Port Stephens is known for many things – beautiful beaches, diverse wildlife, rolling sand dunes, and stunning bushland. But the crowning jewel of the region is perhaps the abundance of fresh, delicious seafood.

There’s plenty of places to find local seafood when you head to Port Stephens, but one that has been dishing up the freshest catches for almost a decade is Bub’s Fish and Chips.

Perched right on the marina in Nelson Bay, Bub’s Fish and Chips is about as close as you can get to local trawlers bringing in their catch. Fishermen’s Wharf Seafood, the seafood market next door, is the first port of call for those looking for fresh fish, oysters, crabs, and stacks more. 

It was this proximity to the seafood market that drew Bub’s Fish and Chips owner, Rob Rubis, to purchase the business three and a half years ago.

While celebrating his niece’s birthday down the road in Little Beach a couple of years prior, he first tried Bub’s.

“I walked in here to buy seafood to have a barbecue and thought it was really cool, with the co-op next door as well, and the trawlers. The seafood was terrific, we had it that afternoon, and we came back the next day and bought some more for dinner,” Rob said.

After returning home to Sydney, he found out that Bub’s happened to be for sale, and he jumped on the opportunity.

Having owned plenty of restaurants in his 35 years in the hospitality industry (including currently the iconic Manta at Woolloomooloo), Bub’s was a change of pace for Rob and a way to get to know the seafood industry on a deeper level.

“Funnily enough, in the back of my mind, I always had this romantic – well there’s nothing romantic about fish – a romanticism about the whole concept of owning a seafood business on the water, that wasn't a restaurant.”

Since taking over the business, Rob has held onto Bub’s commitment to sourcing from right on its doorstep – the vast majority of its seafood is locally-sourced, from kingfish and snapper, to oysters, lobsters, and mud crabs – while sprucing up the place.

With a few licks of paint and new decor, Bub’s has taken on a bit of a Mediterranean feel while still keeping it relaxed. There’s also now a gourmet line of ready-marinated seafood and sauces, and Rob even plans on introducing a fish pie and seafood sausages.

Whether you stop into Bub’s for a family feast of hot seafood or fresh oysters to enjoy as the sun goes down, or get your seafood fix from Fishermen’s Wharf Seafood, you’ll be getting a taste of Port Stephens.