MoVida Bar de Tapas

Book otherwise you’re not guaranteed to get a table quickly. They will take your number and ring you once one is available though. Fantastic food and a fabulous wine list.

For our last night in Melbourne we chose MoVida Bar de Tapas, hearing and reading only great things about the place. We were not disappointed; be advised though if you want a table, reservations are a must and should be well in advance. We were able however to secure seats at the bar, where the full menu is available. The bar staff are simply brilliant; warmly engaging patrons who have not visited MoVida before on how they should go about tapas and have detailed knowledge of the food and drink on offer. Probably the most engaging and personal service I’ve experienced in over 30 years of dining. The food is quite simply sensational, the Anchova tapas and tartar rancione were stand out dishes. The contrast of the saltiness of the anchovy with the tomato sorbet really sets the palate going and the tartar generous. MoVida is definitely on our return list for good!

Melt in your mouth 72 hour beef brisket is to die for. It was a special tonight and was sublime. You can’t have a good experience at Movida, only a magnificent one. The food and service are exceptional.

I’d heard about this place for ages, and we finally got a booking (it’s busy).
We had a really nice time as two couples ordering a whole bunch of tapas plates, small and large. The dishes come out one at a time too so you can savour them and discuss each strange but tasty plate. The items might sound strange, but take a plunge and you’ll be very happy with most things :)
I personally loved everything we ordered from anchovies to croquettas to steak tartare to the mushrooms.
However, while the food and location were great, the drinks (we had sangria/​cocktails) were tasty but really weak and the service left something to be desired. Particularly considering how in demand and well rated this place is.
I’d say this review is a 3.5, but I’m putting a 3 (rather than 4) to balance other reviews that led me to believe there was something exceptional about this place, besides the food.
I’d definitely return for tapas, but only because its one of the few good tapas joints, and not because of any other remarkable characteristics, in the same way I’d go to mamasita if I wanted mexican in the CBD.
The two places are very similar in style, just different cuisines and mamasita is walk-​in rather than reservations.

This place is worth a visit in Melbourne. It’s not getting a 5 star because a few of the dishes my wife and I had were only good and not great to really great. But that is still high praise. That said, I would say this was one of the best places we ate while we were here. Great atmosphere, great service. Kind of pricey but not awful. The hits were the quince paste cigar with goat cheese and the Wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam. I would highly recommend those two dishes. My wife really like the croquette too. I thought it was pretty good but not as good as the other two.

If you are at the bar and Houston is your waiter, you will enjoy your service. Such a sweet guy!!! First time coming here and eating at a Spanish restaurant so Houston noticed that and gave me some recommendations. I ordered the Zarzuela (seafood stew). It wasn’t too bad. (In my mind, I would want some carbs, like rice, to go along with this). This is my second time eating mussels and my conclusion is mussels don’t suit my palate. It was the least tasteful food on the plate. After that meal, I ordered the queso (Quince Paste Cigar with Whipped Goats Milk Cheese) and it should be sold for cheap. The taste was superb!!! Wish I had more.
It was pretty busy in the sitting area as well as the bar. I gave MoVida 4 stars primarily for friendly service.

MoVida Bar de Tapas was great. I loved the food.
The place gets really busy so you need to get a reservation. If you don’t have reservations, you can sit at the bar and still get everything from the menu.
I had a «croqueta», $ 4.00/each. It is a beetroot croquette with spiced sheep’s milk yoghurt. I also had the «gamba», $ 4.00/each. It’s consisted of a Crystal Bay prawn with house made lardo. It was very flavorful.
The «pollo escalate al Miguel,» $ 4.50/each. It was a spiced chicken escabache tapa on crisp croûton. It basically tasted like a really amazing chicken salad on two thin croutons. Tasty.
My second favorite dish was the «paratas bravas», $ 15.50. It was a fried potatoes dish with spicy tomato and mayonnaise.
The «cordoniz», $ 16.00, is a moorish spiced and roasted half jurassic quail with leek, pickled garlic, and guindilla. The quail was really really small. It really can’t be shared with other people. It was tasty but for the price, it didn’t seem worth it.
For dessert, I had the «churros,» $ 11.00. It came with rich drinking chocolate used as a dipping sauce.

I have a top three in Melbourne and it occasionally changes but it has stayed the same for over a year now. My top three fail safe dinner options in Melbourne. Movida seems to always stay in this top three. The food is always spectactular, the service always friendly and there is tapas. Tapas means I get to eat loads of different things which is good for the indecisive amongst us all. I can always recommend the croquettes of any description and then the beef cheek, lamb shoulder and churros. I never have left movida unhappy and I don’t think you will either.

