MoVida

We had an amazing evening here. Declan & Liza made our experience unforgettable! The food was delicious and could not recommend this restaurant enough. Great job guys, can't wait to visit again

Before a night at the theatre we wanted to grab a quick bite and wandered past MoVida and took a chance without a booking. Thankfully, the super helpful front of house found us a table. Our waitress was that perfect balance of attentive without being obtrusive. Friendly and professional. We knew the food would be good, as we’ve eaten at their Aqui location, and we weren’t disappointed. We told the waitress that we were short on time, and she checked with the chef that we’d be fine with what we ordered. Again, this was done so well. It didn’t make us feel like we were being difficult, just that they were being helpful. The food was amazing of course, and the ambience perfect. We’ll go again just so we can spend a bit more time.

Second time here and still had an amazing time! Great wine and we totally loved every dish. Super friendly service.

Absolutely fantastic! We've eaten across Spain, including San Sebastian, Madrid and Bilbao and the food here was on a par and better than some in Spain. Could not fault anything, ambience and service, wine list, all top class.

Exceptional service and amazing food! Recently dined at Movida Hosier Lane on a cold rainy evening and entered an oasis! We were greeted instantly and taken to our table (hint - definitely make a booking here!) and given some time to settle in. The restaurant is on the smaller side but it’s cosy and the booth we were seated at somehow made it feel spacious. After a lot of deliberation we ordered the Croqueta, Tartar, Cangrejo, Excalivada and Carrillera De Buey to share (full description with the pics). The food arrived at perfect intervals, giving us the right amount of time to savour each dish. Each one was absolutely outstanding with a special mention for the corn croquette (I can still taste how good it was!). The beef cheeks are always next level and the Catalan Vegetable Salad was the perfect partner. Movida never disappoints. The service is impeccable without being pretentious and the food is, dare I say it, perfect.

Absolutely loved the set menu. Such an interesting experience and the service was friendly and helpful without being too rushed. Great spot if you’re in Melbourne.

Movida in Melbourne impressed me with its excellent vegetarian options! Even though I only tried the vegetarian dishes, they were full of flavor, beautifully presented, and truly satisfying. The vibrant atmosphere and friendly service made the experience even better. Highly recommend Movida for delicious vegetarian tapas in a lively, authentic setting!

Recommended by a friend. Service was good. The oysters were great, the bread was fine, I liked the chicken hearts, the lobster soup was amazing. Everything else was as I expected as I read the menu: don’t know what to expect and couldn’t understand the flavours. But it’s interesting to try out one time.

Red sangria is good and BUEY which their recommendation is great.Main course are just fine.Environment is unique.

Customers since 2000; all grandparents from Spain. Until this time, have recommended to friends (we live in Sydney). This time, sangria not available by jug and the ones provided by the glass they lacked body (would describe as watery). Wine was great. Food was also very good. Desert (arroz con leche) was an abomination. Some overly "creative chef" ruined what a classical version should be like. Tasted more like a chunky tart yoghurt than a time honored sweet creamy original version (passion fruit? - wtf!). Both sangrias and desserts left barely touched.

Great food Fab service Anchovy with sorbet on my " last supper" list & the Cethina is a totally unique dish.

After taking photos of the graffiti lane, we went to MoVida for an early dinner. We didn't have a reservation, so we were lucky to get seats for 4 on a Saturday night. We started with one tapas each to test the water. We ordered the Anchoa (anchovy on crouton), Atun (tuna on almond bread), Pollo (chicken on sourdough crouton), Pincho (beef intercostal skew). The standout dish was the Pincho. In fact we all liked it so much that we ordered another 4 skewers! It was nicely charred and extremely tender. I like how the horseradish cream was not potent at all. For our mains we ordered the Cogollos (lettuce with anchovies and goat cheese dressing) Tortilla (Spanish omelette), Pulpo (octopus) and Carrillera de Buey (braised Angus beef cheek). The romaine lettuce was served quartered, sprinkled with chopped anchovies and sliced garlic. The vegetable sat on a vibrant green goat cheese dressing. The presentation of the omelette took me by surprised. It was actually scrambled eggs with crab meat. Topped with fried mussels and asparagus, and lots of chives. The eggs were smooth and creamy. The octopus were not as char grilled as I expected. However, it was tender and easy to cut. The diced potatoes had a fine green powder sprinkled on it which I could not identify. The white cream sauce had a hint of almond taste to it. The last dish to arrived was the beef cheeks. It was also my favourite dish! The beef was so tender that you don't need a knife to separate the meat. It was well flavoured and was not dry. You could really taste the cauliflower taste in the puree. With 2 beers, the bill came to approximately $200, which is very reasonable at all 4 of us left the restaurant feeling full!

