Blue Dolphin

A genuine village institution, Blue Dolphin has been frying fish in Shirehampton since it took over the old Simply Fish premises, and the shop has been a fixture of this riverside Bristol community for decades. Its bread-and-butter is exactly what you would hope for: fresh fish cooked to order, with a properly crisp Cod and Chips that locals happily queue for. Over the years the menu has stretched well beyond the fryer to take in fried chicken, lamb and chicken doner, burgers and a handful of vegetarian options, so there is something for most appetites.

The loyalty shows in the numbers — Blue Dolphin is rated 4.1/5 from around 176 Google reviews, a solid score for a long-running neighbourhood chippy. Established back in 1999, it has built its name on cooking to order rather than holding food under heat lamps, which is why regulars rate the freshness so highly. It is the sort of unpretentious, dependable takeaway that anchors a community, equally suited to a weekend treat or a simple midweek supper. If you want traditional fish and chips done the old-fashioned way in this part of Bristol, it remains a firm favourite.