One Friday evening, Tim and I decided to go for a treat and dine at MoVida Next Door, the little cousin to MoVida, the Spanish tapas restaurant right next door in Hosier Lane. We didn't have a booking (and I now know we can't book there) but were lucky to squeeze in when we arrived just after 5.30pm.
MoVida next door is also a tapas establishment, making it a perfect place to order a variety of dishes to share. The menu has a number of always available dishes off the menu, and a large and bewildering variety of dishes on the blackboards above the bar that you will need to discuss with your waiter.
We started off with an almond soup with grape granita (on menu when we visited but now removed):
This cold soup was an interesting concept, but it did not appeal to me taste-wise that much.
Next, we ordered bomba (pictured at the top of this post and below) ($4.80) - chorizo-filled, mashed potato "bombs" with spicy sauce, which resemble fried eggs in appearance:
These bomba were very good indeed, and I could have gone seconds quite easily.
We followed the bomba up with gambas - garlic prawns off the blackboard:
These prawns were sticky and very tasty, but were our most expensive pick at $24 for 4 prawns.
One of my favourite dishes was one of the regular menu items, the remolacha ($12.50):
This dish comprises a salad of beetroot, goats curd, pickled garlic and honey roasted walnuts. I adored each element of the dish, and both Tim and I thought that the honey roasted walnuts were devine - you could eat them by the handful on their own.
Our final dish was off the blackboard - sardines with heirloom tomatoes:
This was a light, tasty dish, and the sardines were not at all oily or cloying.
All up, our meal cost $94 for two with a glass of alcohol each. While that is a little too exxy for every day dining, it was nice for a treat, and I'd definitely go back again for the great food and the very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
After our early dinner at Movida Next Door, Tim and I strolled across the road to check out the Pop Up Patch behind Federation Square:
The pop up patch is an organic community garden where for the sum of $25 a week, you can grow your own veges in the special "no dig" patches:
Many people have kitted out their patches with scarecrows, garden ornaments and identity signs for the plants, so it really was a fun place to visit.
Hope you had a good weekend!
Movida Next Door
164 Flinders Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 61 3 9663 3038