The chefs plates were delicious, reminiscent of our time in Spain. wonderful authentic imports. The service was knowledgeable, sincerely friendly, and utmost attentive."

at first i thought the egg was a testicle. it tasked great though. great service and the staff are really nice. thank you!!

I went to Movida with 2 mates, taking them out for hosting my stay in Melbourne. I hadn't heard of it before, although it's obvious how trendy it is. It's in a very accessible area with great atmosphere & the staff were really helpful. However, we had 2 rounds of margarita's, some guac and tortilla chips (so small a portion that if they'd given us 15 chips, that'd be an over-estimation) just 6 tacos and then some roasted broccoli. All of that came to $250, and it felt like we'd just had an entree. The portions were (and I'll say this politely) ungenerous to the point of being rude and although everything tasted pretty good, the size of the bill compared to the size of the dishes was widely disproportionate. I'm a fan of fine dining and have paid for small, expensive, exclusive dishes before - but this is standard tapas! Movida are riding a wave at the moment but it's hard to see how this is value for money - as it was a real ripoff. The worst thing was that we left hungry after paying so much money. I'd say 'get your act together' and stop charging so much for so little. A real disappointment.

Hot damn I went did on this one ! So I couldn't take any good pictures cuz I have an iPhone and the light was real low. I really need to get a better camera for this stuff, but I did almost try one of everything on the menu and some dishes that weren't on the menu. Oooh specials ! First off I have to say our server was hands down the best server I've every had. I'm pretty sure his name was Matt , and that's what it says on the receipt so I'm going with Matt. He is the perfect example of a professional server. Thank you Matt for your amazing service ! So this is tapas, high end tapas, well thought out, premium ingredients, with a touch molecule gastronomy. All the dishes I had were well plated, and well presented, and all were delicious. My favorites of the evening are as follows: "Carrillera de Buey" ( beef cheek and cauliflower purée ) intense ! Super rich and earthy, the "Chocos" ( cuttlefish ) perfection! love the ink "Calabacin" ( charred zucchini ), zucchini can go wrong real fast and this was cook perfectly, al dente yes ! Definitely take a look at the menu to see all the other descriptions and ingredients of the dishes I mentioned above, way too many to type. I really wanted to try the "Bocadillo" ( fried pig's ear sandwich ) but it wasn't on the menu, no worries still had lots of great food in a great environment. For dessert I had the "Cigarillo" it's like a chocolate ice cream cigar dipped in chocolate and then rolled on crushed pistachios! Wow yum ! Thanks !

I decided I wanted to try the good food spots that I had researched prior to my arrival. I was going to turn my day into my own little Melbourne Food tour. Second stop on the tour, Movida. I originally wasn't going to go to Movida but it was right there on Hosier Lane where all the graffiti was and I was already there having a fun photo shoot. I figured since I was there I would check it out. When I entered I was greeted with a warm welcome. When I started talking to the bartender, the folks next to me realized we were American and sparked up a convo. So we ordered a couple of different tapas but not too much cuz we still had other places to go and eat at. I didn't want to get too full that I wouldn't be able to eat and mind you, we were only on our Second stop. I may have overdone it at the first stop.

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 crouton. 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.

