Fresh seafood, generous portion at an affordable price. We ordered marinara pasta, grilled king prawn, octopus and seared swordfish to share among 3 of us. For dessert we ordered poached pear and earl grey panacotta. We enjoyed every dish thoroughly! My most favourite dish would be the grilled king prawn. Seafood was fresh and flavourful. We also ordered a bottle of Moscato and the whole meal was only around $180! Service was great too!
Overall, it was a lovely dining experience and I will definitely be back again.
I ate here with my partner where we shared the clam and ham chowder, oysters, grilled veggies, cuttlefish and the seafood pasta. Every dish was delicious and a generously sized portion. The whole meal including wine was under $80 which is an incredible price for such quality food. I will definitely be coming back as soon as I can.
Claypots doesn't look like much but it's much loved by many people I know so I finally gave it a try. It surpassed expectations - my meal was one of the bes that I've had in a while. They specialise in seafood-heavy Mediterranean cuisine but there are plenty of vegetarian options, all of which harness that salty, sour flavour profile that I love.
I opted to share the pasta puttanesca for my main, which was a huge serve and simple but delicious. Alongside, I got the grilled haloumi which came marinated in a spicy lemon sauce with bread, the Turkish eggplant topped with caponata and served on a bed of garlic oil, and the perfectly hearty and tart crushed potatoes in black garlic oil and sherry vinegar.
Everything was super flavoured but not over the top and paired wonderfully. The service was also great. My only criticism is that I wish the food was a bit less oily, but otherwise I loved it all.
Good food and environment. I’ve been here a few times already. Highly recommended!
One of the best restaurant in hardware lane. We enjoy the grill king prawn and pasta. Not to mentioned they offer zomato gold deal too.
My wife and I had a lovely dinner here and we are pleased to say that we enjoyed our visit. We started with the stingray tacos which had a fresh taste to it and was a great appetiser. Next up were the salt and pepper calamari bites, they tasted crispy, flavourful and fantastic! We finished our dinner with a moroccan claypot which was my personal favourite dish. It was the perfect dish for a chilli afternoon and really satisfied my seafood craving. Overall, we would love to visit again as the staff were extremely nice and helpful.
Not business in weekend. Nice service and great food, the pasta with 🐙 is 👍. Also the beef. Price is reasonable, will be back with friends again! Good to try
Nice arrangement of seating area inside and outside the resto, nice and friendly staff, good choice of food and drink also their collection of wine is quite complete
Everything in this restaurant wow-ed me! Before we were even seated down the waitress have alr gotten the sourdough bread appetiser ready for us! The seafood pasta was something else — honestly one of the best seafood pastas I’ve ever had! And the barramundi fish was tasty as well — but the serving was quite small. The live band was also super cute. The whole vibe of this restaurant was incredibly pleasant and it’s easily one of my new fav restaurants in melb 😍
What I love most about Claypots is the cosy European ambience. I suggest you visit at night - that’s when you can really feel the warmth in this place. Food is good too. We visited on Zomato Gold and had pasta marinara and the beef shashlik. Shashlik was juicy and flavourful, with a tasty tahini sauce and couscous as a side. Marinara had an awesome sauce; not the typical tomato based one - I guess there was lots of butter, garlic and parsley - and perhaps one of the best I’ve ever had. My only criticism is that the seafood was not generous at all. There was only one king prawn in the plate - I’d have liked to have at least a few prawns and perhaps a few chunks of fish, not only mussels and squids. Last but not least, don’t miss their Moroccan mint tea after your meal! It’s very refreshing! Enjoy with live music which is at the right volume, letting you have your conversations without having to shout!
I could get behind this Mediterranean diet. The squid ink pasta was sublime, with beautiful fresh clams that left me wanting more. The swordfish was absolutely stunning, grilled to perfection, and splendidly married to a plate of finely sauteed potatoes. My mate lost his keys at this restaurant, and the staffs assistance was much appreciated.
Need a good seafood, soupy hit? Well look no further
LOVED:
🔸the unique decor with bottles or wine, old style books and repurposed staircase tables
🔸the number of amazing looking seafood dishes
🔸that they are part of zomato gold, great deal!
🔸love the flavours and spices of the dishes, they all went well together as well as we were sharing the dishes
🔸the pasta was probably my favourite dish, light and refreshing, didn't feel too carby and crap afterwards
FEEDBACK:
🔹what is and isn't part of zomato gold was very confusing, would suggest having a separate part on the menu for 'sharing' dishes that aren't included in zomato gold
Good ambiance and good customer service. The Mediterranean flavour with a touch of Asian fusion agrees with me. It's not easy to decide which restaurant to patronize when you're at Hardware Lane but using a Zomato Gold membership helped me decide. Good choice too.
