Fish and chip shops are to Southport what Italian restaurants with faux Italian waiters are to…read moreFormby. With it being a seaside town (I'd describe it as Diet Blackpool), fish and chip shops are very, very common in Southport. There are a fair few in the town centre and it only gets worse as you head up towards the front. Some are okay, some are terrible and some, like Harpers, are very good. On the busy Eastbank Street, the takeaway section of Harpers at the front of the shop is quite small and cramped, meaning the busy lunchtime period results in a slightly squashed few minutes. However, the staff there are all very efficient so you're never normally waiting too long. If you're not in a rush, there is a restaurant part to Harpers to at the back of the shop, where you can sit down with your fish, chips and mushy peas and eat in relative peace as you wash it all down with a cup of tea. The food itself is probably the best in the area, with their chips being delightfully fluffy and their fish being crispy and full of flavour. Their prices are a bit expensive but competitive nonetheless, meaning Harpers is a good place to go for a bite to eat during lunchtime.

Oh my days! The name does not do this place justice...The walls are covered with awards and…read morerecognitions not garnered by flogging greasy spuds. Efficient, friendly staff will ask for your order as you walk in to reduce waiting time, which is sad in a way as you have less time to gas with Formby's finest such as Norman and Joe who can be found in here. The sense of shared privilege being in this shop queue is tangible. Ask for the lightly battered fish if you want to get close to a cod tempura and it can come in a box for a few pence extra to make sure it arrives home in perfect condition. Talking of stars, a popular insider strategy is to put in your order, cross the road for micro-brewed Red Star beer in the best room in town, collect your food and roll home triumphant. You'll see, any tardiness will be instantly forgiven as you plate up and tuck in back with the family! This place is one mushy pea and a blob of tartar foam away from a Michelin Star. P.S. Just checked another review to find a chap came all the way from Chelmsford, Massachusetts to eat here!

The best fish and chip shop there is! The batter on the fish…read moreis light and crisp and the chips crispy but melt in your mouth and both are cooked fresh to order! The service is second to none and it is immaculately clean in all good catch shops, I would recommend anybody who hasn't visited yet to give it a go you won't regret it!

As a visitor from the USA if you are looking for authentic fish and chips this is the place. The…read morefish was white and firm and the breading crisp and light no grease. The chips were perfect crispy on the outside just like I like them. The service was fast, friendly efficient, and even a little funny. Went here with my family that lives in Southport and my family that came with me from the US. I highly recommend The Swan Restaurant

This restaurant lived up to its reputation, the fish and chips were the best I had eaten in ten…read moreyears! This is both a cafe and takeaway, offering a choice of fishes: cod, haddock and plaice - how many chip shops do that nowadays? The fish was fresh and the batter light, the chips also were nice, not to forget the mushy peas which again were perfect and not too salty. The set meals come with bread and butter (delightfully northern), tea, milky coffee or soft drink. All for under £7 for adult; £3 for children. There is a real upbeat buzz in the cafe; the staff are helpful and seemed happy in their work. This is a good quality, traditional English fish and chip shop. A welcome change from the chain eateries. Well worth a visit. The sort of place that should be on the tourist trail.

Nommmmm! Lovely fish and chips! fritters are great too, just a tad expensive!read more

According to my Southport-based workmates (yes, I do have another job apart from yelping all day…read moreevery day), 'sandgrounder' is the name that some native Southport residents adopt to call themselves. Better than Southportonians, I guess. As it is, a better name for The Sandgrounder might have been some phoenix-related as a few years ago it was gutted in a massive fire, only opening up again fairly recently. Despite this, The Sandgrounder continues to be a popular destination for those on their way to the pier or on their way home as they stop off for some fish and chips. The shop itself is very much built for customers to buy their scran and take it away with them, as the shop only has a service counter and a bit of space inside for customers to wait in for their order. Thankfully, the staff there are pretty efficient with their service so you're never waiting too long, but if it's not a very nice day (which happens quite often) then you'd probably be better off looking for one of the fish and chip restaurants down the road. On a nice day however, it's a pleasant enough place to get a bag of chips and sit on a nearby bench and watch the world go by as the food is pretty decent and most of it isn't too expensive.

My mother and I ate a burger from Sandgrounders last Friday. On Saturday we both became very ill…read morewith sickness and diarrhoea. It was the burger that caused it. I was very ill and you're lucky i didn't end up in hospital as i have other health problems that were made worse by being so ill. It's ridiculous. You should sort the place out quick before you kill someone.

It was an amazing selection of the most juiciest foods. I was really hungry and devoured the 2…read moresausage chips meal with curry and beans. Restrooms were as clean as ever and the drinks were icy cold so it was all fresh, the chips were not soggy and were delicious as well as the fish being an absolute masterpiece, the curry was sweet and great. Overall I really enjoyed. One more thing, the employees are the most thoughtful and nice people, they are very nice and easy to talk to, they are helpful and always willing to cater to your needs. Overall I had a fantastic time at The Dolphin.

