MoVida Aqui
MoVida Aqui is a Spanish restaurant located on Bourke Street. It is the sister restaurant of MoVida at Hosier Lane.
Movida Aqui is our favourite Spanish restaurant in the city. There are lots of tapas and raciones on the menu to choose from which keeps even the little fussy eater happy.
We always walk up the stairs on Little Bourke Street. Once you stepped inside the restaurant you feel the vibes! A big bar with milk crates hanging down from the ceiling and surrounded by bar stools. Majority of the dining area is filled with high tables, high chairs and with the vintage posters on the wall are reminiscent of the tapas cafes in Spain. The music and friendliness of the staff all make you feel very welcomed... the Spanish way! They always look after you with drinks & food and gave good recommendations. My husband is a wine snob and he always enjoys the Spanish vino conversation with any staff. They have a wealth of good knowledge of the good food & wine they are serving here, trust me!
The food menu has an extensive choices of seafood, cured meat, meat, vegetables, dessert & cheese from the tapas, raciones, arroces and postre. Don't forget to try the special seasonal dishes of the day too. Here are some of the tapas & main dishes we had from our last visit.
Tartar - yellow fin tuna, cracked wheat, salt cod puree, caviar on a sunflower seed cracker.
The freshness of the tuna goes so well with the salty bacalao and caviar... on top of the crispy cracker. Burst with flavours and texture in one bite!
Bomba - Catalan potato bomb filled with chorizo, red capsicum sauce.
No one will say "No" to a hot crispy potato croquette filled with diced spicy chorizo. The capsicum sauce is so delicious too.
Buey - roast wagyu beef with potato crisps, black & pickled garlic.
The garlic, potato crisps, manchego & fresh herbs... added a nice simple complement to the beef. The wagyu beef slices just melt in your mouth.
Almejaz - Goolwa pipis cooked on the flat grill with fino, parsely & lemon.
I love shell fish... the pipis were so fresh just simply cooked with parsley & fino (dry sherry) and squeeze of fresh lemon. Voila! Beautiful!
Codorniz en pastel - pastry filled with quail & foie gras with Brussels sprouts & pancetta.
This dish is so heart warming... fluffy pastry enclosed the tender quail meat & foie gras which matched perfectly with the rich sauce of sauteed pancetta and sprouts.
Churros con chocolate - Spanish doughnuts with rich drinking chocolate.
Everybody loves churros! Hot doughnut with the rich chocolate sauce is simply irresistible. A nice one to conclude the dinner.
MoVida has a notable wine list... of course a nice selection of Spanish wine from different regions. We had a couple of bottles for the night. The one that we enjoyed the most is the 2007 reserve Rioja from Roda. This is a complex wine with aromas of red cherries and savoury herbs. It is smooth, velvety and has a long finish on the palate... the quality that I love.
My favourite dishes - Tuna tartar and Buey roast wagyu beef
MoVid Aqui is a great place for romantic dinner or catching up with family and friends. All dishes are good for sharing or order your own a la carte. Whether you are a wine drinker, cocktails drinker or beer drinker... there are plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to choose from. Hope you enjoy the Spanish feast too. Happy eating!
MoVida Aqui
NAB building, 500 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9663 3038
https://movida.com.au/movida-aqui/
