MoVida Bar de Tapas

Another blog by our 11-year-old reviewer, James. This time he's gone all Spanish at MoVida.

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After having some great Spanish meals on our family holiday in Europe late last year, we thought we should try a Spanish eatery that's right on our doorstep. It's called MoVida and it's in Hosier Lane in the city.

It was a Saturday lunchtime and it was very busy, so we were lucky to get in without a reservation.

We had a look at the menu and decided to order some tapa to start with. We ordered Bomba _ Catalan potato bombs with chorizo centre and a spicy bravas sauce; roasted Port Lincoln scallop with jamon and potato foam; and roast lamb cutlet encased in a Catalan pork and paprika pate.

For the Raciones we ordered slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez (a kind of sherry) on cauliflower puree; prawns cooked in garlic and fino with broad beans; and Andalucian sweet-sour farmed rabbit legs with almonds.

After a very short wait the first tapa arrived - the Bomba, which was one of the specials of the day. In my opinion it tasted quite nice, but the sauce, which was a deep orange colour, was a bit too spicy for me.

Next came the scallops. They tasted a bit too fishy for me, but I did like the potato foam.

Almost straight after we finished eating the scallops, the third tapa came out. The pace of the food arrivals made me think of a fast-food place, only the flavours are heaps better.

Anyway, I reckon the lamb, with a big dollop of green sauce on top, was the best of the tapas. The lamb was nice and moist and the pork made it taste even better.

After a slightly longer wait the beef cheek arrived. It was so good - the beef seemed to be in loose strands and it melted in your mouth. You didn't want to stop eating it.

Next I tried the prawns. They were good and garlicky, but not the best of the mains. That was still to come.

The rabbit was honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten - again you didn't want to stop eating it. The meat was nice and moist and there was just a little taste of honey in the sauce.

After that great meal the very friendly waiter gave us a fairly inexpensive bill for such good food.

So as you do when you have a great meal you give them a tip - and that's what we did.

8.5/10

- james

Birdman Eating

238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Ph: (03) 9416 4747
Opening Hours: Tues-Sat 8am-10.30pm; Sun and Mon 8am-6pm

DID you know men drop into the barber for a hair cut without an appointment? Simple as that. No waiting three months to get in with Pierre of South Yarra. Blokes walk in and plop down in a chair for a quick lop.

This profound observation was made when sitting at Birdman Eating in Fitzroy's Gertrude St. The funky tapas bar with the unusual name sits next to Dr Follicles - an old school barber shop that offers a free Coopers stubby to its male customers as the barbers clip and crop.

Truck drivers, students, business men and pensioners all popped in for a trim while yours truly wiled away the time enjoying the tasty tapas morsels, quality coffee and friendly service at the unusually named Birdman Eating.

On the former Organic Gertrude site, Birdman Eating is another gem in Gertrude St's very cool crown. And apparently it boasts some of the most expensive cafe chairs in Melbourne. (Two-tone polypropylene Catifa 46s from Stylecraft according to another report.) So comfortable you can sit and observe the blokes in the barber shop for hours.

A simple dish of calamari, rocket, kipfler potato and chorizo salad was delish, as was a grilled haloumi. But the baked eggs ($12) enjoyed on a subsequent visit as part of the stellar all day brekky menu are the stars. Presented in a hot cast iron pan, the eggs come in all sorts of flavours changing daily including smoked trout and fennel, chorizo and mushrooms and fontina cheese.

Old school brekkies include homemade crumpets with leatherwood honey, hot cinnamon donuts with chocolate sauce, and grilled kippers with fried potato and horseradish butter.

Bacon doesn't feature and interestingly when asked, the waitress said a no bacon policy applied unless it was sourced free range.

Definitely recommended for a funky group lunch as sharing tapas is fun. And it's fairly easy on the hip pocket with prices starting at $6 to $26 for shared plates.

8.5/10