Thank you all for such a great evening.

Written 11 February 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MoragH

Cambridge2 contributions

Italian owners and chef know how to make an incredible pizza

Feb 2020 • friends

Recently went with friends, wow! If you want real Italian food, owned and cooked by Italians made fresh as you wait this is the place. Great atmosphere, really fab food with the best ingredients. Fabulous night, already booked to go back and explore the menu. (They even made fresh gluten free pizzas for my friend!) Thanks Enzo and team for a super night x

Written 12 February 2020

EssexTraveller1972

Braintree84 contributions

Lovely food, definitely worth visiting!

Aug 2020 • couples

Had a lovely fillet steak which was beautifully cooked, dauphinoise potatoes and a side of green beans which easily fed 2, and a herb crusted cod on a mussel, pancetta and pea chowder with dauphinoise potatoes (and half the beans!). Tables are well spaced out and paper (disposable) menus. Menu was interesting with veggie options (some reviewers had called it simple, I wouldn’t agree). NB they aren’t doing pizzas at the moment due to having to let their pizza chef go due to covid finances, so the more people eat there, the quicker they can build up the business again and hopefully re-employ him and use the pizza ovens again! It’s not cheap but it is definitely nicely cooked, good quality food for a good price. Five stars for food, 4 for ambience - it has been redecorated but perhaps the lighting could be softened and a bit of background music would help. Thank you Guiseppe and team, glad to have the Dolphin back!

Written 14 August 2020

Emily

1 contribution

Not the Italian we'd hoped for

Aug 2020 • none

We visited a few days ago after booking and we'd read reviews beforehand so had high hopes. However, we were really disappointed. The only redeeming feature was how friendly the staff were and especially the young women who were working so hard. It's a shame I couldn't say the same for the food. My partner fancied a pizza and we were told that pizzas weren't available but that didn't leave much left to pick from the menu. Our food was really bland and based on the time it took to serve the food I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't microwaved. Overall, we found it very overpriced and the quality of the food was not worth the money.

Written 23 August 2020

Teamjcaesars

We are sorry that you were disappointed with your meal. We are very happy to announce that pizzas will be returning on the 20th September. We hope you give us another chance.

Written 6 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

NicNac

8 contributions

Nothing special

Aug 2020 • couples

First meal out since lockdown and it was disappointing to day the least. No atmosphere, no music, could just hear the echo of staff walking around. Steong smell of fish when we walked in. The food was less than average. I had the seafood spaghetti and the mussels smelt very fishy, didn't eat them all as I was worried I would get a funny tummy. There was no chilli in the sauce and when I mentioned it to the waitress she tried to tell me that there was chilli in there but brought me a little in a dish to add in. My partner had the calves liver, tiny portion and dry liver. We shared profiteroles, which were just two on a plate! Covered in a thick white chocolate sauce. Extremely sweet, small portion and nothing like a profiterole. Would not go again. Extremely disappointing and expensive for a less than average meal.

Written 30 August 2020

Helen T

Great Notley2 contributions

Delicious food and friendly service!

Jul 2020 • family

Went for the first time to Caesars today for lunch with our three adult children, two of whom are vegetarian. Had a variety of dishes between us, including the Calamari to start with, which was absolutely gorgeous, light and crispy and not at all greasy as it can sometimes be. It was beautifully garnished too, with very delicate deep fried strips of vegetables and micro herbs. The service was excellent and very friendly and relaxed throughout, and they were also very accommodating by adapting a couple of the dishes for the (fussy!) vegetarians amongst us! The tiramisu I had for dessert was delicious and again, presented beautifully with various berries and coulis on the side. Truly excellent espresso coffee to finish with too, according to my husband! All in all, it was a lovely relaxing experience and would definitely recommend a visit if you love tasty Italian food!

Written 23 July 2020

paolop

Chelmsford14 contributions

Magnificent meal

Mar 2020 • couples

This pizzeria restaurant was born from the encounter between the English tradition and the professionalism of Italian cuisine. Once inside the typical English building, the palate prepares to receive an English meal. Instead, the meeting of Italian flavors takes place. A harmony of flavors, expertly united by the professionalism of the chef and pizza maker, both Italian. The Italian manager will also offer you a welcoming welcome. Let him guide you to choose the tastiest dishes. The proposed menu offers a very wide range of meals whose price is really affordable. Really recommended.

Written 11 March 2020

giusroberto76

Thank you for your positive review. I look forward to seeing you again at Caesar.

Written 12 March 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

RedRoosters

3 contributions

Lovely experience

Sept 2020 • none

The service was polite and friendly. We were only in the area for a week and visited twice during that time. Each time we had a different meal each and they were all delicious. At the moment we were unable to sample the pizza, but were told that they would be available later in September - it's a shame we won't be able to travel 200+ miles to taste them. Our waitress, Summer, was very attentive and friendly and the atmosphere generally was warm. Happy to recommend this restaurant.

