MoVida Bar De Tapas

It took me long enough, but I finally had a chance to visit MoVida on August 19. It was a random choice of places to eat while running some errands in the city. It was a great choice.

Hosier Lane is home to some of the best graffiti around Melbourne so we were happy to score a seat next to the window, facing the alley. We were seated in between the window and the bar, where we had a great view of the whole restaurant.

My friend Lisa and I shared two Tapas (entree size) and two Racion (full size dishes). Then we were greedy and had a dessert each. It was all washed down with some alcoholic pear cider - my favourite. While it's not cheap, the quality of the food is first class and there's a great atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and helpful too.


Although, I hate to say it, but we did have one problem. My friend's dessert had a hair cooked through it. Thankfully they didn't make us pay for the dish and they offered to replace it with a fresh one (which was politely declined). Other than that, everything was super.

Two days after our visit, Katie Holmes and her daughter Suri dined at MoVida, so you know it has to be good. It was well worth the wait and I can't wait to go back.

MoVida Melbourne
1 Hosier Lane
Melbourne

Very blurry photo. This was our view of the bar and restaurant.

The complimentary bread was quite nice. It came with olive oil and some sea salt.

San Jacobo de cordonice. Hunter Valley quail, partially boned, crumbed, and filled with jamon and mahon cheese.

The quail was very tasty. It was quite salty, but not overpowering. The mahon cheese was really oozy when we cut it open.

This isn't on the online menu. It was basically just a lamb chop with some salsa verde. It was a bit on the boring side, but it was cooked quite nicely. We forgot there was a chorizo/mashed potato croquette thing on the menu, so this was our next choice.

Carillera de buey. Slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez on cauliflower puree.

This was tasty. I love cauliflower mash and this had so much flavour from the added gravy. The beef cheeks were a bit too gelatinous for me, but the meaty parts were really wonderful and tender.

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

This was the stand out dish for me. The texture of the dry wagyu can be likened to bresaola. The whole dish was so salty and truffle-y, but again, not overpowering. The poached egg just brought the dish altogether and it was amazing. I could eat this every day.

Ganache caliente con turron. Hot chocolate ganache pudding with vanilla bean ice-cream and nougat.

This was Lisa's dessert. There's no nougat as she has a nut allergy. Until she found the hair, she seemed be enjoying it!

Flan con pestinos. Creme caramel served with spiced sherry pastries.

I don't think this description is correct, but it's the dish that's on the menu now. The pastries were cinnamon-y and flakey. They flan was so smooth and filling. The caramel on the top was uber-bitter but that's the way it should be. I think I only managed to eat a third. It was delicious. I <3 flan.

Le Pere Jules Poire Bouche (Pear Cider)

I adore pear cider. I love the massive cans of non-alcoholic pear cider you can buy at Ikea. This alcoholic cider was wonderful. It wasn't terribly strong and it was a nice compliment to the meal and the sunny weather outside.

Our view from the table. Hosier Lane's famous graffiti.