Review The Urchin Bar

Tony James

Fantastic food and great service, we had the seafood platter and the scallops and prawns melted in your mouth. Very reasonable prices and good wine list.

Andy & Sandy

Our favourite restaurant bar in Hampton Street. Generous serving size, full of flavour and freshness that melted in our mouth. My wife had the seafood plater which was amazing and the best calamari ever tasted. I tried the lamb which was cooked to perfection and we couldn’t fault either meal. A good selection of wines that complimented our meals. Service was excellent, atmosphere was good and the owners Steve and Mauric took time out for a chat even though it was busy. Highly recommended if your looking for a good night out in Hampton.

Tony Ramsden

Family run restaurant. Great food. Cosy atmosphere. Very nice.

Pat P

We ordered the lamb skewers, prawns, calamari, and scallops last night. Every single dish was delicious with fresh ingredients. I was still thinking about the food this morning :) We will be returning again soon!

Luke Boschert

A little hidden gem, nice fresh Greek food, highly recommended, great for a break from the rat race.

Rebecca Baker

It seems magical there. Small but quaint. Food is excellent. Price is good for delicious flavor filled food.

Gaetan Menager

Service was great and owner lovely. Coffee and food was a bit of hit and miss. OK food but not exceptional. Garden at the back is a nice feature.

Rachel Kapsalakis

Lively atmosphere and friendly welcoming makes this the perfect place to stop and have a coffee (which is quite good), bite to eat or even a cocktail. Staff were super nice and equally efficient - definitely visiting this local gem again soon!

Joule Jiao

Is been two month from last visit , missed it a lot. It is always a pleasure to relax and spend some time here. Best Chai latte ever! Top quality Chai herbs with milk of your choice and touch of honey , Oh baby you can’t go wrong! Harira Soup with Grilled Bread is perfect for a light warm winter Brunch.

Melody Cayzer

The food was excellent, tasty, not oily, generous portion and served quickly. The waiters were friendly and accommodated changes to the meals. The only thing we didn’t like was that the cafe was dimly light & a bit cold. Great place for breakfast.

Tian Tan

The waiter is cool and friendly with great service

Eatingtravellingcouple

CAME HERE ON A GROUPON VOUCHER AND WAS A NICE BREAKFAST. Located on the main street on Hampton, we came here on a Saturday morning for breakfast. There were a range of standard breakfast dishes that we ordered from. We had the Urchin Big Breakfast, Hellenic Breakfast, Vegetarian Breakfast, Hashbrown Stack and Pancakes. Food was decent, nothing spectacular. Without the groupon voucher it seems a bit pricey considering there are cafes out there with higher standard levels of food and presentation for similar prices. The pancakes was only 1 stack with a few mixed berries and whilst there were 3 serves of icecream, its again on pricey end! I am giving 4 stars as customer service was excellent! They looked after our group of six and service was very friendly. Would be interested to try their lunch and dinner menu as it is a Mediterranean inspired.

Tanya Carneiro From Heavenly Morsel Instagram

To start off , the food is not bad at all , not outstanding but not poor. The tapas options are quite nice and meal sizes are good . Get the groupon deal which will sweeten the experience even more ! The atmosphere is very average, and dull , however at dinner time it becomes a bit better with the lighting and atmosphere. We had the calamari , and the tagine ( not sure if this is still on the menu ) but both items were done well and cant complain about the cooking . It is a bit pricey without the groupon deal so please do get it .

Alexia

Delicious breakfast, could not fault a thing😁 Both my partner and I really enjoyed the food and the service, and will return to try their dinner menu ...

Elletee

We sat outside in their delightful outdoor eating area and enjoyed tapas. This outdoor eating area is an example of how to make a delightful courtyard without great expense, but to add atmosphere with fairy lights, and panels of material, couches and differing chairs and tables.

