MoVida Next Door

7.8 Recommended

Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7      Food  8     

I went with my brother to Movida Next Door as Movida was full. The waiter had originally told us there would be approximately a one hour wait before we would be seated, however, we were seated within 40 minutes, which we were quite pleased about. The staff there were friendly and nice, always apologising for the wait time, presented themselves with a smile on their faces, and explained the specials for the night happily and eagerly.

We had about 6 dishes, which 5 were what we had ordered and 1 was a complimentary starter, bread with oil (olive oil?). The bread was quite chewy and wasn't fresh. One of the dishes, tortilla, wasn't fresh either, it was precooked and just sliced out so it was quite hard.

The rest of the 4 dishes were superb! We ordered anchovy with tomato and cracker, bomba, quail, and octopus dish with potato. We even went for seconds with the anchovy and bomba!

In terms of the value, it is on the pricey side, however, I am still willing to pay the price for each of the four dishes mentioned above.

I thought the ambience was great! I like the idea of a small cozy tapas bar for a light meal and a nice get together for a couple of friends. Though this place is not suitable for group gatherings of more than 4 people. The restaurant does get quite loud but I do like it as I feel as though it is part of the culture, and everyone is enjoying their time there. It is also not suitable for those who want a nice quiet meal.

Overall, I will be returning, and I will be taking some friends down there too!

Feb 24, 2012 

3.5 Below Average

Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  2      Food  3     

We couldn't get in to Movida so had to settle for next door even though it was early in the evening but if this is any indication I don't think I would bother with the big brother. Maybe it's meant to be rustic but at least if they were tasty that would have been fine but the 4 small plates didn't make us wanting for more.

Aug 02, 2011 

2.8 Not Recommended

Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  2      Food  3     

A real let down after expectations were raised by all the reviews. Small and over salted morsels of snack food.

Mar 24, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8      Food  9     

This place is so good that I now don't know whether to eat here or at the original Movida. I love the tapas bar feel, the engaging staff and the wonderful food. And it's easy to find, hooray!

Sep 01, 2010 

7.5 Recommended

Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7      Food  8     

MoVida Next Door serves amazingly fresh see food and delicious Jamon Iberico (Spanish ham). It doesn't accept reservations, so I recommend arriving early (before 6.30 pm) to get a table. Check out my full review at http://melbournedinning.blogspot.com/2010/01/movida-next-door.html

Jan 16, 2010 

6 Average

Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  5      Food  7     

Worth going to as the food offers something a bit different although don't go there for a cheap filling meal.

Dec 22, 2009 

2 Not Recommended

Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1      Food  3     

I went to Movida last night to have some drinks and tapas with a couple of my friends. I was keen to show them (one from London and the other from Singapore) the finest restaurants in Melb. As Movida is supposedly rated as one of the best in Melb we decided to try it out. What we found was mediocre food and disgraceful service (or lack thereof).

If the food had been half the price it would have been "okay" to "good". Given the price it was disappointing. The octopus dish lacked flavour (the potatoes were bland). The tortillas were mushy and bland. However, the most disappointing part of the experience was the rude waitress who rolled her eyes out as she took our dishes because she touched a part of our uneaten food on the plate, who called me "uncouth" for trying to help myself with some ice from the bowl next to our table because we couldn't get someone to get us some ice and gave my friends attitude when they asked genuine questions.

It may be that this is a restaurant that was good but has become so full of itself that it thinks that the old tried and tested "the customer is always right" is now "the customer serves us" (ie it is a privilege for people to come to the restaurant). I can honestly say that I have never been more disgusted at the level of disgraceful service at any place I have been to in Melbourne. The good news for Movida is that my friends will now go back to their respective countries and deliver their judgment to their family, friends and colleagues.

As I will here in Melbourne. I strongly recommend that if you want decent level of service and treatment, with quality food that you go somewhere else. Melb is full of up-market restaurants. I won't be going back there again. There are other places that deserve my hard earned money.

Dec 22, 2009 

7.3 Recommended

Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7      Food  8     

MoVida – Next Door, 164 Flinders Street, Melbourne, Ph: 9663 3038 (Don’t call… they don’t take bookings)

No doubt most of you have probably heard of MVDs bigger sister MoVida, one of the best Spanish tapas joints around. I haven’t eaten there, can’t afford to nor would I be able to get a booking but maybe one day.

MND is located just before the Forum is a quaint little spot that looks like it came out of an Ikea catalogue. The dining room, kitchen and bar all look like 1/8th scale models of a bigger restaurant. It’s great the kitchen is so close by to most places where you are sitting that you can see the kitchen team go about what they do best. I love that. The gentle smells of garlic and bread fill the tiny room and create a cosy, warm and informal scene just perfect for eating.

Firstly MND don’t take bookings so you will need to show up early because as stated the place is small. I witnessed many a patron turned away or asked to wait while a table became free. But that’s the great thing about eating alone you only need to find one table and one chair. I trekked down there at around 5 pm on a Saturday and found the place alive but not crowded yet.

The patrons varied from people eating before a movie/show, to casual dates and a table of older folk who were probably told to come by their grandchildren, however, they have no idea of what tapas is and thus were correctly excited by this style of dining, it was cute to watch to say the least. Most of the crowd were 28 – 45 yo, all seemed food educated and if not they were asking questions and willing to learn.

But of course there was also a couple of women who were clearly only there to hit on the bar staff, the poor 19 yo barman was answering the most insane questions I have ever heard by two semi drunk 30 something women. “How much is a hint of lemon juice?” It was funny and no I wasn’t going to have a crack, they were dogs.

