Bub’s Fish and Chips serves the freshest, tastiest fish and chips i’ve ever eaten – in fact i’d say it’s worth a 130-mile drive.
Bub’s Fish and Chips is located in Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a small seaside community about 3 hours’ drive to the north of Sydney. Eating out in a foreign land is pretty much a hit-&-miss affair. Travel guides reflect the authors’ tastes – not yours. Conventional wisdom tells you to head for long queues or where locals flock to. That’s easier said than done. Long queues could jolly well make up of like-minded tourists following the same travel guide. And do you know of a sure-fire way to pick out locals wherever you are? I certainly don’t. I’m always hungry when i’m on a holiday – in fact i usually plan my sight-seeing routes around restaurants. And when i’m hungry, i usually want my food fast. This disability had brought me to many a bad restaurants but Bub’s Fish and Chips isn’t one of them.
Love at first bite
I ate at Bub’s the first time round simply because it looked like an authentic fish and chips shack. And of cause i was hungry as usual. That was in 2003 and since then, it had become THE fish and chips that others are measured against. If you ever see me muttering though a mouthful of fried fish, i’m probably saying “no way close to what i had in Nelson Bay!”. So when i went to Sydney for my holiday in 2005, i was determined to drive to picturesque Nelson Bay and stuff myself full of my favourite fish and chips. In fact i was half-mad with gluttony when i reached Nelson Bay, driving straight past my B&B where i was due for check-in to the marina.
Fried fish and calamari to die for
The food was even better than i had remembered. The big, batter-dipped fish was fried to a golden crisp and served piping hot on a bed of chips. The order came with a slice of fresh lemon and an assortment of condiments. Pepper, salt, ketchup and tartar sauce you name it. Seriously, the fish was so sweet that i devoured it plain. I also ordered a side-dish of calamari (did i mention that i’m a big eater too?). The calamari was the sweetest and most tender i’ve ever eaten. The glorious food, azure sky, emerald water, sunny marina and sea breeze worked its magic. I was smiling in delirious contentment by the end of the meal.
Bub’s Fish and Chips is proof that good food and tourist traps can exist side by side.
Here’s how to get there from Sydney:
- Take the Pacific Highway north to the F3 Freeway turn off just before Hornsby.
- Follow F3 north and when you reaches the end, turn right at the roundabout following the sign “Hexham and Pacific Highway” (BP service station and Burger King will be on your next left).
- Follow the road as it merges with the New England Highway.
- Follow the left lane and look for the sign “Taree & Pacific Highway” which directs you over the Hexham Bridge.
- Go north along the Pacific Highway following the signs for Taree until you see “next exit Richardson Road for Raymond Terrace/Nelson Bay” sign.
- The Richardson Road exit is about one km further on and will bring you to a roundabout. Turn right and follow the signs to Nelson Bay.
Once you reach Nelson Bay, head for the end of Teramby Rd.