Kan0001

Made a booking for the outside area for a big family with a pram, but when we got there we were told that they don't serve food outside whilst it is being used as a smoking area except 5 minutes later saw a family in the outside area eating.... Service was poor, waited quite a while for our food to come out, waitress was not friendly and blasé .... wouldn't even smile. My sister asked the waitress if her food was soy/dairy free, waitress didn't know so went to ask the chef... and my brother-in-law was walking by and overheard the chef saying "Why would I know these things, why do they come here if they can't eat normally!" Had the Big Breakfast, food was really cheap looking and average taste. Looked like everything was bought from Safeway's home brand. Eggs were overcooked... shitty looking piece of bread(asked for sourdough) Coffee took ages to come out... Could smell the cigarette smoke inside coming from the smoking area. Very, very disappointing. Will never be coming back there again and will not recommend to friends and family.

Scrumptious GG

For Saturday brunch, we came here to expect a good food or if we were lucky, a great food. So unfortunate, we only had a great service from the staff... The food was below average. Had a latte, hot chocolate, a big breakfast and mixed berry pancake with an ice cream. Latte was very weak and hot chocolate wasn't strong enough, even though we asked for double shot of chocolate. Big breakfast was okay, the sausage, spinach etc was cooked nicely, but the egg - the highlight of the meal - was overcooked. Mixed berry pancake was only 1 uneven thick piece, tasted very floury when I eat the thicker part. But the staff, as I said, were very attentive and friendly.

Lauren Ellett

Went here because we bought a groupon voucher and it was cheap so why not. HOWEVER, hands down, Groupon voucher or not, we will be back here. I love breakfast, live for it....only really eat out for breakfast. This place is up there easily in my top 5 breakfasts I’ve ever had. The hash brown stack was absolutely phenomenal. Perfect size, not too big and not too little and hallelujah, the poached eggs were actually poached and not just completely raw as soon as you put a fork to it. They weren’t super runny and weren’t dry....they were just perfect. Very impressed considering I was only expecting this cheap breakfast to be mediocre. Will definitely be returning and definitely would recommend this cafe to everyone. Keep it up.

Rachael

Came here on a Groupon: was super cheap for the value (17.50) for two people. Wait staff were forgetful and the menu was basic. Forgot to give us cutlery or take orders. Speedy arrival of food. Hash brown stack had nice crispy potatoes but a mediocre egg, salmon was overbearing (too fishy). Big breakfast seemed too disorganised and not cohesive. Spinach was unseasoned and unflattering. Nice sausage and semi decent bacon.

Nicole

Came here for a late lunch on Sunday afternoon. Service was good - friendly staff. I had the Urchin Burger and my friend had the Chicken Burger. We both liked our meals, however I found the beef patty to be a little dry and it wasn't very spicy.

Riannon Clancy

We went with a groupon voucher & had a great meal here. The food was all delicious & they catered very well for my gluten free dietary requirement. I'm usually disappointed with falafels because I find them quite dry, but theirs were delicious! The live music on Friday night was a bonus we weren't expecting! We'll definitely be back!

Jan Sapir

Had a lovely dinner with our friends. Staff were delightful and the meal was delicious. Will definitely come back for another meal. I have now been to Urchin Bar for breakfast lunch and dinner. Would love to try gypsy night

Jasmin Peck

The best chai in Hampton. Great platters for sharing, tea varieties are gorgeous and ambience in the evening is cosy, romantic and relaxing in the outdoor area. Also have live music.

MF

We had tapas here and the service was excellent, the owner was really friendly and attentive, very busy but never forgot to ask hows the food, do we need anything etc. The food was good but the chef need to just put lemon on the side rather than squezze it on the everything. The calamari itself was tender and yummy. Felafel was good, meatball as well, dips was okay. Saganaki again, sour, so we couldnt finish it. And this place need a thorough clean, especially the toilet, it smells goof but the stains cant lie. Overall happy but could be better.

Jamie

Not my fault you were under staffed and couldn't get our drinks out in 20 mins. Hire more staff on a Saturday. I really didn't think it was that busy compared to bars closer to the city.

HungryRick

Often pop in here for a quick glass. Wine is nothing special, but service is generally good and atmosphere out the back is nice, though it Can get a little smoky back there, and waiters might not come out as often as in the main restaurant. Greek coffee is well prepared too.

Cray

Had a Groupon, $19 for 2 people - breakfast with coffee. I had the vegetarian breakfast, was tasty! Only down side is that the tomato needed to be cooked more. Staff were lovely, service was fast and meals came quick. A nice little place for a bite to eat!

