Rock Lobster - D'Albora Marinas Port Stephens

Ph: 4981 1813

Today we went to port stephens. We drove past this seaside cafe / restaurant on the way to little beach where we planned to snorkel for the morning. It was approaching midday when we felt hungry and cold since the water wasn't so warm this time of the day. So, we dried ourselves off and drove down to the D'Albora Marina to have a "light lunch".


We chose the beer battered barramundi with chips and a seafood platter. It didn't really take too long for the food to come out. The fish in Betty's opinion was the best fish and chips combination that she had ever had. I'd definately agree with her on that point. The fish was soft and tasty, with a crisp but not too thick layer of batter on the outside. Usually with fish and chips, it's mostly batter and the batter isn't even that great. This one was an exception to that observation. The chips were thick cut steak chips with some sort of light crumb coating on the outside. These were crunchy on the outside and light & fluffy on the inside.


On the seafood platter, there was crab, prawns, oysters, smoked salmon and some melon to fill the plate. I showed betty how to peel a prawn so that you can eat the head without it actually looking like you're eating the head. You end up with a prawn that has a bit of extra meat on the end where the head usually is, but without the shell and legs. The prawns tasted sweet and fresh, the flesh was nice and firm without the extra brine that you usually get. The oysters were, well, oysters. What more can I say? They were delicious! The same goes for the smoked salmon. There's not really that much to comment on when it comes to good seafood. Betty doesn't really like melon fruit, so I ended up eating it all.


At the end we were still slightly peckish. So, we ordered a half dozen mornay oysters. This came out pretty quickly since we ordered it half way through our meal. They were served on a bed of sea salt (a bit of a waste if you ask me), with a little bit of greens to garnish the plate. The cheese was so creamy, not unlike the cheese you get from the lasagne I used to order when in primary school. The oysters underneath the layer of creamy goodness were, just that, oysters. What more can I say? They were delicious! The crab wasn't the usual mudcrab i'd have at home, this was some new kind of crab i've never encountered before. It was smaller but the meat in the crab was quite sweet. When dipped in the gingery soy sauce, it was like having yakisoba with gingery soy sauce. Only it wasn't yakisoba. It was crab.


I'd definately come here again the next time I drive up to port stephens! I'd give it a 4 / 5 since I have to drive almost 3 hours to get there. You also get a good view of the marina where all the ships are parked. Quite a pretty view indeed.