MoVida Aqui

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

Our night at Movida Aqui was great. The food had plenty of character and was fresh (as always). Service was also top-notch, there was always a waiter visible and were also very attentive to our queries.

Since this was my second visit to Movida, I decided to try one of our favourite dishes (the Bomba) and was left slightly disappointed. In comparison to the Bomba we got in the past, this one was much larger and didn't give a wholesome 'bomb' of flavour that we got when we first tried it. In saying all this, my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed the sea urchin dish special (the 'Erizo'). The bill totalled to around $50 per head but we were more than satisfied with our dine here. Highly recommended!

May 28, 2012 

6.3 Average

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  4      Value  5     

We were informed over the phone that we may be able to be seated at the bar at around 9.30. In the event we arrived at 8.30 and were seated at a table straight away.

Drinks took overly long to arrive and we had to ask for the menus. The selection is short, yet varied. I would expect more tasting plates in a tapas bar.

We ordered the almond and garlic soup and were surprised when it was served chilled. It was very nice, although the serving was minuscule.

A second bottle of mineral water arrived at the table and when I pointed out to the waitress that it hadn't been ordered I was informed that "that's the way we do things." Well, not in my universe sorry. The sangria was very nice though.

The oxtail arrived without the parsnip mash and the waitress tried to argue that it didn't come with it. She checked the menu and a few minutes later a separate plate of mash arrived. The house made sausage with chick peas was tasty.

Our plate of broccoli was nowhere to be seen and when queried our waitress informed us that it hadn't been ordered as she thought it would be a nice dish to follow the meat with. Palate cleansing so to speak. Draw your own conclusions from that. We cancelled the broccoli and settled for a plain iceberg salad in lieu.

The decor overall is terrific, particularly the polished concrete floors and the Swedish style furniture. However the use of milk crates as a design motif is seriously questionable. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time.

One thing that deserves special mention is the kitchen, which is without a doubt the cleanest I have seen. We passed it during clean up and it was gleaming.

Overall I was left wondering how this establishment earned one chef's hat. I applaud simple food done well, but for the price I was underwhelmed. Also the service definitely has an arrogant aspect to it.

14/20 and no chef's hat from me.

Dec 29, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  6     

It was a good first time experience, brought some friends who felt quite special being treated at Movida as it seems to be the place that needs booking ahead of time and known to be one of the best tapas in Melbourne.

The food was great. The meat platter, olives and bread was a great start and very fresh. The bombs and beef cheeks are highly recommended. We ordered the almond soup that was on the specials menu. Our jaws dropped when they served the soup in a jar (those jars where they serve milk with your coffee). Soup was poured into a teacup saucer, probably got 5 soup spoons out of it. Did not expect the portion to be so small and started to think that this place is getting too popular.

Portion are fairly small if you expect to pay approx $30 for a main, so expect tapas size for the price of a main course.

Service was good, they explained how the menu works and were quite attentive. They are just really busy so don't expect people attend to you immediately. Drinks were a little slow to arrive...mind you, we were there on Tuesday night and started dinner at 530pm. Place was not half full.

Overall, it's a nice experience and good food...you would need to expect to pay around $80 pp for shared platter and a main some drinks without dessert.

Dec 14, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

Had a great night at MoVida Aqui. Our Waiter was very good at explaining the menu and making sure we didn't over order. Food was well presented and mostly delicious. We ordered about 10 different items plus Dessert. The highlights for us were the Triple Cooked Potatoes and Iberico Jamon on house made Baguette. The Cauliflower Puree served with the Beef Cheek was wonderful too. Would have happily downed a big bowl of it! The less impressive dishes were the Egg & Spinach Tortilla (bland) and the Tempura Onion with Romesco Sauce (spring onions that were not cooked through and too greasy). Also noticed there was no salt & pepper on the table. We really would have liked to add some salt to the Beef Cheek but couldn't. Overall a very enjoyable evening. Definitely worth the money and we will be going back again.

Oct 14, 2011 

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

This was my first time to MoVida Aqui and I must admit that I was drawn to the restauramt because of Masterchef. The service was great, quick and efficient and the waiter took the time out to explain the menu for the first timers.

We had the signature dishes (of course) - Bomba; Catalan Potatoe bomb filled with Chorizo, hand filleted anchovy with smoked tomatoe sorbet, braised beef cheek with cauliflower mash, pork and pepper sausage with chickpea and black pudding, zucchini flowers with serrano and of Sangria.

The bill comes to around 120. Not cheap as most of these are tapa dishes with the food disappearing in a mouthful. Good and worthwhile experience though.

Oct 02, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  6     

Frank Camorra successfully brought a little bit of Olé to Melbourne when he opened his first popular eatery many moons ago. His humble West Melbourne restaurant has grown into quite an empire and his most recent place Movida Aqui, is definitely worthy of the Movida name. The service was great and the food and wine were fantastic, and overall a great night was had by all. Just make sure you leave room for dessert.

Read more on my blog

Aug 31, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

Very similar to Movida, more comfortable room, bigger menu, similar wine list.

Food was pretty good, some of the faves from Movida are on the menu here and a few variances. Nothing I did not like about the food but also nothing that really wowed me either and like Movida I found the food to be very high on salt.

The go here is to share plates. We let the kitchen determine what we got and this worked out well. Worth trying.

Jul 19, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Bomba and the beef cheek served with cauliflower and Pedro Ximenez were the best courses we ate during a rush visit. Sitting near the service counter provided all the entertainment we needed. Unfortunately, the kitchen staff was having a hard night with the number of dockets spewing out of the machine and his temper was definitely being felt by all the kitchen hands.

Be careful with ordering as you can accidentally overorder. Service was really efficient and friendly.

Jan 05, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  8     

Enjoyed a really good meal here. Lovely food and attentive service. Will try again.

Dec 31, 2010 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Really enjoyed dining here, on 18th October, staff very welcoming, just a bit lost by menu, but choices were lovely. Wine list bit restrictive, but hey that can happen. I wanted a crisp white savy or a sparkling spanish rose. And very accommodating as a gift was given to us and we could not carry round city, left it there and came back for it later. Most helpful.

Oct 26, 2010