Exploring Food

Nice place with good service. Food was ok . Place needs abit of a clean as it seems to be a lot of cluster. Real potential this place as a little quiet on a Saturday night but overall experience was good.

Marioneire

I have just spent the evening with my boyfriend for our two year anniversary. We sat at the back as they had the heaters outside ! The atmosphere was great and service amazing...we felt so spoiled by how nice the waiters/owners were (they didn't even know we were celebrating). Now about the food...it was really delicious!!! We took the banquet and the entrées were so tasty! The seafood platter was to die for ! Everything was so fresh it was melting in our mouths ! Especially the tuna steak! So impressed with everything overall !!! We couldn't decide what was our favorite as every single item was so delish ! It was great value and we will be back here again! We do come sometimes for breakfast but this dinner was really something special! Thank you !

Zellda

Previously great place to eat, more recently food and service declined greatly, Maybe because I used a voucher ? Not sure, won't visit again.

James Colins

Probably the greatest restaurant I've ever been too in terms of experience, the staff where amazing and the food was the exact same, I had a great time and would recommend to everyone

Paul Templeton

Owner very friendly, had breakfast, great food and flavours, generous servings, great value. Looks like it would be good to go in the evening also.

Bon0006

Fantastic service. Had a great evening out with friends, the staff where professional, friendly and approachable they really helped in setting the welcoming atmosphere apart from that our food and drinks came out quickly and was delicious!

LCHampton

Love the courtyard. Best find in Bayside! Love the Mezze plate. Great dinner and good cocktails. Lovely atmosphere!

Facebook User

Great little find.... Delicious food with attentive staff and a good atmosphere. The four of us couldn't get through the banquet menu.

Foodinfocusz

A middle eastern touch to this mezze bar & eating house. We chose their lovely courtyard area to enjoy our tasty dishes. Our favourite ... the crunchy potatoes & chilli

Krispj

They should stop doing breakfast. Really bad experience when came in for breakfast with my family. Owners son was the waiter and was completely hopeless, and even worse, did not care. owner/cook came out the back smoking a cigarette and told us he hates cooking breakfasts. Son then forgot the whole tables coffees, by then we had finished our food and said to forget about it. Said he got distracted (only 3 tables of people in the whole place). This place should do its self a favour, have a nice sleep in and forget about breakfast, open for lunch, and do it with a bit of professionalism

Aine447

Great place to sit in summer. I went to the urchin bar with some friends for mezze plates and other share platters. We sat out in the courtyard which was very comfortable and had a good atmosphere.

Nickcros

Bad food, awkward interactions. We ordered two different styles / serves of calamari and both were tasteless and tough. After I paid, I let the owner know, he then insisted I tell the chef myself then proceeded to abuse the chef for not cooking 'how he had been told to cook'. Awkward. Embarrassing. Terrible. Avoid the calamari at all costs.

Skye Peck

Delicious food and very friendly staff. Best place to get a chai latte, the presentation is great and the quality is even better. The mezze plates are generous and decently priced

Gunung2

Easy eating and good service. I've been to Urchin Bar countless times for well-made coffee and delicious cakes, and I've had tasty light lunches a few times too, but last night was the first time I'd been there for dinner. We started with breads and dips, but it was the mains that impressed us. He had the goat, braised all day and served with root vegetables and a delicious but not overpowering tomato sauce , while I had Moroccan chicken with rice. Serves are very generous, too big for both of us, and it was very reasonably priced. BTW the Boutique Hunter Valley shiraz is a steal at under $10. We had other things to do so we didn't stay for the live music, but we'll be there another time, for sure.

Thrilos_thira7

ENJOY. Just got back after dining at Urchin Bar . Had a good night due to good food, drink and music . Great servings and more than reasonable prices . Everybody had a good night .

Joanne Howard

Love this little place. Great food, friendly attentive service and humble atmosphere :)

Jeneferthree

We were humiliated. We happily booked a table at Urchin bar for drinks, however when we were sitting their drinking our tea we got abused and humiliated by the waiter. He said that we are "waisting his time by booking reservations and not ordering a meal." We sort of understood however he did not have to raise his voice and embarrass us in front of the whole restaurant for a simple matter like this. I would not recommend this restaurant. Waiters are extremely rude and unfortunately this was not the first time this sort of thing occurred.

