Claypots

My girlfriend and I visited Claypots last night as one of our ‘New Year’s resolution: adventurous eating’ dates. The restaurant is surprisingly large with the working kitchen right in the middle and an outdoor seating area. They don’t take reservations and though they were bustling for a Monday evening we were quickly seated.
As we walked in we were greeted with an array of fresh fish and prawns the size of King Kong’s finger. ** Hot tip: Remember to bring your glasses if you can’t see long distances as the menu is only written on the chalk boards positioned on the walls. **
There are a variety of sizes and prices of whole fish (head and all!) to decide on, depending on your appetite and budget. I strongly recommend you order a clay pot to share between 2 (Singapore was very tasty.)
Overall, a great spot for a date or a catch up with friends. The service isn’t especially attentive (we had to reorder our wine as it hadn’t arrived before the food came out). The dishes are designed to be shared and we struggled to fit the fish, clay pot, wine glasses, and our own plates on a single table. But the food is fresh, flavoursome, and top quality – we will certainly be visiting here again.

Grilled calamari was overrated. Singapore clay pot not bad, needed more chilli! Otherwise pretty reasonable seafood experience, nice venue

This is, without a doubt, the best seafood restaurant I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience. We enjoyed the King prawns to start. Certainly meaty, but the best part about them is the absolute drenching that you can do with the butter/​garlic/​chili/​herb bath sitting at the bottom of the bowl. It’s mind-​blowing and I probably dipped fourteen pieces of bread in it because I just couldn’t get enough. I’m not a huge prawn/​shrimp person, but it was also pretty cool to see a prawn this friggin’ big in person. Even though it was dead.
The crab was, as usual, just a pain in the ass. Crab just takes too much work for it to be worth it. That said, the taste was great. The potatoes and veggies that came with it were simply yummy.
Now, the calamari. I was BLESSED to be able to enjoy this. Cooked and seasoned to PERFECTION. Tender, in fact, the calamari was just unbelievable. It was the best thing we ate all night. We were all blown away. I could have had that, the butter bath from the king prawns, and bread, for the whole night. Get it.
Lastly, we ended the meal with a whole cooked flat fish. Again, well seasoned, the bok choy that came with it was also cooked well, and the meat succulent.
All of this, with an excellent wine list, without white tablecloths, and a very engaging host/​server. Don’t miss this place.

Clay pots knows who they are and what they do. Our first visit and we weren’t disappointed. We started with the king prawns and warm flat bread which came with a yogurt sauce — the chilli oil was delicious. For our mains we shared the grilled calamari which was awesome. Think roast chicken dinner but swap out the chook for the squid. So much to try here with loads of different combos to share — we will be back!

We had an amazing dinner here this weekend. Really chill place, friendly staff and kitsch-​ish décor. Sat outside back on a warm evening, ordered two cocktails while browsing the menu. Simple menu: main fish orders, and claypots, and a couple of starters like mezzes, prawns or oysters.
We ordered wine, a small flathead, singapore claypot, one prawn each and the mezzes, and it was all really good. Light food, cooked with good spices.
It is on the pricier side so get your wallets, but a great experience. Also a really cool bar in the front to finish of drinks afterwards.

It was a last minute dinner choice but no regrets. Best seafood in St Kilda. Started with grilled king prawns and mopped up the prawn steeped garlic oil with flat breads. The grilled calamari was perfect and big enough to feed our party of 4. Lastly, ordered the grilled snapper. That came slathered in a char crust of pesto/​garlic/​curry and the meat milky smooth and fresh. Claypots is a bit hard to notice on the street as they don’t have a big sign out front but let the smell of grilled seafood guide you. (Look for the colored windows. It’s beside Quan 88). Has a nice little outdoor area out back.