Claypots Barbarosa, CBD is the youngest among the other well established Claypots sister’s restaurant in Saint Kilda and South Melbourne. This humble venue offers creative and traditional European style “Aperitivo Hour” specialising in Seafood. This venue built under the concept of hospitality, friends a place where people feel warm, welcoming and delighted.
Yay: Seafood cocktail, Field mushroom, King prawn, Sambal stingray, Grilled cuttlefish, Moroccan claypot, Braised barramundi wings, Sauted leafy greens
Nay: N/A
Had dinner here Monday night with the boyfriend. I love the atmosphere here, and location. It’s nice for a date. My boyfriend isn’t a big fan of seafood but there are non seafood options which was good. We ordered clam and smoked ham chowder to share, Amattriciana alla Romana for the bf, and braised barramundi wings for me. They were delicious. The service was good. There was complimentary garlic mussels and Turkish bread for all guests that night, which was appreciated and well presented. Would return in future for another experience. Rate this place 4.6, rounded up to 5. Review by Maryane
Came here with a friend, ordered the sambal crusted stingray, pasta puttenesca veg option, amattriciana Alla Romana and two San gria cocktails 😊 service and ambience were pleasant. Dishes were delicious and we'll presented, overall a great experience highly recommended!
My partner and I made a dinner reservation at Claypot Barbarossa through The Fork on a busy Friday evening.
We ordered:
Starters
- Grilled Portuguese sardine
- Chilli bread
Mains
- Grilled whole octopus leg
- Moroccan claypot
Lovely and fresh Mediterranean food in a cosy and charming restaurant. Loved the live music as well - it certainly injected a great ambience. Will come back to try other dishes if we visit Melbourne again!
Located in the popular Hardware lane which is within 5 minutes walk from Melbourne Central station.
We got:
- Seared hervey bay scallop with sesame and lime
- Grilled cuttlefish with squid ink
- Sambal stingray
- Braised barramundi wings
- Creme brûlée citron
- Poached pear w almond crumble & lemon curd
It’s a nice and cosy location with friendly service. Food tasted lovely, the highlight savoury dish of the night would be the scallops (the flavours were just yum) and as for dessert, it is definitely be the creme brûlée (one of the smoothest I’ve had yet).
Would definitely come back some time soon to try their other dishes!
Jessica Sargeant (Unbeleafablefood)
+5
We loved our late lunch at Claypots Barbarossa! It's a seafood restaurant but they actually have many delicious vegan options available.
We tried the Chilli Bread, Crushed Potatoes, Roasted Eggplant, Lentil Soup, and the Barbarossa Salad. Such a tasty Mediterranean spread! My favourite was definitely the Eggplant, but it was all so flavoursome.
They also have live music on certain evenings, such a great atmosphere. You'll definitely enjoy your experience here!
㊙️ The Traveling Foodie
+4
Ordered the braised barramundi wings (5/5) and clay pot Barbarossa classic with spaghetti marinara (3/5) - too spicy with little pieces of fish and 1 prawn.
Service and atmosphere was top. The fish took some time to arrive.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Came here on a Saturday night without a booking. I did ring up to to make a reservation, but they said just come early, no need to booking. So we arrived around 6.30pm, Hardware Lane in the evening has a wonderful vibe and Claypots Barbarossa had a lovely 2 man band playing which was really nice.
🔆LOCATION🔆
Claypots Barbarossa is located on the famous Hardware Lane, closer to the corner of Lonsdale Street side. Very great location.
🔆SERVICE🔆
When we arrived, the waitress sat us all the way upstairs at the last table near the toilets. It wasnt that busy but she said that was the only table for 2 left inside. We werent happy with the choice, so we got up and went outside and wait for a table outside. We told the waitress we would wait for table here, she was very nice about it and said that a table would be leaving in a few minutes, she cleared it and ushered us to sit down. The waitress was very nice and accommodating as my friend had special dietary restrictions, and she asked the chef and was able to alter the Seared Swordfish slightly which was great.
🔆MENU/PRICE🔆
Seared Swordfish, $25.00
Moroccan Claypot, $25.00
Cucumber Salad with Goji Berries, Turmeric and Lime, $8.00
Fennel and Orange Salad, $8.00
🔆VERDICT🔆
The food was absolutely delicious, so much flavour.