Angie Baxter

This place used to be amazing. The service is great. The food is now awful. Tasteless. Watery. Dry. We are so disappointed. Errggghh. Inedible. Sorry to say so as the service was gorgeous. Food just so bad.

Miki Dee

I had a private function a few months ago, great atmosphere and beautifully decorated upstairs, plenty of food for all guests and the food was nice, not something super exciting but good. It is definitely a lovely place to meet friends or just sit and have a quiet dinner or coffee or drinks. The staff are always lovely and friendly and the owner is a wonderful and accommodating person ! Highly recommended

Richard

Great place. This is a fantastic little restaurant. Loads of ambience, very friendly and enthusiastic staff and really, really good food. We had a mixture of mezzes and the seafood tagine. All bursting with flavor, the lamb koftas were the best I have had and the seafood tagine was sublime. I rated the food here a 10 which may be a bit generous as this place is not competing with the MoMos of this world but for a suburban restaurant and at these prices I could not fault the food coming out of the kitchen.

J Robertson

Lovely staff! Made a main sized entree for me and didnt even ask. Very generous servings. Fresh salad. Greek owners with typical Greek hospitality.

Simon

Like this botique place, live musin n drinks.... Good way to wind down

Kat

Nice people and the place has a nice outdoor area pity the food was crap! The chicken and lamb dishes were nearly inedible - they need a new chef!

Kat

We had breakfast here this morning and really enjoyed it! Lovely place with good coffee, owner was friendly and service was prompt - will visit again!

Belinda

Great atmosphere, terrible food.. Went as a group for a work function. The place was pretty nice, service was quite pleasant and the general lighting dimmed up after a certain time so probably more appropriate for a more intimate meeting. A band came on just before our food got served, the music was really good and they're very enjoyable, but the music was so loud you actually can't have any conversation over it. Anyway, the good came and I ordered the beef fillet. The fillet itself was nice but the 'jus' that came with it was so thick and salty which made the food almost inedible. Lucky I'm not super picky but it was definately unpleasant.

Greg EatSleepPlay

Solid suburban restaurant. Tasty food. Liked mezzo plate. Service was good on a quiet night. Went expecting music as noted on their website but found that music is sat night only. Reasonable prices. Good coffee. Nice for 2 for dinner. Not exceptional and not quite as good as web pix. Might return if convenient but it is in a strip with many other restaurants.

Ronkho11

Great mezze plate! Excellent ingredients and preparation. Staff was friendly and clearly into what they were doing. A repeat.

Jimmyv

Substarndard service. Long wait for drinks, waiters ignored us many times, meals were great, best steak I ever eat. very busy night, but the waiters could have been more professional.

Peeete

Service almost non-existant. Since change in ownership seems like they have introduced a new idea in service. Customer waits & waits, then when you get sick of waiting you go up to the counter and wait some more!! Then finally they might deem it appropriate to serve the customer. It seems serving is an inconvience though. Faulty Towers all over again!!

Gem Munners

Appalling service. Have never experienced such rude service in my entire life. We were ignored for 15 minutes once we sat down and we ended up having to go inside to find menus. When our drinks arrived we were aggressively told that we were "lucky" to get them because the blender took a lot of cleaning. We were made to feel unwelcome for simply ordering something that was on the menu. The waitress was incredibly aggressive. We will never go back to be made to feel like such an inconvenience.

Amanda

Great vibe. Had the mezze plate followed by chai tea and fresh nougart. Soooo good. Music was great as the venue has wonderful acoustics. Colour scheme of venue could do with a little update to warmer colours.

Julia Song

Dissatisfied. Unpleasant experience. I bought 2 LivingSocial vouchers and went with 4 friends. I felt very unwelcome even when I rang to make a booking - after I made it known that we were going to use the vouchers (could tell the change of attitude of the booking-taker straight away). If not for the fact that I've pre-paid for the meal, I really would not have bothered to turn up. We did not feel welcome at all when we turned up - we weren't allowed to dine at the courtyard eventhough there were free tables. It felt as if the owner regretted for putting on such promotion and not making money - how short sighted!!. There was absolutely nothing great about the food. I think I can make much nicer hummos! We were told because we were using the vouchers, we don't get to select the wine which came with the deal. We were served poor quality red wine. I actually checked the review at urbanspoon before purchasing the vouchers. I kept wondering why it had such good rating in the past - maybe it has changed owner? the chef has been replaced?? Will never, never return to this place! So glad we didn't pay full price. My first time writing a restaurant review - only because my friend and I disliked this place so much that I felt compelled to write something to ensure others don't have to go through similar bad experience.

