Fish and chip sales from our local restaurants went through the roof last month. And it’s a fair bet that many of them were sold through the multi-award-winning Dolphin Restaurant on Scarisbrick Avenue. Our Ambassador Max finds out more from the owners.



The restaurant originally opened in 1957 with current owner Robert Handley taking over in 1982. It’s since been extended with the purchase of two adjacent shops resulting in a modern 140 seat restaurant selling a wide variety of food from an extensive menu.

The Handley family have been in the fish and chip business since the late 1950s having owned or managed restaurants in Blackpool, the Isle of Man, and five in Southport.

Robert, himself, has only ever known the restaurant business saying that he was practically born under a range cooker. And he’s passionate about the town having lived here most of his life. It’s a proper seaside town, he says, with all the advantages that brings in terms of visitor numbers.

With more awards than you could shake a stick including nine times winner of the Seafood Award, runner-up Family Business of the Year, voted one of the top ten friendliest Fish Restaurants in the UK and making it onto the Independent on Sunday’s top 100 fish and chip shops across the country, it’s great to see he’s doing so well.