MoVida Bar de Tapas is located on Hosier Lane. Hosier Lane is one of the many Melbourne laneways filled with graffiti.
It’s an amazing site to see the vibrant colors of street art. Anyway, per the Gourmet traveler, MoVida Bar De Tapas is considered one of the best restaurants in Melbourne. It’s a small tapas restaurant serving Spanish dishes with Australian ingredients. MoVida Bar De Tapas reminded me of your typical Spanish tapas bar in that it got packed really fast during happy hour except it had tables and no standing bar.
We had reservations around 5 pm. The restaurant was almost at full capacity when we were seated and it filled up when we were done with our meal. The decor wasn’t anything out of the ordinary and the tables were pretty closed to each other. I could literally hear the people next to me chew their food.
MoVida Bar De Tapas service contain all the typical Western traits. Our waiter explained the menu, gave us recommendations, and gave my cousins a quick explanation of how tapas work. Tapas are small plates meant to be shared among the table and very similar to the Chinese family style format. The food came out fairly quick and we requested the dishes to be brought out as soon as the food was plated.
Now, la comida. We decided to go with four items on the menu.
- Cordero – This was Moorish Spice Marinated and Charcoal Grilled Lamb Mid-Loin. You could definitely taste the smoked layer of the lamb and the Moorish Spice was flavorful. It tasted like something out of a wood burning oven. It’s very hard to get lamb the same texture as other popular meats. My favorite lamb was from La Guarida in Havana, Cuba. It had the same texture of steak. The lamb had a decent amount of tenderness, but still a bit gamy for my palate.
Cordero in stockOtel.com - Cecina – It’s Air-Dried Wagyu With Poached Organic Egg & Truffle Foam. The aroma of the truffle was noticeable as well as the taste of it. The truffle foam was syrupy and kind of sweet. The poached egg was wrapped with the raw wagyu and everything melted in your mouth. Was it real truffle? I would think so cause there were bits of it swimming in the poached egg. It was a nicely done dish and the flavors of the Australian Wagyu was better than beef in the States.
Cecina - 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 Australian Wagyu was tender and the egg yolk was a nice touch. The egg yolk made the wagyu silky. The dried bread was great with it and provided a contrast to the soft texture of the tartare.
Bistec Tartar De Wagyu - 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 the clams. It had a lot of flavor but it wasn’t appealing or savory. There was just too much going on and tasted like paella with pasta. It was a bit disappointing like when you find out your dinner is lukewarm.
Fideos
Overall, MoVida Bar De Tapas was one of the better restaurants I tried in Melbourne. It wasn’t stuffy like other places I dined at and I felt comfortable in my shorts and t-shirt. I would totally recommend MoVida Bar De Tapas cause you could have a good meal after you’re done admiring all the art in Hosier Lane and other Melbourne hidden laneways.
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- Service - 7.5/107.5/10
- Presentation - 7.5/107.5/10
- Flavors - 7.5/107.5/10
- Decor - 7.5/107.5/10
- Ambiance - 7.5/107.5/10
Summary
MoVida provides a hip and laid back diing atmosphere on Hosier Lane. It’s Spanish inspired menu utilizing local Australian ingredients and drawing a crowd during happy hour. Reservations are very highly recommended.