My Moroccan Claypot had plenty of seafood and the sauce was very tasty (maybe a bit tooo spicy for my liking, even though I did say that I couldnt take any chilli).
The 2 salads that we ordered was refreshing and good complements to our mains.
I especially liked the cucumber salad.
If you enjoy Mediterranean and seafood, then this place you must visit!
My boyfriend and I give it high rating for its cozy and beautiful atmosphere, very tasty seafoods and attentive service and live music, fantastic night! Two gentlemen played double bass and (sorry I forgot;) at the doorway, it was another world when you entered in. Great great date night, we love it so much!! Definitely we’ll come back for another Melbourne night again!
Once again we enjoyed an excellent meal at Claypots. The fish is always so fresh and it is beautiful presented. The oysters were perfectly shucked and our fritto misto was lightly battered and delicious.
There is a nice wine list with a good range of wines selected to accompany fish. The service by the lovely Turkish lady is exceptional.
I recently went to Claypots hardware lane as part of a group of 6. We were on a Fork Dining special so only paid $35 a head plus drinks. Ordinarily I think it would have been $70 a head. Food was fab. Atmosphere was really nice out in hardware lane. Good cuvée on the menu 👌🏻
The only think missing was the famous garlic prawns as per St Kilda Claypots. Alas - they don’t offer them here as the menu has a much more Tapas lean to it.
But it was still a great meal and exceptional service.
👍🏻
A lovely seafood restaurant.. loved every dish we ordered. Simple food that tasted delicious! Very nice European atmosphere and great service. Will definitely be going back here To try other dishes on their lovely menu.
LoveFOOD Hate BADservice ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
+4
Tried this place with the 50% off special. Food is yummy... could be a little expensive without the discount with the amount of food we’re having. E.g 1 small little scampi is $12. House wine is pretty good too. Seafood is fresh. Will be back!
Came here with a promotion for 50% off...and who can criticise half price seafood! The wine is great value for starters - $26 for 500ml (this was
Not half price). The seafood here is fresh and the accompanying sauces is what makes the dishes. The garlic prawns are cooked to perfection while the sambal swordfish and haloumi are the stand out dishes. Love how they give you bread to mop up the juices and leftover sauce. Great place!!
Want a perfect evening with your date ? Want an relaxed evening with your friends and family over a nice wine, some Italian Opera / Songs / Music and Food? This is THE place to be.
Ordered a Seafood Claypot, Chicken with Couscous Claypot and Sea Urchin over a bottle of wine. We also ordered a charge grilled bread which was Delicious.
Clearly, the Seafood and Chicken Claypot was a winner. Perfectly Cooked and Fresh with loads of flavors....What more do you need from the Mediterranean cuisine. This was our first to try a sea urchin and we liked the texture and taste.
Wouldn't say inexpensive but definitely value for money. Portions were okay. Attendants a super friendly and helpful.
Vegetarian / Vegan are very very limited.
A Must in the very famous Hardware Lane.
Grounded Gourmet Globe-Trotter
+5
We found this spot as we were wandering down the hardware lane. It has been one of the best find so far. It was rather late and they were still open - the staff recommended us dishes based on our appetite and preferences.
This is by far the Freshest and flavoursome seafood meals I’ve had in a long time! It had a quirky funky set up and loved every moment spent here! Can not wait to go back and try some of their mains :)
I’ve been here twice with my friend. Everything is always so fresh and reasonably priced. Nothing fancy but so cozy, and you can actually taste the flavour of the ingredients. We ordered way too many first time and I felt sick from eating too much but literally everything I had was enjoyable.
I dont know why this place has a just 3.6 star, id been there last week on Thursday night and ate various dishes such as fish and shellfish. All food were unbelievable coz all sauces were nice harmony to every dishes with Red wine. Of course the players were too good for everyone. I like this place than South melbourne Market( its good too) and will be there soon again!! Love you guys and thank you for serving.
Had lunch today with friends fabulous food, all fresh and ever so tasty. we had a mixture of items and everything was of the highest standard. Place was clean, staff very pleasant and accommodating. Wonderful atmosphere. Will definitely recommend to friends and we will go back very soon.
Really good seafood at a reasonable price for the CBD. Love the fact they fresh seafood daily and as a result you always get a great selection. Staff and service is always fantastic!
Fabulous seafood lunch for $ 20
Per head
Very enjoyable - will come again. The service was friendly and the snapper with roasted vegetables so delicious
Also heard of free tapas between 5.30 and 6.30 daily!