Overall great experience Ambience: Request a seat next to the window, like that you can enjoy the ambience both inside and the graffiti wall outside MoVida Food: recommend trying - Cecina, has nice texture of truffle foam with eggs and air-dried Wagyu - Anchoa - Croqueta with cod & potatoes - Tortilla de cangrejo - cordoniz

Great menu enjoyed a lovely meal with my partner

We had reservations here for a party of 4 here on our last nite in Melbourne and an amazing end to our Australia trip. This place was a good symbol of what melbourne is for me. It's located on hosier lane, so you know it's quite special! Very hip and artsy scene filled with vibrance and good food! We shared a bunch of tapas and raciones. For the tapas we had oysters, squid ink croqueta with cuttlefish, the prawns, and the lengua. My fav probably being the compressed prawns. For the raciones, we had the duck liver parfait, bistec de tartare de wagyu and portobello mushrooms. I really enjoyed the duck liver parfait. Probably one of the best I've had. The wagyu tartare was a huge portion, and the fellas really enjoyed that dish. Great place to share good eats with good company! Cheers!!!

delicious even if you hate fish the anchovies on a cracker with tomato sorbet is fantastic light and salty

Tucked down Hosier Lane this restaurant is often mentioned but difficult to get into. Bookings should be made in advance to guarantee a spot but if you are lucky they have bar seating that is for walk in only or you may be able to snag a table early on in the night. I love the posters on the wall, hooks for bags and coats and the windows near the front door to watch people strolling and taking selfies with the graffiti art. Let's chat about the food... Must try: -Beef Cheek -Lamb shoulder -Wagyu tartar Should try: -Charcuterie plate -Smoked cod croquette -Oysters/Scallops -Anything with burrata cheese What about drinks you say? Yes there is a long list of alcohol for you to consume and staff can provide suggestions...most recently I had the tempranillo with the lamb shoulder and was a happy lady. If you fail to get a spot here, try Movida Next Door or Movida Aqui both good alternatives.

One of the classic cases of using Yelp. 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!

What not to like about this place? Now I know why people rave about Movidas and it was truly amazing. It was the best dinning experience we had in Melbourne! We sat at the counter and ordered the octopus ink croquet with cuttlefish, salted cod potato balls (bacalhao), pork cheek, roasted lamb, cold smoked yellowtail kingfish and it was all unbelievably delicious, each bite was an experience itself combined with Spanish beer and chefs recommendation of red. Desert, churros with chocolate sauce. Can't wait to go back and bring my friends and family.

Wait time: My bf and I arrived at 7:45 on a Friday night and were able to make a reservation for 9. I'm not sure if this is unusual, but it wasn't a bad wait at all. We went to the bar next door, Misty, for some great cocktails (at Misty, have the bartender make you his/her favorite drink with your choice of the homemade simple syrups. it does have a $15 price tag but mine was so worth it). Ambiance: Cramped. I was sitting at a table for two in the middle of two other tables for two. Each of those table tops were literally a thumb's distance (I won't pretend to know the metric system) away from mine. Fortunately, the fairly high noise level provides some privacy. Also, I can't imagine coming here w/ a party larger than 4 people. Drinks: There was a fairly extensive wine list (mostly bottles). The cheapest bottle was $70 and glasses were $11-$14. We don't like wine (don't let that lose credibility for the rest of the review), so we stuck with a beer and a mojito (we showed up to our reservation pretty tipsy so we didn't require much). The Epidor beer (they don't have anything on tap. sad) was $10 and sucked. The mojito was too sweet and not minty enough. I wouldn't recommend it. You should definitely get the following dishes that are labeled with stars. Tapas: They recommend 2-3 per person assuming table will be ordering recommended amount of raciones. (most can be devoured in 2 delicate bites, in case you want to split it w/ someone you're super close to, I list the number of delicate bites with: %) **Anchoa (Anchovy): Delicious. As may be surmised, it was very salty, but the smoked tomato sorbet balanced it perfectly. %%%. $4.5 **Croquetas de choco en su tinta (Croquetas in squid ink): So delicious we ordered another round. Be warned that they are insanely hot when you bite into them. It was one of the best croquetas I've ever had. %. $4 Gamba (prawn baked in rock salt): Nothing special about this dish. If being baked in rock salt added anything, I couldn't detect it. The prawn was also a little overcooked. I don't recommend it. %%. $4 Air baguette (air dried tuna loin on hollow cracker): I thought it was pretty good and I dislike most tuna things. %%. $4-5? Queso (goat cheese thing): My bf loves goat cheese so he really liked it, but he's not very selective w/ this cheese. %. $4-5? **Caballa ahumado (smoked cold mackeral): My bf thought it was delicious. %. $5.5 Raciones: They recommend 1-1.5 per person assuming table will also be ordering recommended amount of tapas. Pate de pato (duck liver pate w/ pedro jimenez foam and toasted brioche): My bf loved this, but once again he loves any pate. I liked it too, but I can't tell if a pate is amazing. $15 **Setas asadas con jerez (roasted portobellos): These were amazing, and you get a pretty sizable bowl. $13 Postres: Churros: Don't do it. They were the densest churros I've ever had. They just weren't what churros are supposed to be, and they failed to be good at whatever they were trying to do. It was fried dense dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar served with melted chocolate (why chocolate? give me some freakin' dulce de leche). $11 Specials: We ordered both specials and one was awful and the other one was a flank steak w/ zero flavor. I advise staying away from the specials. Stick to all the yelp reviews of this place and you won't go wrong like we did. Service: Honestly, the service wasn't that great. But that doesn't factor into my rating. The one thing that does matter to me is whether they take something off the bill if I don't like it. We ordered a special that was just terrible, and we only took a small bite. That plate w/ all its left over food remained on the table as we plowed through other dishes and the server never asked if it was ok nor did she ask when she cleared the table. I even asked her if we could order something "instead" of that dish and she said ok, but she didn't take it off the bill. However, when the bill came, I asked her to take it off because we thought it sucked. After saying, "we don't usually take something off just because you don't like it, but I will see what we can do," she actually took it off. So, even though the service was shitty, she pulled through in the end and that's what matters to me.

