MoDiva, City, Melbourne

A cozy tapas joint tucked away in little alleyway with delicious plates of goodies to share over a bottle or two of vinos. Bookings recommended.

When D, R and I travelled to Spain a couple of years ago, I fell in love with tapas. In Maybe having grown up with Sunday dim sum, tapas appealed to me in the same wy: it’s the Spanish equivalent where you get to try a seemingly never-ending little plates of goodies - and when you find something that you (and everyone else at the table love), you can simply order more.

Spain, tapas came about from the tradition of serving small snacks with drinks. Little bite sizes of ham were served on slices of bread placed over the wine glass … slowly this has evolved into a wide variety of dishes: chorizo, croquettes, garlic chicken, pan friend mushrooms, calamari …

MoVida is a great little tapas joint tucked in a little alley Hoiser Lane near Federation Square. Looking carefully, you’ll notice that you are sitting in a small part of a converted warehouse with the brick walls are whitewashed. But the restaurant is all very cozy: behind the bar are light wood shelves covering every inch of the wall with bottles of vino packed tightly. Bar stools and tables cover on section, and another section with normal tables.

On the Thursday, the table sections were fully booked so we contented ourselves with sitting at the bar counter, which was actually great because the barman made sure we were never in short supply of house bread, which was served with very virgin olive oil.

The menu is listed as “racion” and “tapas”, the former is a small plate with enough to share between friends, whereas the tapas are really just individual portions. Everything was delicious.

The portbello mushrooms marinated and sautéed in red wine vinegar and variety of herbs was rich yet tangy (though a little salty). L’s favourite were the potatoes braised with pimientas (roasted peppers) which had a slightly sweet caramelised flavour. Eying the couple of the bar counter next to us, D couldn’t resist adding a plate of marinated olives which were plump and glistening. The plate was filled with small green Arbequina olives, the black Kamalata olives and a few large green Cerignola olives. The most interesting dish was probably the tender rabbit meat balls served in a slight gravy with calamari.

Definitely a great place to chill out for a bite with a glass of wine or two …

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cost: Reasonable, ~ AUD 25 per person for dinner

MoVida
1 Hosier Lane
Melbourne 3000
+613 9663 3038