Consistently excellent — I have nothing but praise for MoVida. The food is beautiful, the wine list superb, the staff are fantastic, and even when it’s at capacity and busy, you don’t feel rushed or packed into the restaurant.
One point other reviewers haven’t really stressed enough is that bookings are pretty much essential. Do not expect to walk up to the door and get seated (I’ve been lucky occasionally, but wouldn’t bet on it) — chances are you’ll be pointed to MoVida Next Door, which while still good, doesn’t rate quite as highly for me as the main restaurant.

Might I dare say my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. I’m not sure how this restaurant doesn’t have a Michelin Star!
The anchovy with smoked tomato purée certainly is worthy. I was weary at first as I am with most anchovy dishes, however, the waitress advised us that it was their signature dish an I had to oblige. The chef somehow captured my childhood memories of campfires in this amazing dish. The layers of flavour so complex, your brain goes into sensory overload! This dish was so good we ordered another round.
Our next tapa was the wagyu beef tartar with quail yolk. WOW! This dish was so good I could have eaten a tub of it!
Grilled pulpo was next. The pesto sauce that accompanied this dish brought the octopus to the next level. Then came the Grilled asparagus with a nut sauce. Yum! The portobellos were a mushroom orgasm. And the roasted quail… No other word but amazing!
If you are a foodie, I highly recommend MoVida.

Not a bad place to hang out at the bar by self. Friendly bartenders. Good food. Good ambiance. Tried 3 of the very small dishes and of course the churros. All great.

Simply outstanding!
Great quality tapas at very affordable prices. Awesome venue with brilliant staff. What else can you ask for?
I tried about 7 different tapas and was happy with all of them.
Will definitely be back next time I’m in Melbourne.

Place was nice. Service was ok. Came here with my fiancé for a casual dinner, but i wasnt super impressed with the food. Perhaps my expectations were too big. I am from miami and have been to Spain a couple of times, so a huge fan of tapas, but while Movida was good I wasn’t impressed.

Ok, food was tasty, more touristy, service was excellent, very small portion. Tapas are individual size, defeats the very basic concept of what Tapas are all about.
Would l return, maybe not with a large group though…

Had only 24 hours in Melbourne so I had to plan my meals carefully. I decided to visit MoVida on the recommendation from a friend who used to live here. I walked through an alley with cool graffiti on the walls to get to the restaurant. I walked in and was promptly greeted and seated at the bar. Super friendly bartender. The food there is amazing! I wish my stomach was bigger so I could’ve eaten more.
Starters:
— Cogollos
— Bocadillo
— Caballa Ahumada
Main:
— Cecina
Dessert:
— Can’t remember what it was called but it was a slice of chocolate bread with what I think is olive ice cream
Everything was so flavorful and delicious.

Special occasion trip to this place (anniversary) and I must say it was very appropriate (the way to my heart is food and wine) and I enjoyed myself.
Dim setting, intimate seating with your friends/​partner, attentive waitstaff — tick. Love the use of a spare wall to display the dessert menu for all to see. Other walls are just packed to the brim with all sorts of wines and sherries.
I am realllllly impressed with our dude — he recited like 6 of the specials with dish description off the top of his head. Well done dude! He was also real helpful with helping us pick out wines to complement the dishes we ordered.
We had 3 tapas dishes and 3 of the larger dishes, it is more than enough for a couple. I am pleased to inform that with every dish that came out, they were all consistently excellent. The tastes are unique from each other and they were just full of flavor! To note I loved the corn croquettes, whiting with bone marrow butter and the snail!
They serve out your food based on what’s made and available first. So you may get a handful of dishes out together or on quick succession, or wait a while like we did with our beef cheeks — in saying that, I was in good company enjoying my wine so didn’t mind the wait. But because beef cheeks came out last, it’s quite a heavy dish to finish on!
I’ll come back again to try everything else. It’s real good!