MoVida de Tapas, a trendy Spanish, was the most anticipated meal of my entire Melbourne trip. One of the top restaurants on Yelp and Urbanspoon and recommended by a fellow foodie, I decided that we could not miss out on this restaurant! The ambience is trendy and casual, and a bit romantic due to the dim lighting and decor. They do a good variety of drinks, but we ended up going for the red sangria! Not bad, and they didn't skimp on the wine. We all tried several different items from the tapa menu, and shared three of the raciones, and were plenty full after all the food was gone. I had the Lengua (3.5), or ox tongue, which was very tender, but it definitely wasn't the highlight of the night. The red pepper broth wasn't really anything special - but maybe that's just me. I also had the Croquetas de Choco en su Tinta (4), the squid ink croquette with cuttlefish, which may have been my favorite dish of the night! I'm really into the squid ink dishes at Spanish places, and this one didn't disappoint! Perfectly fried and flavorful but not overly salty (which tends to happen with squid ink dishes), the croquette oozes squid ink when you bite into it. I know it doesn't sound all the lovely - especially when it makes your teeth black - but it really was quite delicious, especially with the contrasting texture of the cuttlefish. The last tapa item I had was the Buenelos de Bacalao (4), the deep fried salt cod and potato frittata with pil pil. That is one long name! Being as unhealthy as I am, I went for another fried item - and I didn't regret it! Again, fried to perfection, this potato frittata was a great texture with a soft and flavorful interior contrasted with the fried exterior. It really is hard to describe, but this was another one of the favorites of the night! For the raciones, the first item we shared was the Bistec Tartar de Wagyu (18.5), a spicy steak tartare of wagyu beef. This was my favorite out of the three raciones! The girls were a bit hesitant about this dish at first, but I think it was well received - and well, I loved it! The beef could have possibly used a bit more complexity in flavor, but I suppose the dish highlighted the quality of the beef. We also shared the Carrillera de Buey, a braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximinez on Cauliflower Puree (23.5), which was recommended to me by my friend. The beef cheek was tender and flavorful throughout, and although the taste of the Pedro Ximinez was a bit overwhelming to me, the cauliflower puree balanced it out. The Codornices con Kikos (18.5) was our last dish of the night. A boned and roasted quail with toasted corn and jamon, the dish was just fine. The texture of the quail was not my thing, and the rest of the dish didn't really stand out to me. The presentation was beautiful, but it just wasn't memorable. The service was great, even with the number of people at the restaurant. They had to rush us a bit at the end of the two hour dining period due to the inflow of customers, but overall a great dining experience. I would definitely return or try out their bakery or next door!

