Blue Dolphin — Restaurant in Town of Owego

Okay so, full transparency—my husband and I attempted to go to The Blue Dolphin last week but got sidetracked by the new Chef Stanleys. We were actually in Blue Dolphin parking lot and decided to try out the new place instead. Not thrilled with the new place so this week we made it a point to go to The Blue Dolphin. We were greeted and seated promptly and drink orders taken. Our waitress was absolutely lovely and gave us time to view the menu. I had some questions about the crab cakes which she answered and helped me make my decision. My husband ordered the roast turkey dinner with all the “fixins” and I got the fried crab cakes with rice, salad and fries. Dinner rolls with whipped butter were brought to the table along with our salads. Fresh crispy greens with cherry tomatoes cukes, and thick creamy ranch dressing. Delicious. Our dinners were served shortly after and the portions were massive. My husbands roast turkey dinner was actual thick slices of roast turkey—not just a thick cut of deli meat that some places try to pass off. Seasoned gravy, creamy mashed taytos, delicious stuffing and a little cup of cranberry sauce. He devoured it. Now on to my crab cakes. They were huge fatties. Lol and I wanted to love them but I made a fatal flaw. When I heard fried I made the mistake of thinking they were pan fried— not deep fried. I know for a fact that if I had gotten them broiled I would have loved them but the deep fried version gave them a little bit of a “mushy” mouth feel. When our waitress came to check she immediately saw that I wasn’t eating and asked if I liked my meal, I was honest and said it wasn't my favorite thing but that it wasn't their fault I just misunderstood the cooking procedure. She asked if they could get me anything else and I said no it was my fault not theirs. She insisted. Lol Actually said “we’re not going to let you leave here unhappy. Do you like haddock? We have a great fried haddock!” I said sure and within minutes I had a beautiful fried haddock in front of me. Lightly breaded, flaky, moist and well seasoned. Melt in your mouth delicious. Fries were crispy, salty and perfect. We finished our meals and definitely had to get to go boxes. We were not leaving without some delicious desserts we saw on our way in. Strawberry cheesecake for him, Baklava for me. When I tell you that the piece of cheesecake was enough to satisfy two people, I am not lying. Very light, airy and delicious…but my Baklava??? Heaven sent. This is an authentic Greek diner and if you love a “real” diner then you know that Greek is the only way to go. Our food was fantastic but more than that, the service was above and beyond. Portions…huge, prices…reasonable, service…exemplary, taste…perfect. If you haven't tried this long standing Apalachin staple, go now. You won’t regret it. (Attaching some pics—sadly I didn't get a pic of my haddock but trust me, it was delicious!! And check out the size of that “piece” of...

Danielle, our server, was incredible, treated us like family, brought our food quickly, and checked on us often, always with a huge smile 😃. The food was phenomenal overall, although, some things to note for those interested. The ham dish, was a sweet and sour type, it included fruit like pineapple, but also? Green grapes, which we were surprised about.

My son was not a fan, but he was able to go around and eat the ham.

I ordered the pork dinner special. I requested the French onion soup, but here I was disappointed. It was not what I was expecting. The flavor was not terrible, but the presentation could have been improved. They did not melt the cheese the way it should be, but rather sprinkled some shredded cheese into the soup. Only afew croutons to count for the bread, and a ton of onions. The broth was ok, but I had to add salt, which i should not have to do. I think if it were reduced down a bit more that would take care of that. For bread, sourdough croutons, more of them, and then lay a nice piece of greyere or mozzarella or something like that on top of a crock type bowl, then put in an oven, or salamander thing to "bake" so it gets a nice crust and melts well. Also, the stuffing for the pork dinner? I recommend not putting it under the pork chops? They get very gummy. I ate them because they are delicious, but it is a texture issue. Stuffing should be fluffy, not flat and wet. My pork was delightful, fall apart awesome. I ordered candied sweet potatoes and they were the best I'd had in a very long time.

My hubby ordered meat loaf and he let me try some. It was delicious. Nice crust, tender on the inside, just enough binder, very filling. My son and my mom in law order the lemon orzo soup. It was delicious, as always. Next time I will stick with that. I know how delicious that is!

Mom in law got the turkey dinner special and said it was incredible.

Oh, and we all had leftovers, which is had for a late night snack (mine) Thank you always for a nice end to a great day in the southern tier. Im so glad I spotted this gem is a diner a couple years ago! Best kept secret! With the best...

I really hate to not give 5 stars. This has been one of my favorite places to stop for over 20 years. I recently took my kiddos in while passing through town. We were excited since we hadn't been in since about 2018. The food is usually delicious with huge portions. To start we had to wait quite a while for someone to come take our order, I was ok with this at first because many places are short staffed but there were at least 3 wait staff and it wasn't busy. I specifically asked for a fish fry and was served broiled fish that did not seem to be the specified Haddock. I didn't want to make a big deal so I just ate it and didn't send it back. The fish was watery, tasteless and mushy, overloaded with some sort of tasteless seasoning that I think was mostly paprika and annato and soaking in a bath of separated greasy/watery substance. The rice was also tasteless and dry. I ordered the cauliflower side which sounded delicious but was a disappointment. It had a spongy yet gelatinous texture, it actually jiggled when I tapped on it with my fork. The cheese-like sauce clearly came powdered from a pouch and wasn't properly dissolved because it had a powdery texture in my mouth. My daughter ordered the linguine with calamari and the pasta was also wet and mushy and the sauce was separating and wouldn't stick to the pasta. The bathrooms were in severe need of cleaning and updating with peeling/dirty pepto bismol pink paint, soap dispensers oozing soap everywhere, rolls of paper towels on the countertops and used paper towels littering the floors. I actually cleaned up the bathroom while I was inside. Again, I feel bad leaving this review but what has happened to the...