Claypots used to be a regular for me but I hadn’t been there for years until I met up with a couple of friends here for lunch yesterday. The menu was reassuringly much as I remembered it and the old, distressed railway carriage seats held together by red gaffer tape were still in the back section where we parked ourselves.
We started with a selection of meze plates to share; baked capsicum, eggplant, julienned carrot with sultanas, babaganouge, and of course the legendary grilled stingray. This was followed by the seafood platter — a pile of grilled king prawns, mussels and crab, all if which was absolutely delicious. The bill came to $ 230 which included the two bottles of Heresy red we polished off.
One of my friends described it as the «best seafood in Melbourne». And you know what? He’s probably right.

This place is ridiculous. Normal dinner time and all of the seafood was gone, shocking service, unusual tacky dining interior, really expensive. claypot was really dense and after 2 bites i was done. i don’t get it

Will update

It is such a lovely place. We had to wait or a table because the place was packed, but this gave us time to sit in the cosy bar and have a glass of wine. We didn’t have to wait too long for a table, were served quickly and our food came quickly. The food was amazing. We chose the claypots. They were cheap, delicious and massive. And then back to the bar to listen to a gypsy band. Such great atmosphere. I will definitely be back.

Absolutely amazing! My husband and I ordered the chili crabs and it was SO MUCH FOOD! There were about six legs left at the end, and we couldn’t finish it despite our best efforts. Not only did this $ 55 delight come with four decent-​sized crabs and a big pile of rice, but there were a dozen or so large mussels tossed in for good measure! The seafood was all cooked perfectly. The chili sauce had just the right amount of kick to it, balanced nicely with cilantro, ginger, and lemongrass, and didn’t overpower the crab or mussels.
Great service– polite, prompt, and friendly. The atmosphere is charming and comfortable. Sitting in the courtyard felt a bit like being in the Caribbean; lovely!
Overall, one of the best meals of my life, and I have had some pretty outstanding meals! A perfect end to our Australia adventure!
Check this place out!

Wow. Snapper is very nice

The food here is amazing. Every dish is huge. Between two of us, we shared Flounder w/​Spicy Salt, & Whole Grilled Calamari. it was probably more than we should have eaten but it was so good, we couldnt possibly leave any.
Highly recommended

How have I not been here before? It’s always busy, people talk about it as one of «the» places to go in St Kilda, and the idea of eating whole fish makes me feel all happy inside… so why was this my first visit?
Some mysteries are best left unsolved.
A fantastic experience — the service was exceptional, with lots of love and attention given to us «newbies» who had no idea what was going on. It’s actually pretty simple — the daily fish are written up on a blackboard. You either pick something based on what they are accompanied with, or go and eyeball them in the big cabinet in the kitchen
We ordered a giant prawn each (and by giant I mean the kind of giant that if you came face to face with that critter under the water you’d be freaking out, thinking it was going to attack). We also got a whole flathead, cooked with Cajun spices and served with potatoes and bokchoy. It was a protein frenzy and we may have been able to defeat it all had we not been mesmerized by the small plates of mezze that were landing on the tables next to us and then insisting that we needed those also.
Highlights: the kidney bean and zucchini mezze; the sweet, sticky, and slightly charred skin on the flathead; the big wedges of bread that came with the prawns to soak up all the spicy prawn juice out of the pan.
Next time, I’m taking on a claypot.

Best seafood place in Melbourne! The Caveat is that you need to be a person who does not mind flavors such as: chili, lemon grass, soy etc.
Don’t go past the Seafood Chili Stir Fry. Start there and work your way down the menu. I have not been dissapointed yet and we have eaten there over 50 times.
Seafood is seasonal and extremely fresh. The menu changes depending on both of these factors. Mixed with the flavors the combination is high in awesomeness.
Mind = Blown.

OH MY. I used to be a pescatarian, and having Claypots around the corner could do a lot to convert me back.
It reminds me a bit of ‘La Boqueria’ in Barcelona; their main food market. Or even of some of the seafood stalls here at the Queen Vic. They have the freshest, widest range of seafood on display in Claypots. Wow! Now, this means it will smell of the seafood, a bit, but fresh smell is far different from not-​fresh.
Oddly enough, I’ve not had one of their signature ‘claypots’…
I’ve never been tempted when faced with fresh fish, in dishes up on the chalkboard saying ‘we just got this fish in, and we just thought up this recipe because it’s right for the season’. I had a HUGE piece of flathead, I believe, blackened Cajun style. Wow. It makes you wonder how so many other places in town miss the mark with fish, or simply just fry it with chips…
With summer fast approaching, it’s a great spot with a relaxed vibe to get some really good, really FRESH eats.