Written 9 September 2020

Teamjcaesars

Thank you for your review, we hope to see you the next time you visit Essex. Have a safe trip. Ciao Steve

Written 9 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

johntheaccountant

19 contributions

Lunch with business colleagues

Feb 2020 • none

Just been in with five colleagues. We rang ahead with our orders as we had limited time to spare for lunch. They coped well with our time needs, providing excellent food in a pleasant atmosphere. Being newly re-opened, the Chef was keen to have our instant feedback as he obviously wants to please his clients in future. We will be returning!

Written 18 February 2020

millview130

Braintree14 contributions

Wonderful food and service

Mar 2020 • family

Visited Caesar’s on Sunday afternoon after realising that it had really opened. We didn’t know though that it was an Italian. We was not disappointed. The food was exceptional with all foods being homemade. The pizzas was prepared and cooked in front of you and tasted like an authentic Italian pizza!! They did have other homemade choices on the menu which will will look forward to sampling when we go back. Can highly recommend this new make over of the Dolphin and will definitely return.

Written 5 March 2020

Jane232015

Rome12 contributions

A wonderful characterful authentic Italian restaurant

Mar 2020 • family

If you like amazing italian pizza you have found the right place. Great food with italian TOP quality ingredients and a warm service. We have been on a Sunday lunch for a nice true italian pizza. Giuseppe, the manager, is very friendly and chatty and he advised us about specials of the day. The menu is assorted. We have requested a pizza for our little one, and the pizza chef made a Micky Mouse shaped pizza.She was delighted! Best Italian restaurant I've been to in the Essex area.

Written 10 March 2020

giusroberto76

Thank you very much for your review. I am glad you have enjoyed both food and service. I hope to see you soon. Thank you again Giuseppe

Written 10 March 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

KT Mason

25 contributions

We arrived for a birthday

Aug 2020 • none

We arrived for a birthday meal. We were placed in the back of the restaurant which was empty. There was no music and we were told by the waitress that they couldn’t afford to pay for the music. Now we are in Covid times however the tables were multi coloured as were the chairs and the tables were covered in stickers. We were placed in a soulless room with no ambience what so ever. The other customers looked upset and disappointed. The wine selection was poor as was the food. Everything deep fried and no pizzas as we were also told that he had been let go. A cake had been made and they were asked if they could place this out the back. Quite rightly so they could not due to Covid, however, the owner came out with a very bad attitude saying the reasons why he couldn’t and ruined the surprise entirely. No tact what so ever. The decor was drab and it was as if we had been placed in a shed. Although that would of been better!! Even with the 50% discount we were not prepared to stay. It was a disappointing visit and we will not be returning.

Written 26 August 2020

Teamjcaesars

We are sorry that you had an unpleasant visit to the restaurant. We have had some staffing issues which unfortunately it seems bled out to front of house. The staffing issues have been resolved and we have now got new staff working at the restaurant. In regard to the back extension we have spent a lot of time and effort on this part of the restaurant. It is no longer “drab or looks like a shed “ In regards to the wine selection, we have been in this wine importing buisness for over 45 years bringing not only Italian wine but wine from all over the world into the UK. So we are struggling to understand that comment, as for deep fried food again that is simply just not the case. I do hope you try us again, we think your experience will be a completely different one, now we have ironed out some internal issues Ciao Steve

Written 18 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

JOO_10

London4 contributions

Lovely food and service

Sept 2020 • family

Went to Caesars at The Dolphin for lunch with my father. Super friendly service, although the full pizza menu is not available for a week or so there was a pizza option on the fixed price lunch menu (which I had and it was fabulous). Calamari was freshly made and desserts were also very good, in fact we ate more than we planned to! All the staff were lovely, well spaced table outside, would definitely visit again.

Written 16 September 2020

Teamjcaesars

Thank you for taking your time to write this review. We look forward to seeing you both again soon. Ciao Team Dolphin

Written 16 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Miljan C

Southend-on-Sea2 contributions

Excellent Pizza

Mar 2020 • family

My recommendation for this restaurant .Pizza was excellent made with fresh dough and fresh ingredients. Place was very clean and spotless toilets. Service was very quick and efficient , manager recommended special pizza for us and it was best pizza I had for long time .we thoroughly enjoyed and would definitely return

Written 2 March 2020

Nuno Pereira

13 contributions

Very professional and friendly place

Jul 2020 • family

I went to this place yesterday with my family and around 6h30pm and it was amazing. A very warm and professional welcome by the manager and the waitress was very kind on the service. The food it was something out of this world. The kitchen got open plan so you could see the chef cooking with passion using fresh ingredients, even delivering the food to our table. The taste of the food and the freshness it's very close to a top star Michelin restaurant and im not exagerating, it's really amazing. I high recommend this unica place in Braintree to any Italian food lover that wants top quality food and service. Congratulations to everyone there because they got there a place a top quality restaurant.

Written 8 July 2020

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