Fish and chips. The staple of any seaside community. They're either moreish, lipsmacking and…read moredelicious, or mediocre. There seems to be no in between. Thankfully in Southport you're spoiled for choice and Dolphin is one of the best chippies in the vicinity. It's not just a chippy though. It's an actual restaurant, which might take away from the takeaway feel (do you see what I did there?) but you can still get your tucker all wrapped up in paper to sit on the promenade with so it shouldn't make a difference. If you do go for the dining in option, you'll be treated to excellent service as well as friendly banter and a choice of cod, haddock, fillet, plaice, scampi or fishcake or perhaps a pie, burger, sausage, egg... anything you'd find in your regular greasy spoon but neither greasy nor cheap-tasting. You can also get traditional dishes like gammon and pineapple, roast beef or chicken, lamb or turkey, boiled ham or a salad for prices between around a fiver and £7.25. At this place prices really are cheap as chips. Puds include apple pie, banana split, gateaux or knickerbocker glory and it's all very quintessentially British. As you can imagine with a menu like this it's a great place to take the elders, and aptly enough there's a special senior citizen's menu. Very Southport, very English and very cute.

Oh my gawd, could we like, BE any more touristy? This place has been going since I was knee-high to…read morea fire bucket, probably even longer, and some of my fondest memories involve accumulating a plethora of deep fried snacks from here. Mmm, battered fish. Mmm, fresh donuts. Mmm, vinegary chunky chips. Oh and not to forget the candy floss. Mmm, dissolvable cotton wool toothrot. And slush puppies. Mmm, blended frozen toothrot. I used to come here regularly with the brunette as frequent readers of my reviews will know (oh get me, 'frequent readers', it's not like I'm Hadley Freeman or Charlie Brooker or something... although I've yet to achieve my lifetime goal of marrying up one of my closest older friends and Mr Brooker so I can hang out with him all the time - it'd probably be too creepy if I married him myself. Not that hanging out with your friend's husband isn't creepy. Where was I again?) and this was the place we brought our motley crew to when we were redecorating her bedroom as teenagers. We made a right hash of it, and replenishing our energy sources with E-number laden goodness didn't do that any favours. Still, there was nothing nicer than to grab a pile of chips, settle down on the pier, enjoy the sunshine and be a complete Southport cliché. Blackpool, you ain't got nothing on the Port. This is an actual restaurant, believe it or not, with a shop adjacent to it selling all the sweeter stuff which also includes ice cream, popcorn, fudge (mmm, yielding sexual toothrot) and that strangest of candies, rock. I defy anybody to get through a stick of rock in one sitting without checking if they've chipped a tooth. That's like trying to eat a fruit pastille without chewing. Irritatingly impossible. Mmm, gum-shredding... I'll stop now, I promise. Back to the restaurant then, and if it's a nice day you'd be mad to take your fish and chips inside, but with the fickle weather of the North West seaside you might want to exercise caution. If you're outside you get to see just what a very strange building this is, an apt emblem of that wonderful balance between tacky and kitsch. If you want the full on traditional seaside Southport experience you could do far worse than this place on the edge of Funland and Pleasureland.

Surprise Surprise seaside lovers, yet another traditional fish 'n' chips shop at the Pier of…read moreanother British promenade. So, what is it that sets Silcock's apart from other chippies? Well, from my first experience at this chippery, it was easy to see why it is based in a prime location. It couldn't be in a better spot than right next to the Pier and Arcade with the fresh sea breeze and hoards of tourists waiting to fill their tummies. Food is a little on the pricey side but no doubt, some of the best fish 'n' chips I've had. Blackpool, eat your heart out because Southport's Silcock's does wonders. Whether it's haddock, plaice, cod or scampi, you're in for great quality fry ups and some traditional sweets afterwards. A fabulous setting and pleasant dining environment makes Silcock's a great place to eat with young and old alike!

This oddly-named chippy in Ainsdale village sounds more like a honey factory than a fish and chip…read moreshop. Maybe it's something to do with their work effort, suggesting that they work as efficiently as bees do, but somehow I doubt it. Name issues aside though, Busy Bee specialises in the usual chippy scran - fish, chips, burgers and Chinese, as well as kebabs. Their Chinese dishes are decent but not a patch on nearby Poon's, which I'd highly recommend. On the chippy side of things, whilst the food they offer might not be anything ground-breaking, it is nonetheless still made to an excellent standard. Their chips are slightly crispy on the outside whilst remaining deliciously fluffy on the inside and the fish is always a lovely golden colour. The burgers usually take a little bit longer but are worth the wait, offering a nice alternative to the usual suspects that are available. Rumour has it that Busy Bee has many fans in the nearby police station and if it's good enough for the local law enforcement, it's good enough for me.

Standard chip shop, wide range of chinese meals on offer, can get busy (tends to suggest most…read morepeople are happy with the place) so think about phoning your order in first

Nice chips whilst we waited for a train, but the portions are ridiculously small. Borderline rip…read moreoff.

Good value takeaway offering a large choice of English and chinese food. Huge portions on the…read morechinese a fried rice could feed two people easily. Staff are always friendly, queues are never too big when I've been in there. Slightly cheaper than local competitors, very clean handy for the station and the closest takeaway to Pontins

Not one of the star names among fish and chip shops in Lytham but that's no bad thing. Very good…read morevalue, no frills chippy with generous portions and several meal deals and offers. Tasty fish, chips and mushy peas, cooked to order. There's an opportunity to eat in too if you want to. Give it a try.

Incredible fish and chip shop. Food was fantastic, fish is crisp but not too oily, seating outside…read morefor take away but also there is a restaurant around the side. Only miss is no gluten free option, so my wife could not enjoy.