MoVida Next Door

As at Café Pearl I once again found myself trying the "little sister" of a more upmarket Melbourne restaurant in an attempt to get an idea of a place without blowing my budget. The Australian Gourmet Traveller has gone so far as to label Frank Camorra's restaurant MoVida "the best Spanish restaurant in the country." Having eaten at Bodega in Sydney I beg to differ - but once again trying the smaller scale Movida Next Door only really left me with a desire to go to the real thing as soon as possible!

MoVida Next Door is a small space at the very edge of the decoratively graffiti covered Hosier Lane. Seating is on stools at tables or at the bar and I duly sat myself down and was given a friendly run down of the day's specials by the waitress.

Dishes come as tiny bite-sized Tapas or Raciones for a slightly more generous portion. I was tempted by the patatas bravas but decided to be a little more adventurous. One of the daily specials was a banderillia - a skewer containing some sweetbread (the thymus gland from the throat in this case although sweetbread can also be the animal's pancreas.) I thought I should live a little and as it was to be accompanied by homemade chorizo I figured it couldn't be all bad.

To console myself in case the sweetbread was a disaster I also ordered a croqueta of jamon and mahon cheese as a safe bet and a larger racion of confit artichokes with broad beans and almonds.

While I waited for my food I flicked through Frank Camorra's latest cookbook MoVida Rustica and learnt all sorts of interesting things - for instance that Serrano jamón is from the common or garden white pig whereas the more expensive jamón Ibérico is from the native pig and tastes much better - particularly if said pig has been allowed to eat acorns. But once again I digress...

My croqueta arrived small but perfectly formed and crusted with flakes of sea salt. It was a perfectly cheesy, hammy melt in the mouth snack with a lovely crunchy breadcrumb shell. The sort of snack that just begged for a beer to wash it down.

My skewer was beautifully presented and had a perky green chilli on the end that had quite a kick to it. There was also some marinated leek. The chorizo was disappointing - it crumbled in the mouth and was too finely textured and had no kick to it at all. The sweetbread was thankfully bread crumbed so I didn't have to know what it looked like. The spongy consistency was a little off putting but it tasted OK. I won't be hurrying to order it again but I wasn't severely traumatised by the experience!

My artichokes arrive beautifully presented but in themselves they tasted a little too soggy. I wondered how they had prepared them. I would have preferred them fresh or marinated. However the crisp, fried almond flakes with them were tasty and the broad beans were young and crunchy and scarcely cooked. Just right.

These three dishes left me still peckish so I was glad of a bread roll that was thrown in for free. Salt encrusted and softly springy inside it was tasty and more to the point, a little more filling than my other choices.

The service was fast and friendly and the food was good. However I came across one of MoVida's signature recipes in the cookbook as I was getting ready to leave. I really must go next door some day to try the slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez on cauliflower puree. Be still my beating heart! Looking at MoVida's menu I would say that it seems more creative and substantial and that MoVida Next Door is playing it safe and offering more traditional fare. I am sure they know their market and are doing well but next time I am going to forget finances and go up the lane for the real thing.