Totally agree with David M. This is the first place I go when I am in Melbourne. Just down the alley from the major hotels nearby, two blocks away from the central train station. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/movida-bar-de-tapas-melbourne?select=J9rp8Uo02L7jkb5xEoDzBg#J9rp8Uo02L7jkb5xEoDzBg Love it. I have spent many AUS dollars with little dishes of tapas and large glasses of wine. The menu of food and wine change, so there is always fun stuff to enjoy. Friendly and nice looking staff. After filling my needs for tapas, the next stop is Lygon Street or Greektown - coin flip.

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 pate, 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.

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 lived up to the hype and recommendations of fellow travelers. We enjoyed a scrumptious early dinner despite not making a reservation (recommended!) we were seated at the bar. In short order we enjoyed the tapas suggested by other reviewers and the bar tender. We left physically and spiritually satisfied, this was our best meal in 6 days in Melbourne. It's not cheap but you get what you pay for. The wine list is extensive and expensive. I found the Tempranillo Sierra de Tolono perfect for the food, especially with the Carrillera de Buey - braised beef cheek (this dish is an absolute must - it is indescribably delicious). All in all, a great meal, nothing to fault. Wish there was a MoVida in Dallas!

I made a reservation at MoVida a week before I had arrived in Melbourne, although I'm sure you might just get lucky if you slip in at a non-peak hour. The restaurant transported me back to Europe; it was both intimate and lively - a place for friends to gather, drink their fill and enjoy flavoursome bites in between rounds. Although the food didn't disappoint, the service was a real let down. I have always been cautious of photographing as conspicuously as possible, especially when I'm in such a cosy and bustling restaurant. At most, I took one or two shots per dish and had decided very early on, not to photograph staff or interiors. However, the staff weren't so happy with me photographing and I was even told to by one of the staff members to "stop taking photos and just eat the food". As a paying customer, just like every second person in the room who was instagramming each tapa as they came, I didn't see the reason for the rudeness. We left the bar with mixed feelings; the great food may have been unfortunately dulled by the unreasonable outburst we experienced. But regardless, MoVida is still a Melbourne visitor must have and I could not fault how so many distinct and intricate flavours, had been represented so wonderfully within a variety of tongue tingling textures and temperatures. Must order tapas: Caballa Ahumada - House Cold Smoked Spanish Mackerel with Pine Nut Gazpacho Sorbet ($6.00) Atun - Fresh Yellowtail Tuna with Compressed Watermelon and Black Olive ($4.00) Bocadillo de Anguila - Brik Pastry Sandwich of Smoked Eel, Onion and Jamon. ($3.50) Cigar of the Day: Lamb and Fig. ($6.00) Pate de Pato - Duck Liver Parfait with Pedro Ximenez Foam and Toasted Brioche ($15.00) Cordero al Chilindron - Slow Cooked Flinders Island Lamb Neck in a Paprika and Fino Sauce ($19.50)

I had been wanting to go here ever since I served in Melbourne and I'm glad I did because I don't want to do back. At around 7.40pm on a Saturday we were told that there was a 30 minutes wait which wasn't bad given the restaurants popularity and it being Saturday night. We killed some time at the ACMI and made our way back We were seated promptly. We got ourselves some Spanish temparinillo (red wine) to start. Nice wine but not amazing. East drinking and medium bodied. We were provided some delicious sourdough bread as compliments We didn't get any tapas as I saw people getting tapas plates and the size of the tapas was for less than one third human being. The tostada was a cracker with a dollop of cream. We got two mains. The seafood pasta and the pork belly. The seafood pasta came with four square cracker sized calamari atop sweet tomatoey (tasted like ketchup) crusty spaghetti and a lemon wedge. Though the calamari and the spaghetti with sweet tomato sauce was nice at first it later just tasted overly sweet and same same. The pork belly was four pieces of pork. Succulent. Easy to cut into and went well with the raisins but I didn't like the combo with the apple. I was still hungry after but the wine had caught up and was lulling me to sleep. Bill came to around 140. Pricey for a first date. The four stars are for service and venue. Food is only three stars.