Okay that’s another good thing about eating alone, the people watching, sitting down with a good meal, a drink and possibly even a cigarette maybe reading the paper and watching people go about their daily lives and interact with each other. Think of it as social science research.

I took up a single seat at the bar, perfect the worst thing about dining alone is that sometimes you take up a whole table while a family patiently waits in the wings for you to finish. But if the food is good, then I don’t care and they can wait. Not tonight but I do imagine that this bar set up does help the singles of this town find a match there is plenty of single seating.

Unfortunately, tonight the space for singles became a overfill car park for those from couple town who could not find a seat at a table. As soon as I took my seat I was welcomed with a menu and on my announcement that I was here for eating, bread arrived. Wooo! Bread at a restaurant is like meeting a cute girl at the start of a night. You don’t know how it’s going to end but it’s a good start. Bread was chewy and light similar to a ciabatta although not as heavy.

The “front of house” staff are just perfect for this informal setting, they have banter, in jokes, are professional and intelligent. They know their menu and even the 19 yo understood the idea of flavour balance and especially important in tapas, dish selection. The staff are chatty if you want to talk and flirty if you are a girl, but they are also busy enough to leave you alone. After some discussion with the barman I started to order. Ostra $3.50 each. (Oyster shucked to order).

Yup I opened up big. I was an oyster virgin, but I have never had the opportunity to order just one before. Don’t take my advice on this one. I’m not sure how an oyster is supposed to taste.

All I can say is that I enjoyed the velvety texture, salty taste and to be on the safe side I drowned the flesh in lemon juice and vinegar but it mainly tasted like the sea with a slightly sweet aftertaste would definitely order one or two again.

Queso Zamorano $5.00 (Cured sheep milk cheese). I like a menu with cheese and this one did not disappoint. The cheese hard and instead of slices I received large semi-translucent shards just perfect for the accompanying bread I was raving about earlier. The bread softens the sharp, bitey taste and allows the cheese more time on your tongue. This is one cheese you need to chew slowly or is just going to disintegrate in your mouth and you're going to miss the sour, slightly dull peppery taste. To a commercial cheese it would be similar to hard mild aged cheddar.

With the cheese came a handful of marble sized figs and a splash of olive oil. The chef is a genius the figs with their seedy bush berry like texture provided some grit to the dish and lifted the natural sourness of the cheese whilst the sweetness dulled the sharpness and excited and tastebuds the olive oil provided lubrication and mouth feel to an otherwise dry dish. Exciting and light just what you want the first dish to be.

Berejenas Frita $8.50 (Eggplant fried with salmorejo). Eggplant? Yes please I always like to see how each culture uses an eggplant in cooking its always different and usually works this was the same. Simple and tasty the eggplants were thinly battered and crispy you can still see the eggplant through the batter that provided rigidity and crunch factor to the soft inside.

After frying the eggplant sticks were sprinkled with a sea salt, a little too much for my liking I had to brush some of it off, however, necessary because the eggplant would become very soggy without the salt helping to dry it out and add to the crunch. I was presented with a filling amount of eggplant sadly I’ll admit it would be the perfect amount for a couple.

Now for the salmorejo, which originated in southern Spain is a type of cold soup that is traditionally made from tomatoes, oil, garlic, vinegar, lemon and bread to provide the thick consistency. This soup is more like a dip and is treaded as such in this dish. The salmorejo is presented in an entrée size serving bowl and is a rich shiny red that screams “I’m a dish from Spain!” I was almost tempted to buy 4 litres, a roller and start painting my house with it.

Bold tomato taste but not as strong as a tomato soup and without that weird salty tang that comes with commercial canned tomato soups. Perfectly balanced dip where the freshness of the ingredients is tasted, the garlic is subtle and the lemon compliments and lifts the fresh tomato taste. Each time you drunk those golden eggplant sticks into the dip you are wondering if it’s the best dish on the menu. If not I bet it comes close. Kills any commercial dip you’ll buy at a supermarket, Greek Chris should give up and “Fernando’s Spanish Sensations” should be on the shelves. Before you know it the bowl is clean and you are out of eggplant. Time for a drink.

Escanciador Sidra $6.50 (Cider). As I was driving and not in a drinking mood I opted for a bottle of cider for a refreshing finish, I chose an apple cider with 4% alcohol that came in a super cute bottle. I had no idea what I was getting into at $6.50 I thought it was a little pricey but I’m a cider fan the meal had been great so far. Light and crisp due to the heavy carbonation the apple was pleasantly subtle and refreshing. Good drink bad time. I should have ordered a wine. This put me in a “summertime fun” mood when it was raining outside.

By the end of this adventure (to Flinders St) I was full, happy and refreshed not really wanting to stop eating. I spent $26 and consumed quality food with a great atmosphere, definitely worth the cash. Single friendly and via the menu range and extensive drinks list you will decide on what you are going to order all night long. The bar will keep bottles cold for you if purchased in house, there is no smoking area and no toilet to my knowledge so come with an empty stomach, a novel and you’ll have a loco time feeding yourself. Have Fun!

Nov 24, 2009 

4 Below Average

Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  2      Food  4     

This is my idea of a typical tapas joint. A crowded little bar serving small morsels and alcohol. No bookings. But its just far too expensive, to be served such oily food perched on a tiny stool. The MoVida spin continues.

Nov 22, 2009 

5.8 Average

Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  6      Food  9     

Tapas was really tasty but the waiter was stuck up but had a great memory. Still I will go back and recommend it as its a nice little cosy place. Maybe an air con would help though.

Nov 06, 2009