BRIDPORT fishmongers scaled new heights when they took delivery of a monster from the deep on Friday.

The giant halibut, trawled from the bottom of the North Sea, weighed in at 140 kilos and cost £1,326.

It was bought by the Bull Hotel at Bridport and delivered to wholesale fishmongers Davey’s Locker on the Dreadnought trading estate for preparation.

Boss Shaun Buller said it was by far the biggest fish they had ever had to deal with.

“It’s a monster,” he said. “It was driven here from Grimsby and it took five of us to lift it onto the slab.”

Chefs at the Bull spent much of Friday carving the fish into 600 portions. Bar and restaurant manager Andy Briggs said they had been offered the fish and decided to buy it.

“It is quite a novelty,” he said. “Actually this one is a bit of a baby – we were offered one of around 600lbs (272 kilos)!”

Bull Hotel owner Richard Cooper said: “It is a very lovely fish. We bought it mostly to sell at the Weymouth Seafood Festival – it’s great wrapped in panchetta and then grilled or pan fried.”

The halibut was also on the menu at the hotel over the weekend although Mr Cooper said by the time the News was published today all the fillets would have been long gone.

The Bull has had a busy week with Tuesday’s limited edition menu both to celebrate the Coopers’ three years at the helm and the hotel’s 400-year history.

To pay tribute to the Bull’s stoic reliability, they have devised the limited edition, ‘1593’ menu.

Mr Cooper added: “The earliest record of the Bull at Bridport Museum is 1593, which we thought was a fair price to offer this special menu at.

“Since then, it’s seen its fair share of ups and downs, with royal visits and as part of the Trafalgar Way during the Battle of Waterloo, there was even a murder here during the Monmouth Rebellion. But the hotel, as its name suggests, is made of strong stuff, and will always be here to offer a welcome break from whatever is going on in the outside world.”

The special edition menu is to be repeated on July 21.

Dishes are historically-inspired, such as devilled whitebait and steak and oyster pie. Other choices include spinach and cheddar soufflé and a summer pudding with clotted cream.

Spaces are limited. Call 01308 424878 to make a reservation.