Blue Lagoon, the long-established and much-loved Fish & Chip shop chain, opened a new outlet in The Centre earlier this month featuring a 60 seater restaurant as well as a takeaway, offering shoppers everything from traditional favourites to more contemporary offerings.
We spoke to Alessandro Varese, Director of Blue Lagoon, to find out a little more about The Centre’s mouth-watering new eatery.
Blue Lagoon is a business with family at its heart, can you tell us about the history of the company?
Blue Lagoon has been in the Varese family for over 40 years – the first branch was opened up by our grandparents – Ersilio Varese and his wife Edda.
Ersilio was born in Italy and was a real entrepreneur; he and his childhood sweetheart Edda opened the the first Blue Lagoon Fish & Chip shop on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street in 1975. It was hard work and long hours but the restaurant was an instant hit with the Glasgow public as soon as it opened its doors.
The business quickly expanded with four other sites in Glasgow city centre, establishing Blue Lagoon as the face of traditional fish and chips in Glasgow.
Through basic principles of bright, attractive and clean premises, high quality smiley service, top quality foods and consistency our business has continued to grow over the past 40 years.
Where did the name Blue Lagoon come from?
According to my Grandfather, one of the family came up with name as they liked Blue Lagoon cocktails which were in fashion at the time!
This is the first branch of Blue Lagoon in the Lothians – how does that feel?
We’re very excited to be opening in The Centre, Livingston. This is our thirteenth branch and only the second time we’ve been based in a shopping centre but we’ve had a fantastic response already from the people in Livingston.
What’s unique and exciting about our Livingston branch is that it has a dedicated restaurant section rather than being in a food court setting. This gave us more freedom to be creative and really put our stamp on the dining atmosphere at Blue Lagoon.
You’ve transformed the unit – what did the refit entail?
We’ve invested 250k to completely refit and rebrand the unit to our Blue Lagoon themed specification which comprises a 60 seater restaurant and a takeaway.
We’ve brought modern and trendy design features to the unit, mirroring the style of our most recent shop fits. This includes a Caribbean themed tropical design with vibrant colours, neon signage and palm trees alongside stylish booths and lighting with a more retro vibe.
What can diners look forward to at Blue Lagoon?
As the business gets passed on to the 3rd generation of the Varese family, we continue to be as passionate about traditional Fish & Chips as our Nonno Ersilio and Nonna Edda were back in 1975.
With true love and passion being put into every fish fried by our highly trained and motivated fish fryers, the smiley service given by our dedicated counter assistants, and restaurant staff happy to have a warm chat with our customers about their day – at Blue Lagoon we aim to please all customers and ensure no one leaves our establishment unimpressed.
What tempting offerings can we expect on the menu?
Blue Lagoon prides itself on its reputation and the quality food that’s served with a smile at each of its establishments.
Traditional Fish & Chips is naturally one of our most popular dishes – our fish is supplied daily, fresh from Aberdeen and the potatoes for our chips are peeled daily and sourced mainly from British farms.
We also have a few modern delicacies on the menu – everything from chips, cheese and curry sauce to our tasty pizza crunch and everyone’s guilty pleasure, deep fried Mars Bar with ice cream.
Blue Lagoon is closer to Edinburgh than ever before… Do you offer salt ‘n’ sauce?!
Haha, yes I can confirm that, in a first for Blue Lagoon, we offer salt ‘n’ sauce alongside the usual salt and vinegar!
Do you have halal options available?
Yes, there are quite a few halal options on the menu including Battered Fish, Special Fish, Chicken Goujons, Scampi, Calamari Rings, Fish Cakes, Pizza, Pizza Crunch, Baked Potatoes and Chips.
When can people enjoy a bite to eat in your restaurant or a tasty takeaway?
Both our restaurant and takeaway are open from 10am – 7pm, seven days a week.
Whether people fancy one of our famous Fish Teas in a tropical booth, or a traditional Sausage Supper with cheese & curry on the chips…. our 60 seater restaurant & takeaway has something on our menu to satisfy everyone!
‘Think Fish & Chips…Think Blue Lagoon’