Really nice place for a tea in the afternoon. The Moroccan Mint Tea is one of the best drinks I have had. The service is also amazing, lovely staff!
Good food, well priced as well. Service was very average though the night we went. Had an empty wine bottle taken away without being offered a refill. Still solid fish choice for the CBD
Excellent Seafood Restaurant!!! Very Friendly staffs 😃. Definitely coming back..Thanks heaps to the chefs for preparing such delicious food.
First time at Claypots Barbarosa and the food was amazing. It really lived up to the Claypots brand - seafood with Mediterranean and Asian interpretations. We enjoyed a lovely night with staff and ambience both very good.
My new fav oyster place. Good food, friendly service and live music. What else we could ask more? Don't forget check out their daily special board. This place just amazing.
What a fabulous lunch!
Greeted at the door by two enthusiastic ladies and ordered some oysters to have indoors and ordered an octopus roll to take away. Food was fresh- the octopus was scarce but at $12 the roll it was delicious. Would have liked a little fork to ease the oyster out of the shell but all in all a good experience. I work around the corner and it has taken me some time to try this place! Glad I finally did, will be back :)
Georgous food delicious .Service great , beautiful staff . Delighted they are in CBD . Can't wait to try more dishes . Had a light lunch and it was just yummy .
Casual urban style dinning & has a very laid back Mediterranean ambiance. Good quality serving & again more casual style & value of dinning. Staff very friendly & welcoming. I only had the kind fish grilled style with Spanish paella? & it was really good value. Quality ingredients. Will definitely return to dry the dinning menu options. Good for relax value seafood dinning with warm service! Overall rating comparing all above scores 4.3*
What a great find! We enjoyed all the dishes we tried but especially loved the sandal stingray. Interesting menu, funky little venue and great food! What's not to love?
As good as the original Claypots in St.Kilda! Glad to know that they have opened one on Hardware Lane, much closer to where I work. It would be great if they can add a few more dishes on the menu, feels like St Kilda one has more variety compared to this one on hardware ln. Keep up the good work!
A great new addition to the laneway. We head here for lunch all the time for seriously fresh and delicious seafood. They are always very friendly and food is homestyle and served with a lot of love. My favourite is the trevally and lentil soup. Yum!
Dishes taste good. And service is good too. People would not feel uncomfortable because the sweet service in the restaurant. Anyway, it is a really good place to have a meal in here
Claypots Barbarossa is the fourth venue from owner and restaurateur, Renan Goksin, who’s vision is to combine Australia’s laid-back lifestyle and love for local food with European-style hospitality.
Funky atmosphere with great music, we had a carafe of Riesling only $20, sardines plate, scallops, field mushrooms, mixed grilled vegetables, kingfish cutlets with a green salad and only $79 all up! We left feeling quite full and would return. I also really liked all of the little touches like comfortable cushions and hand bag hooks!
Excellent service, great recommendations of food, staff who are really happy at where they are! I fell in love with this place two years ago when I tried their king prawns in chilli oil. They still maintained the same flavor although presentation was different. The sautéed greens were actually kale done up so well and so uniquely. It's crispy, salty, sour. The crushed potatoes with sherry vinegar was good. My mum loved the sambal stingray. On the overall, my mum and I had a great time, especially when we were there to celebrate a happy occasion! Good on you!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Live music on Thursday nights until around 8:30, highly recommend visiting then!
Ordered a few small dishes to try different things.
They started us off with complementary olives in oil with bread, which was nice.
Harvey bay scallops (specials board) ($4ea):probably the best item of the night, highly recommend! Small but flavour packed bite, delicate texture.
Greenlip abalone (specials board) ($9ea):
Never tried before, similar texture to octopus, quite meaty, wouldn't order again, but glad i tried.
King prawn ($10ea): Pricey for one prawn, but lots of meat and well flavoured. You will have to peel it yourself though!
Fish and bread sandwich ($12): The best value item on the menu, soft turkish bread roll, well seasoned and cooked fish with a lightly spicy sauce. A good item to add some volume to the meal as the other dishes are very light.
Also got to try the lobster roll, they didnt have enough for a whole roll, but when they saw how disappointed we were (we came mainly to try that!) they made us a small one with whatever they had left, and gave it to us for free which was really nice!
The roll itself was very nice, will order the full one next time!
Overall great experience, venue especially with the live music, will go back again to try the mains!
If you enjoy fresh, uncomplicated seafood you are going to love Renan Goksin’s new food offering in Melbourne’s Hardware Lane – Claypots Barbarossa. Renan is best known for his simple approach to seafood with European flavours at his St Kilda and South Melbourne venues, Claypots and Claypots Evening Star. Claypots Barbarossa is no different and takes the same approach to European style hospitality – warm, welcoming and abundant.