Great atmosphere and people watching. V friendly staff. Enjoyed the experience but thought the food was over priced. 5 small tapas plates cost $240 for 4 people including bottle of wine. Beef plate was $21 for what looked like a beef shank, including bone, tasty but v expensive. 4 very small scallops were $30

Absolutely a MUST! Extremely tasty.. In the middle of the world famous graffiti center of Melbourne. We went in before 5pm. The restaurant part was closed, but you can sit and eat in the bar. Young and energized atmosphere. The service is friendly and knows everything about Tapas.. We had a great time and absolutely the best Tapas and best food in Melbourne.

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.

came here for dinner during my visit to melbourne. The food was ok, a bit on the salty side. considering the quality of the food to the price and the service, it's a bit on the pricey side. but then i was told that everything on this hemisphere is more expensive, esp how weak US$ is these days =/ Had the wine recommended by the bar tender, it was just ok to be honest. Not too sure if I would go through the trouble i did to get a reservation here during my next visit.

I think my expectations going into Movida were pretty fair. It's a big name in the Melbourne dining scene, and my friends that had been before only had good things to say. As the rating shows, none of those expectations were met. I feel it's only fair to say that maybe it was an off night. Those same friends said that Movida was unusually disappointing, and that it's usually better. Service was appropriately abashed in reminding us that they needed our table back at 8pm, and they made an excellent wine recommendation, but other than that it was pretty sub-par. Rushed, hard to get attention, we had to ask for butter twice, and dishes weren't really explained. It felt hurried, and yes the place was busy, but that's usually not an excuse for service to feel busy as well. We started with oysters. I don't even remember that they were dressed in, I vaguely remember seaweed of some sort, maybe cucumber. It was bland. The dressing did nothing to help the flavour of the oyster, and we all commented that even having it just with lemon would've been better. The blood pudding croquetta was excellent, as well as the artisan anchovy with tomato sorbet. The house smoked... some fish was... well. It was a real show stealer presentation wise, with the smoke and the aroma, but flavour wise, nothing robust nor memorable. The garlic soup with calamari, similarly mediocre, the soup was nice, but wasn't particularly garlicky nor unique. The preserved razor clam in lemon, tasted just like a clam in lemon, so... again. Meh? The beef tartar was decent, but I've honestly had better. The Cecina, or salted beef with truffle foam and egg was very decadent, but really too salty. After a few mouthfuls it just tasted overwhelmingly salty. The pork belly was good, though one dish really couldn't save the meal. The final dish we had was the duck liver mousse with sweet sherry foam, and that was delicious. Two dishes then. Still not enough to salvage anything more than two stars because we were so disappointed we didn't even stay for dessert. Overwhelmingly, I felt that many of the dishes were either staggeringly mediocre (the garlic soup with calamari for example), unbalanced in terms of flavour (salty salted beef anyone?), or just poorly conceived (that oyster. A TRAVESTY.). I... actually wouldn't go back if it weren't for the sneaky feeling that Movida deserves another chance. :(

Great experience in Movida!! I have heard plenty of good things about this place and everything is true! The tapas and the raciones are really good ! We were sitting at the bar (you need to make a reservation because it is full of people) and our waiter was friendly and giving us a lot of advices. We had 4 tapas and 2 raciones (and I will recommend to go for only 1 raciones). The tapas: croquetas, queso, smoked maquereaux, croquetas fish and the raciones were burrata&beetroots and mushroom rice&duck (delicious). If you add 2 drinks: mojito and sangria, it was a total of 102$ which is pretty fair !! I highly recommend Movida !!!!

4.3 is spot on for Movida Next Door. A cracking little place. The small dishes here are beauties. I had a few with my friend during our catch up today. We were talking so intently my note taking failed me a bit. The anchovy starter was a killer. Beautifully flavoured. The selection of smallgoods was great too. Add one other dish, an Albariño and a red I didn't catch the name of (the conversation was intense), plus beautiful service from our Glaswegian server and you've got a great experience. It's a terrific little spot. A great Melbourne experience.

