MoVida (Bar De Tapas Y Vino) Spanish Restaurant

Address: 1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000

Reservations: (03) 9663 3038

Email: info@movida.com.au

Website: http://www.movida.com.au/

*** It is strongly recommended that you book this place before you go - at all hours of the day! There is limited table seating, and limited seating full-stop. I had to come back 3 times, and the staff are not afraid to treat you in a nasty manner if you don't have a reservation.

I was reading a Melbourne guide, and a hailed 'superchef' in Melbourne was interviewed and recommended MoVida for "The best Spanish restaurant in Australia".

Naturally I was curious because I have not had Spanish food properly (only Tapas in the Latin Quarter of Sydney, Liverpool St) so I needed a yardstick.

The first thing served to you is this bread and dipping oil (pictured below):

TAPAS: A single, small serving of 'entree'. You will need to order everything in multiple quantities if you are dining with others.

Above: Pollo Escabache Al Miguel - spiced chicken escabashe tapa on crisp crouton. Not all that spicy at all, the chicken is marinated in a creamy/mayonnaise sauce, with a tinge of lemon which gives it a mildly sour tang to taste. Very refreshing and good pre-emptive to the rest to follow...

Below: Viera, Jamon Y Espuma - half shell scallop oven baked with Jamon and potato foam. An awesome rendering of Scallop and topping. The white sauce you see is actually potato, so fine you think it's a cream sauce, but it is definitely a potato flavour! Scallop meat was cooked to perfection - not overcooked (which dries out the meat) and not undercooked (giving it a texture which doesn't allow your teeth to bite straight through). Simply divine.

Below: Costilla Con Sobrasada - roast lamb cutlet encased in Catalan pork and paprika pate.

A wholesome wad of meat right there. A little bit saltier than I would like, but the exterior has a slight crisp to the meat, and the green sauce is tangy and offsets it perfectly.

RACION: Small to medium-sized plates of "mains" - you will need to order a couple because they are still quite small.

Below: Chocos Con Garbanzos - pan seared cuttlefish with chickpeas, mint and tomato salad.

This was the recommendation. The marinated cuttlefish was nice and the salad with lemon juice gave it a nice 'zing' but nothing overly spectacular.

Below: Pork Belly (on Specials Menu). This is a fantastic dish - I always find pork belly to be a hit or miss. Sometimes it can be overcooked and too salty (German style) - but this rendition was highly textured and tasty, depending on which part you ate. The pork crackling is hard and crunchy, and the meat directly beneath it soft & tender. Toward the bottom of the piece, it looks like it has been cooked in a sweet soy-ish sauce which gives it extra flavour density.

Below: Monte Mar - spiced rabbit meatballs cooked with white wine and lemon myrtle sauce with prawns. I looked enviously over at the meatball on a nearby table and thought I'd give this a whirl. Gamey rabbit meat is offset by the use of raisins inside the meatball. Gives it a sweet flavour. It is a nice dish, however I personally am not a fan of game meat such as rabbit, venison and kangaroo.

This is a colourful restaurant, and seems to attract a lot of photographers because of the graffiti scene in the laneway outside. Grab a bar table, and watch the people go by, or lose yourself in the spray scene outside.