Well, I thought I would just rock up for a Sunday lunch and hope for the best. I went there with my friend John. We got there about 1pm and had to wait 15 minutes before being seated at the bar. It feels awkward sitting at the bar at first since I think the bartender and other customers sitting at the bar are looking at me. Well they are. And I was looking at them as well. After a while, I got used to it and just focused on my own conversation and food.
Whilst the graffiti outside Movida had completely changed since last time, the restaurant interior itself had not changed. It's still got that great wall of wine and the open kitchen.
From the tapas menu, we got the Roasted Lamb Cutlet and Sheeps Milk Cheese. The lamb cutlet was cooked to perfection, but the flavours were a bit subdued and didn't really hit it for John or myself. The cheese was a very good texture and went well with the quince paste.
From the racion part of the menu, we got the Steak Tartare. I have raved about the steak tartare at Horoki being the best I've eaten. Well I still prefer the steak tartare at Horoki, but this one is just a bee's knees behind. It was spicy with red onions, chilli and parsley mixed throught it. There was a tangy sharp sauce with it. It too was served with a quail egg like at Horoki. I think quail eggs go really well with steak tartare.
The Chicken with Saffron consisted of pieces of braised chicken covered in bits of eggs and other adornment, like onions and almond. The chicken pieces were braised until soft and fell apart. I splashed more of the sauce on the chicken and it enjoyed the flavours of the various different things in the sauce.
I got the Poor Man's Potatoes again this time. It was still excellent, but different from last time. The potatoes weren't covered in honey like last time and was a tiny bit spicy. They were still melt in your mouth potatoes and John actually thought this was the best dish of the day. It's amazing how you can do simple things so well.
The Seafood Paella was last to arrive. John ate the mussels (as I don't like them) whilst I ate the prawns. The paella was full of flavour but the square chicken pieces in it were a bit dry. The braised chicken pieces with skin still on were beautiful though.
I was rather full but still kept that corner of my stomach that I always reserve for dessert. I had the Creme Caramel. I love this creme caramel. It's not too caramel flavour (yes it sounds stupid seeing as its a creme caramel) which I like. I don't know what those biscuit things served with the caramel are but I hated them. They reminded me of Roast Duck's bottoms with this strange oily smell and star anise I think. Strange but that's what I thought of them. John had the Chocolate Ganache Pudding with Mango Sorbet, which he utterly loved. The pudding is wonderfully rich with chocolate ganache flowing out from the middle, perfect.
The service was very professional, with not a mistake made anywhere. Things we asked for were remembered, water was topped up and general checking of how we were doing. The atmosphere was not as loud as the night dining and more relaxed. It was actually good sitting at the bar as you could see the whole room and also the kitchen where the chefs were working hard.
The food here is still as good as I remember, and constantly changing just like the graffiti out in the lane. It's always evolving and I will come back to try their ever changing dishes along with their classics. For the lunch meal, I will drop it a point from last time as it didn't have that buzz in the atmosphere that I felt during dinner. It's purely subjective and another dinner meal there may give me that feeling again.
Overall Rating: 16/20, Food is fantastic with service to match. The ever slightly changing menu is worth repeated visits.
Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.
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