My MoVida Experience

My parents visited last month, and I was deciding where to bring them for dinner, and MoVida came across my mind. I've never had Spanish food before, and since I've been reading about the good reviews everywhere including The Age Good Food Guide and from my colleagues, I decided it would be a great opportunity to try it out.

I was really surprised when I called MoVida to make a booking. They had the whole automated answering machine (eg. please press 1 if you want to make a booking/2 if you want to change your booking etc.) system going on, even Flower Drum didn't have that! I called them in early May, and their weekend tables were booked out until mid August, while their weekdays table were booked out til early June. I managed to get a table for 6 in mid June, and with this big group, we were requested to choose the set menu which included chef's selection of '10 best of the best' for $60 each excluding drinks/desserts. That was fine with me since it would be my first time having Spanish food, I would not know what the best dishes are to order anyway, so it was best to leave the selections in the hands of the chef.

After 1.5 month wait, expectations built up! MoVida is tucked away in a little lane called Hosier Lane with Graffitied walls. The restaurant is dark with a buzzling atmosphere. Service was great, the waiter that served us was very polite and attentive.

Complimentary bread to get our digestive system moving while we anxiously wait for the first dish. The white bread was very ordinary, but the sour dough was great.

Hand filleted Cantabrian artisan anchovy on crouton with smoked tomato sorbet

I enjoyed the sorbet, but the anchovy was way too salty for my liking.

A Spanish beer to complement the meals imported by our very own MoVida!

Croqueta: Fried silky croquette flavoured with leek and mahon cheese.

This may seemed like an ordinary dish, but it was done very well. The crouton is nice and crispy on the outside, and rich and creamy on the inside. The outside was not soggy, and did not leave any oily after taste.

Spiced chicken escabache tapa on crisp crouton.

This was a cold dish, creamy yet light. The crouton's crispy texture complemented it very well.

Roasted Spring Bay scallop with jamon and potato foam
This was quite nice, though I'd have preferred it more without the roe.


Tom Cooper's smoked spanish mackerel with pine nut gazpacho sorbet
This was my favorite dish of the night! Lovely texture with beautiful flavors!

Air cured wagyu beef thinly sliced with a truffle foam and poached egg

The egg was perfectly poached with runny center. The waiter demonstrated how the dish was meant to be eaten. Mixed the egg yolk, foam, and the sliced wagyu beef together. The saltiness of the air cured wagyu with the creaminess of the egg yolk turns out to be a perfect combination!

Roasted lamb cutlets

I'm not a fan of lamb, hence this dish did not appeal to me, but my family seemed to enjoy it.

Roasted Veal.
The texture of the veal was very tender

Sauteed spinach with chickpeas & spices

This dish reminds of Indian cuisine. By this dish, we were all extremely full and did not manage to finish it.

I don't remember what this dish was called but it was like fish quiche with goat's cheese on tortilla base. I found this dish to be a bit too rich for the last dish as we were all very full.

Overall, I did enjoy my experience at MoVida, and will definitely miss some of the dishes I've had, but if you ask me whether it was worth the 1.5 month wait, I might have some doubt about that. Do try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

MoVida Melbourne
Open daily, Noon to late.
1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 3000 (Melways: Map 1, B12)
Phone (03) 9663 3038. Office open 10am- 6pm, Mon-Fri.