Chille

I want to love it ... but. I've had a love-hate thing going on here for years. Under the previous owners pre-2011, food was just divine, servings just right, but staff were young and hopeless. Now, under new owners came here for a Saturday night dinner with friends - service improved considerably as it is now family-run ... but, the food. Hmm, servings seem smaller, the large meze plate was barely enough for 4 (why give us 3 serves of items, small scoop of dip ?), any dish with a protein was smaller, less generous than previous owner and the tastyness I remember just wasn't there. If you are not comparing, you'll probably find it Ok. For me it was a disappointment - especially since I am a local. Hmm, might need to venture to that great Afghani place i discovered instead .....

Gabriel Armstrong

Love It. After hearing about this place through a friend of ours my partner & I had to try it out. We have been to most of Melbourne's Moroccan restaurants (not that there are that many) and this will now be our new place to dine. The food was magnificent, the service was outstanding & the ambience was perfect. We were told by our server that the current owners have only been there for a short amount of time. If this is true then this place is going to be the new hot spot for the Hampton/Bayside area. Watch out South Yarra!

Crown

I came here and had the large meze platter. It was more then enough food for two people and provided a variety of choices. This is a cute place for a local establishment. The meze platter is great if you want to come with friends and graze. I wish more places offered a meze platter like this. Such good value

Hospitalityworker

Regular favourite. I've been going here for years. The new management are wonderful, the food is great, the atmosphere is great and the service is outstanding. Theres seating on the street, inside if you want a loud and lively atmosphere or out the back for the quiet exotic courtyard. The live greek music is great.

Mike1zero

Sensational. Not only quality food, but large ad varied portions. The manager even gave us a platter of mixed meats and seafood on the house. Lovely vibe and atmosphere. Perfect for families, friends or dates. Look forward to going again

Jemma O'Hanlon

A must!. You must check out this little place on Hampton Street. The staff are wonderful and you can tell that a lot of love goes into cooking here. If you want a traditional mediterranean meal this restaurant won't disappoint. The Honey & Harissa Eggplant was our favourite, I could eat this all day. Absolutely amazing. Will definately return.

Jenny

Jenny. I love this place, have been there 3 times so far. I have to say they make the best felafals in Melbourne, so big and crispy, with just enough spice to make them just that little bit different. The Moroccan feel to the place, makes the atmosphere a very cosy one. Not a big menu, but a good menu

Ripley

Force field. We sat at the table with the invisible force field. Staff could only venture past very occasionally. Drinks, desserts and coffee were all denied us. Even the bill was elusive. We were tempted to walk out, but knew then we would finally be noticed! Never again

Stacekam

AWFUL. The food was good. The atmoshphere was awful. I have traveled around the world and never been told that my dinner party was being too loud. When I go to a fun social atmoshere to have dinner I expect to be able to chat and laugh with friends, not be told off. Will NEVER go back. Never had a worse personal experience at a restaurant.

Deb Eve

Shiraz girl. Visited Urchin Bar last night, with 3 friends, we sat out in the courtyard which is very relaxing with a Moroccon feel about it. The service was good,nothing to complain about except had to keep asking for water....I find that it's a nice touch for restaurants to keep topping up your water, not a big ask, but some places seem to think it is!! The menu pretty well hasn;t changed for years, except fpr the specials board, which I don't mind, because you can count on a favourite dish to be available!! ...I will certainly be going back soon:)

Bella

A summer time favourite. Love this place - anything with seafood they seem to do spectacularly! One of my favourite venues, whether i'm out with 1 or out with 10 friends! Friendly staff, and a wonderful atmosphere - a happy recommendation

Corban

Fantastic little place which oozes character. Staff are very friendly and food was lovely. Good value for money.

Review The Urchin Bar - Melbourne