The fact that I love seafood and I have never been to Claypots before baffles me. But after last night’s dinner, I no longer have to stay ignorant because this charming no reservation seafood place is beyond good. It’s really amazing.
We got to the already crowded restaurant in St Kilda at about 6.30 and were so thankful to get a table immediately. About 10 minutes after we were seated, the queue began and snaked around outside the main entrance.
Instead of having the seafood platter, we went with individual orders. We had a garlic prawn each as an entrée and we shared the Chill sting ray (which was massive) and a grilled octopus plus an extra order of bok choy in garlic sauce.
The massive garlic prawns were done just right (sometimes larger prawns can become overly chewy when over cooked) and I loved the sauce it came in so much, we ordered extra bread so we could lap it up.
The sting ray was delicious as well but just a tad bit overcooked as it was a huge slab and the hotplate meant it kept cooking even after it was taken off the fire. But even that small issue wouldn’t have spoilt our evening at Claypots. By the end of the sting ray, the three of us were quite full but we waited in anticipation for the octopus which was the icing on the cake for us. Deliciously marinated and grilled to perfection such that the flavours burst in your mouth as you chewed your way through the delightful dish.
Drinks wise, I felt like a coke but they only had organic cola which is now officially my favourite beverage and I’m eager to hunt it down to get some for the chiller at home.
Claypots is more than just a seafood place to me. The vintage style train seats give it an unmistakable charm while the large octopus hanging from above adds a finishing touch. There is also a heated outdoor area where dozens of ships hang from above, adding to the old-​world charm and flavour of the awesome experience. 10 out of 10 I say!

There is something very charming about Claypots. The place has a soul and is such a cosy place it has that feel as though you’ve walked into your Grandmothers cottage and she’s cooked you a fresh meal.
Yes, the meals are fresh, which is the most important thing when it comes to seafood. The Paella there is a hit and the Marinara looked amazing and will definitely be my next choice.
The outdoor setting amongst the lights and murmur of voices makes the place feel very alive. You might have to expect to open the wallet a little wider than you had hoped but it’s worth it, and also book as it can get over populated. If you are going out for good night you have to spend a little, live a little and just enjoy the food, the wine and the ambiance. Some people I know have complained that it’s too busy but I think that adds to the experience and gives the place that extra buzz.
After the meal it’s totally open to have an extra wine or two after where I leave satisfied even though I had spent a little more than I thought I would.

I have spent a number of cold nights here being warmed up by both the mulled wine and unique atmosphere of Claypots.
I never thought that I would live to see the day where I could go out late at night for a drink, order halva whilst I enjoy the smoky sounds of a local pianist as a toy train travels above.
I don’t know why I haven’t been next door yet for dinner because I have heard so many good things about it. It is defiantly on my list of places to eat next.

Great value seafood in a lovely chilled out setting. Don’t expect crystal and silver table settings, but the seafood is so fresh and I love the Asian inspiration. They do a lot of whole fish dishes and the spinner crabs are to die for.
The St Kilda restaurant is so much better than the Fitzroy one.

Ein muss für Seefood Liebhaber: Kleiner Laden (nehmen leider keine Reservierungen an), mit legerer Atmosphäre und köstlichen Fischgerichten, die in Tonschalen serviert werden, was dem Laden auch seinen Namen gegeben hat.
Alle Gerichte immer sehr frisch und wechselnd nach Saisonzeiten, aber immer mit einem asiatischen (indisch/​chinesischem) tlw. aber auch arabischen Touch.
Seit einiger Zeit hat der Laden auch eine Lizens, so das man Bier und Wein nicht mehr mitbringen muss.
Wer mal in St. Kilda ist, sollte hier unbedingt vorbeischauen.
Einzige Nachteil: Der Service ist nicht so gut wie das Essen :-/