MoVida Bar de Tapas

1 Hosier Lane
Melbourne 3000

Three months. That's how long it took to get a Saturday night booking at MoVida Bar de Tapas, and for a mere two people. Either this restaurant was sensationally good or sensationally hyped. Hosier lane itself is distinctive in that it is home to a choice wall for Melbourne's graffiti artists. A quick look at their work was all it took to realise that this was not the kind of graffiti that pre-pubescent teenagers sneak out of home for. No, this was something closer to art. Time would only tell if the restaurant it guarded was equally as superior.

Upon entering the establishment, we were greeted by a blast of warm air, a much needed reprieve from the relentless cold outside. Equally as welcoming were the staff, who were smiley and upbeat. This was a theme that continued throughout the night. Not only was I impressed with how well they knew the menu, but also the passion they showed for the food and brand MoVida. Wait staff who love their job, who would have thought? The restaurant was dimly lit, providing an intimate feel. On a packed night (when is it not?) the seating is borderline cramped, with tables positioned a rogue crumb away from each other.

Viera ($8.00)

After scoffing down two serves of the delicious complementary foccacia, it was time for our first tapas of the night. The Viera is pan seared scallop served with a seafood bisque-like sauce. Cooked to absolute perfection, the scallop was fresh and delightfully sweet. The bisque, somewhat unexpectedly, was deep, rich and bold. The wonderful flavours of shellfish and crustacean tantalising the tongue, the texture smooth and creamy. I was certainly left wanting more.

Top left: Croqueta ($4.00ea), Top right: Tigre ($3.70ea)

Tasty but not as mind blowing as the Veira were the Croqueta and Tigre. The Croqueta is a potato croquette filled with a combination of jamon (Spanish for ham) and egg. It was perfectly crisp on the outside, encasing the silky smooth mash and the oozy filling. Most of the night's dishes were liberally seasoned, but this was a smidgen too salty, and the ham and egg mix reminded me very much of carbonara (not that that's a bad thing). The Tigre is a deep fried stuffed mussel with dried chorizo. Instead of a whole mussel, it is diced and mixed with the chorizo batter before being plunged into hot oil. It was good but nothing to really write home about and was a little on the small side. The lemon aioli made this tapas.

Agridulce con Pato ($11.50ea)

Next in line was the Pato - slow cooked duck shank with hazelnuts, raisins and onions. This looked incredibly tender and inviting but once bitten into, was dry and very salty. For the life of me, I can't remember what puree it sat atop, although I suspect it was onion and cauliflower. Whatever it was, it was good and there needed to be more of it to compliment the dry duck meat. Compared with the previous tapas, the flavours lacked depth (unless you're a massive fan of salt) and at $11.50 per shank, the Pato was relatively more expensive. I would not order this again.

Cecina ($19.50)

Onto the raciones (dishes to share). The Cecina is air-dried wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam. I will refrain from commenting too much on this as it was just not my thing. The wagyu was skillfully paper thin, the egg poached to perfection. I didn't 'get' the truffle foam at all - it didn't taste like truffle and was somewhat grainy.

Cordonices ($16.50)

The Cordonices, pan-seared quail breasts with fried bread and grapes, was the night's show-stopper. The quail was the most tender, juicy and impeccably cooked piece of quail I have had. The herbs and spices used to season it complimented the meat perfectly and gave the dish great depth of flavour. There was next to no sauce, but unlike the duck it was not needed. The fried bread was still soft on the inside and the grapes wonderfully fresh and crisp. This is the kind of dish you would recommend to all your friends, and is going to be a constant of my future visits.

Ganache Caliente con Turron ($13.50)

Flan con Pestinos ($11.00)

Having read terrible reviews of their Churros, we opted for the hot chocolate ganache pudding and creme caramel for dessert. The pudding was made with dark chocolate and was wickedly gooey in the centre. It was not overly sweet, with the taste of cocoa prevailing. The vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect partner in crime, but was not as richly flavoured as others I've tried. The nougat felt a little clumsy and had an annoying propensity to stick to your teeth. The creme caramel was smooth, silky and rich. It glided down my throat and had just the right level of sweetness. It was served with Spicy Sherry Pastries which looked a little misplaced and were nothing special.

MoVida has a wonderful atmosphere and some of the most vibrant wait staff you will find in Melbourne. The dishes are a bit hit and miss but when they get it right (i.e the Viera and Cordonices), they are close to perfection. You would not expect tapas to be hugely proportioned but serving sizes were pretty small. Bills were rushed out to tables without being asked, but this comes with choosing the first (6pm-8pm) sitting. Still, it was a bit awkward as it was done uniformly to every table at once. Although, on average, neither sensationally good nor sensationally hyped, MoVida is an institution and one that I would visit again.

Fine Dining  


Food - 4/5
Ambience - 4/5
Service - 4.5/5
Price - 3/5

Total - 15.5/20