Went for a late lunch Sunday at 4:20pm, and sat at the bar. The place was still quite empty, just about 15-20 people or so. The bartender was quite friendly and helpful and she gave me lots of suggestions to try. The plates are definitely tapas style, but the 6 guys in the kitchen really put quite a bit into each lil piece. The flavors were quite compelling, especially the mackerel with the pistachio sorbet, the pressed quail with morcilla (blood sausage), and the achovy with smoked tomato sorbet (yes I said smoked tomato sorbet, wowzayum). I tried actually finding it on Saturday, but thanks to asking for directions (what was I thinking???) I ended up walking the wrong way and not finding it. The little alleyway it is in has lots of great street art, and on the corner there is the Movida Next Door, which had some delicious grilled chicken. Yes, I ended up trying both places. Digging Melbourne for sure, almost as good as tapas in Portland, Oregon... but not quite :)

We came here for an afternoon snack on a whim and had a very enjoyable mini meal. We tried the roasted Jerusalem artichoke, an oyster special, grilled prawns with rock salt, sticky pork, lamb breast, anchovy on toast with tomato sorbet, and the cold smoked mackerel with gazpacho sorbet. The Jerusalem artichocke was by far the best dish. Spectacular really, especially for such a humble vegetable. The mackerel was also excellent, as was the anchovy. Prawns, sticky pork, and lamb were relatively disappointing in comparison but not bad. A manzanilla sherry and apple cider were both decent also. It would be rather expensive to enjoy a full meal here, but that seems to generally be the case in Melbourne. Worth a try if you can get in!

Came here for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon (1:30pm) with no wait. We were very excited to try MoVida given the reviews and some dishes were incredibly memorable. The most amazing dish we had was the House smoked Yellow tail kingfish. I've had yellowtail sashimi and crudo often but none that tasted like this. The dish was delicate with a unique smokey flavor and presented beautifully. We also loved the spiced chicken escabache tapa on crisp crouton. Unlike many of the other dishes, the portion size on the chicken was generous. I could have eaten 2 of these. The deep fried salt cod and the breaded pork jowl with roast carrot were delicious as well. However we didn't care for the Hand-filleted Cantabrian Artisan Anchovy on Crouton with Smoked Tomato Sorbet and the Squid Ink Croquette with Cuttlefish MoVida is not cheap but some dishes like the Yellowtail were memorable enough to make me visit again!

Señor's and señorita's, if you haven't been here, you, as our wonderful waiting staff assured, are "in for a treat!"! I will not review any dish on the menu as you will enjoy the taste stimulation without any predetermined bias! You will not be disappointed! You will be delighted with warm friendly service.

This was my favorite meal during my 5 day Australia work trip. The location is inside the graffiti alley and the the food was phenomenal. I got there quite early and they gave me a 30 minute wait time, so I walked around the neighborhood where there is quite a lot to see. When I got back they seated me right away at the bar and the young bartender was so sweet and nice. He recommended I get 2 small tapas and one main of which I got the fried zucchini flower filled with scallop mousse, anchovy on crouton with tomato sorbet and as the main I ordered air dried wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam. The zucchini flower was absolutely delicious. So much so that I ordered another because I don't know what moderation is. The anchovy bite was good but too salty for me. I think it needs more base to round off the super saltiness of the delicious anchovy. The waygu beef was delicious. I could not be happier with this dish. In the end I also ordered the lettuce with anchovy and pickled garlic and that was delicious and refreshing as well. This meal was super memorable.

What a fantastic restaurant! Every element of every dish was perfect, faultless and world class. The service was impeccable and we had the best meal and night out for a while. I wish we had places to this standard in our home town

I had the pleasure of taking my Dad here when he was visiting from the UK. He can be one of the tightest people in the world (it's probably where I get it from), and I was apprehensive as to what he would think of this more upper scale of restaurants. We ordered two quite inexpensive (~$45) bottles of wine off their quite extensive menu and both were great drops that went perfectly with the food. The food was incredible. The oysters were great, as was the tartare. Even something as simple as mushrooms, I was left asking "how do you make mushrooms taste this good?" The service was impeccable and the waiter knew the menu and the story behind all the produce inside out. Movida itself is a great setting and the atmosphere is one of buzzing happiness. My old man said it was one of the best meals he'd had in the last 30 years!