First time in the new claypot venue, and i have to tell, they did it again. It is just great. The marinara was amazing, beetroot cured trout on bread and lettuce with peas and a carrot slaw, delicious, and please the cous cous!!!! Awesome. Not talking about the service that was top class, nothing similar to hardware Ln, this guys are doing history. Well done.
Good quality seafood at amazing price, which is a rarity in the CBD. The chefs really know what they're doing, the staff are lovely, the menu is interesting and the specials keep changing. My go to lunch place for seafood.
Great seafood and atmosphere, affordable too. Skip the tourist traps nearby on hardware lane and come here. Seafood pasta was a highlight, wine was good too!
Beautiful, cheap, fresh seafood. Lovely wineg and great, friendly service. Ignore the tourist traps in hardware lane, this is the place to be
Love the atmosphere of this place - books lining the walls, interesting bric-a-brac... It's quirky, comfortable and unpretentious. For fans of Claypots Seafood in St Kilda, this CBD version offers a similar menu which changes daily according to what fresh seafood is available. I've been twice now - first time enjoyed some unobtrusive live jazz from a duo, second time some well chosen jazz tunes on a stereo. My friend and I were early enough for some delicious complimentary aperitivos (served at 5.30pm weekdays) and stayed on for a tasty main meal of kingfish. The house wine by the glass is excellent, and fantastic value. I don't know anywhere else in the CBD where you can get a good glass of wine for under $10. And the seafood is extremely good value too. The service was friendly and welcoming. I hear lobster rolls will soon be on the menu - can't wait to go back to try them!
Hi - I was astonished and very surprised as I wandered down Hardware Lane though the crowds to arrive at an almost empty restaurant. I wasn't however worried in the least - without being smug, it seems I may have been the smartest one in that crowd! Claypots in St kilda is one of my destination go to places and often the first place I take overseas visitors. Now Claypots Barbarossa has given me a great City restaurant and venue! The food here is Sooooooooo fresh and great, the prices very reasonable, the wines immensely enjoyable, the decor quirky and typically Claypots like. I wouldn't be waiting too long to become a regular here as I predict the crowds may catch on soon and it may just become another great city destination place...ENJOY.
This is by far the best place I have been for a unique seafood experience. Everything on the menu is unique and I wanted to sample everything. I can not wait to go back again. Such a fun vibe, he team are super attentive and very hospitable. The stingray is amazing!! Do try it. Highly recommend this venue for seafood lovers.
Cameron (camwholikestrees)
+4
Great atmosphere and amazing customer service, almost perfect for a mixed group of dietary needs. We got whole fish, oysters, muscles and nearly all the veg options, which of were almost all vegan, which was great.
If they added a veg main and more gluten free options it would be perfect!
We found this hidden gem open when everything else was closed. And it was a blessing in disguise. My husband and I have had many seafood and tapas style food. And at this price, quality, taste and presentation it was phenomenal. I can't express the taste of the freshness and the balance of the flavors. We also recently had a higher end tapas (aka Movida), we were very disappointed. Claypots Barbarossa is definitely a place to go to especially for seafood lovers.
Lovely seafood restaurant with good vibes and delicious options. Had a mix of small plates and mains - my favourite was the sambal stingray! Sat outside since the weather was lovely and enjoyed the views of the street. Had a small glass of port which was delicious and complimented the food
Me and my friends had a great time at Claypots. Our waiter Prince was awesome and attentive. I’m definitely going to go back the next time I come to Melbourne.
5 stars for service
5 stars for food
5 stars for location
Great food and experience. Staff was friendly and helpful. It is a small space so it gets pretty squishy on busier days. Enjoyed the clam chowder, king fish, and mussels. Hope to be back to try other dishes!
Love this gem and the vibe . Casual seafood place with happy staff to serve you. We ordered lots of seafood. Chili mussel is a must and the claypot spaghetti was yummy. But the grilled king prawn and squid kind of overly cooked. The meat is rather chewy. We have great house white wine recommendations and value for money. The abalone is average and enjoy the oyster so much ! Natural tasted great than the baked one! Lovely waiter and waitress !
So many unique and tasty dishes. From Abalone, to Chowder, Oysters and Superb Bugs, it’s a must visit. Set in the vibrant Hardware Lane it also offers a good selection of wine. Personally I like the Bats Blood Merlot. A must visit for great service and a unique experience
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