MoVida Bar de Tapas. Per the Gourmet traveler, it’s considered one of the best restaurants in Melbourne next to Hungry Jack’s aka Burger King for us Americans. It’s small tapas restaurant with Spanish dishes. Hence, the word tapas. I know. You’re totally getting a lesson in culture. Here’s another lesson… you put meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and hot sauce in a tortilla and call that a taco. Ok. No more freebies for you, wankers.
MoVida is located on Hosier Lane, so you can knock off two Melbourne to do things in one shot. The service was great and the waiter explained the favorites. He was quick to point out some of the favorites of patrons and added a bit of sarcasm.
Now, el comida. We tried four dishes on the menu.
1) Cordero — This was Moorish Spice Marinated and Charcoal Grilled Lamb Mid Loin. You could definitely taste the charcoal layer of the lamb and the Moorish Spice was flavorful. It tasted like something out of a wood burning oven. The lamb was pretty tender, but still a bit gamy. It took me two hours to finish chewing my bite.
2) Cecina — It’s Air-​Dried Wagyu With Poached Organic Egg & Truffle Foam. The aroma of the truffle was apparent as well as the taste of it. The truffle foam was syrupy sweet. The poached egg was wrapped with the raw wagyu and everything melted in your mouth. Was it real truffle? Well, I think so if Pamela Anderson’s boobies are real.
3) Bistec Tartar De Wagyu — This was a Spicy Steak Tartare of Raw Grass-​fed Wagyu Beef. I have to say that it was definitely my favorite dish out all the ones we ordered. The beef was tender and the egg yolk was a nice touch. It made the dish silky like your mother’s lingerie.
4) Fideos — It’s Baked Seafood & Saffron Pasta. This was my least favorite dish. I don’t like my pasta cut up and it seemed like an unappealing hot mess. The only seafood I noticed was clams. It had a lot of flavor but wasn’t appealing. There was just too much going on and tasted like paella with pasta. It was a bit disappointing like when she says she’s on the pill but she’s not.
Overall, MoVida was one of the better restaurants I tried in Melbourne. It wasn’t stuffy like other places I dined at. I felt comfortable in my shorts and t-​shirt. I would totally recommend MoVida like wearing a condom with a one night stand.

One of the classic cases of using Unilocal.
I was a bit tired spending the late morning roaming in the NGV, it’s already 2pm but I still hadn’t eaten anything. I pulled up my app and searched for something nice, and MoVida popped up. I know, it must be some kind of local famous top notch spot, and swear to god I had had walked past it quite a few times, I’d never imagined it was that popular (like, 75-​reviews-​kind-​of-​popular).
I didn’t know what to expect, so I went with the recommendation the bartender offered. I thought 3 tapas and a racione might have been too much, but I was relieved after I saw the first dish. It’s the caballa ahumada and it’s tiny, I have to say, but I was surprised by the white smoke and the freezingly cold dish. That was the point of my life I ran out of vocabulary to describe food. You really have to let it develop on your tongue and soon the layers of different tastes will spread.
The anchoa and the pollo escabache came next. And now I had prepared for them, but still caught me in surprise. I’m, to say the least, very jealous of you people in Melbourne who can just walk into this shop and enjoy these tapas.
And the wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam. That’s a formula that would never fail. You are supposed to mix it. I thought the truffle favour was overwhelmed by the wagyu and egg, but no, it was me who didn’t mix it well enough. the truffle foam was in the very last few bites!
The only negative? I didn’t have chance to try other tapas! Please keep this joint alive before I come again!

MoVida was and is the perfect place for a team building and welcome to my world experience. Our group of 5 was forced to have the chef’s selection. When booking this annoyed me as I felt my food freedom was being torn away from me. Oh how wrong I was.
The chef’s menu took away any form of debate and decision making. Allowing us to relax and enjoy each surprise course as it arrived. Dish, after dish rolled out onto our table. The staff taking the time to explain to us what was what and more importantly how to eat it.
The highlight of the meal was the Air-​dried Wagyu with Poached Organic Egg and Truffle Foam. It was such a hit on our table that we convinced people next to us to order it as well. This dish is served with extra bread so you can really enjoy the truffle foam.
Our only small issue was the booking times. Happily we took a 6pm booking but at times felt rushed with two dishes served up almost on-​top of one another. On such small tables it did at times make it a little crowded.
The menu here was very fish orientated. With 4 courses having fish as the main star. You might want to discuss with your server if you’re not a huge fishy dishy fan.
Despite almost being in a food coma we did manage to devour a flan. Glorious, golden delicious flan. My mouth still tingles at the thought of that delicious flan beauty. I just want all the flan from here. Don’t forget to leave lots of room for at least one flan. #flanclub

Movida bar de Tapas has been one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne for over 10 years.
If you want to experience real Spanish food and wine, you must come here. Do not go to Next Door. Bypass Aqui. Come here. Assuming you can actually get a table, of course. Be organised and book early to get one of the two sittings at 6pm or 8.15pm. Or rock up at 5pm and grab a spot at the bar, like a true Barcelonian.
I can truly say every time I have had a meal here, it has been excellent, with fabulous service and ambience to boot. The last visit I made was on Monday night, as we were heading off to the filming of Q&A at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
We feasted on wagyu tartare, duck pâté, sherry mushrooms, orange infused olives, potato croquettes, sardine tapa and ample wine. For dessert we shared the churros with chocolate sauce and basically cried from happiness.
Apart from the food and wine, I also adore the ambience of Movida. It’s a small intimate space warmly lit and the staff are very accommodating and attentive.
I think everyone should go to Movida at least three times a year. Life is short. The zombies are coming. Eat more quality Spanish food.