On a wintry Friday night after a long absence from Melbourne the warmth of Movida Next Door was embracing. The small tapas bar is named as such due to its location 'Next Door' to its older sister 'Movida' on Hosier Lane. Despite the lack of a reservation after a short queue and anticipated wait outside we were quickly lead to a standing room only spot by the bar and offered drinks. Yes please to the driest white wine you can find! After a wines worth of conversation (you know your having a great night when you measure time by the number of drinks consumed) we were led to a comfy spot at the bar and continued to have the best tapas experience I have had in this hemisphere! Tapa or racion (larger servings) are your options and we opted to get a little of a lot, and then return to the plates we loved. The problem was that we loved everything! Croqueta with mild mushrooms rendered my friend silent while I devoured the Bomba (spicy potato bomb filled with chorizo and maybe magic) Chicken skewers, Quail, Sheep Cheese completed the first round. We could not go past the croqueta and bomba though so order more with a side dish of small goods and by the end of round two we were totally satisfied by and inspired to come back and try the rest of the menu. Our good humored bar tender helped us choose our food and encouraged our adventurous sides. He also made a mean drink! Surprisingly Movida Next Door lived up to the hype as the best tapas bar Melbourne and just thinking about the creative and inspired dishes has compelled me to return sooner rather then later!

Heavenly Tapas and dishes to satiate the most demanding of palates. The menu is as unique as there could possibly be, and created with an amazing attention to detail that is of the highest possible order. Not a lot of sunlight coming in through the windows if you are there mid day, but the ambience and internal lighting is great and give a warm and intimate feel to the place and the overall experience. The main dishes (recommended 'To Share' rather than 'touch my plate and I will bite your arm off') are moderately sized, but combined with a few tapas and you will be full before you (and your pocket) know it. The waiters and waitresses are so friendly; I felt like I was a regular from the first time I walked in and seated - constantly attending to your needs, recommending plates as well as making sure everything is in order with a friendly and genuine smile, as well as making sure your coat and jackets are stored in a happy and warm place as sokn as you walk in. The service is also really quick no matter how crowded the place is - it almost defies belief how small that exposé kitchen is... The place is very busy in the evening and so I highly recommend you book ahead if you can, even for an ordinary Tuesday it was a full house. This instantly has gone very high up on my list of places to go to in the city - I highly recommend you go there at least once.

This is a pretty cool place where you will share tables. great service and a really cool ambiance. Pretty noisy so dont expect to have intimate conversations with anybody but probably going to have to scream or talking to you partners ear. that said good wines great beers. A little bit upset that the food was a little bit of a disappointment because I ordered mackeral and what I actually got was a tin that's probably $2.50 at the supermarket in Adelaide . $15? I think you could have done better than guys

So disappointed We sat at the bar ordered the Broccolini, clams' olives' anchovy, potatoes leek First off the bartender delivered our dishes never really explaining what they entailed when delivered, given the high prices this should have been automatic The broccoli I was limp and over cooked The potatoes and leeks were mushy. They were staked in oil. Should have been crispy and the jerks were blah The anchovy was wonderful Overall overrated overpriced over cooked and lacked any good customer service

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.

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.

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.

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.

We were very lucky to snap up a table for four on what seemed to be an extremely busy Monday night, but this appeared to be the norm and the vibe was great! The staff were very attentive and offered suggestions for all menu items. They even whipped me up a deliciously refreshing mocktail (pregnant) which i thoroughly enjoyed whilst my fellow diners sipped on their wonderfully smelling red wines and beers. The food was yummy and the menu covered all food preferences. Definately an ideal tapas venue right in the heart of the cbd :)

I'm so sorry to give just 3 starts, but i was expecting way better. I mean Staff is awesome but Prices are so so so High, never seen something similar in melbourne. a 8cm diameter tortilla $12 or a mini tapas (like 2cm wide for $8) . spend $30 for a dish with 4 mussles, 2 clamps and 2 prawns. Quality is not bad, but not even the best. I thought this place was the closest representative of the real spanish tapas, but sadly is not... well i enjoyed my time anyway... p.s. i liked the spanish beer from barcelona..very nice...but i discovered is brewed and bottled in South Australia....