movida next door - find movida (1 hosier lane melbourne 9663 3038) and it's, well, next door

here's a thought. if you pay waiters and staff well, you get good food and good service and good waiters will want to join your restaurant. so you get good staff and waiters, and so on and so forth. it's not rocket surgery. it's quite obvious that the manager of movida has worked out this tricky and complex equation. the result? what seems like almost instant success. the kitchen staff are relaxed and professional, the bar staff are efficient and snappy, and the floor staff attentive and friendly. even for a brand new joint, movida feels like everyone working there are part of a well-worn family.

mnd (like my acronym?) presents a simple tapas and spanish mains menu. not the epic novel some restaurants think they have to serve up to get your business. granted the kitchen is small compared with many restaurants so movida would struggle to offer a large menu anyway. but that all works so well. i thoroughly recommend the patatas bravas, the marrow beef cheek and the chorizo. the fresh bread was excellent, the wine list carefully selected.

there is not a spare square inch of space at mnd and every nook and cranny has been used. you will be sitting close to someone else, especially if you sit at the bar, so be prepared. mnd is one of the new breed of eateries in melbourne that looks and feels really causal but a lot of thought has gone into the casual feel.

the staff are just finding their feet (mnd has only been open for four days) and finding out what works but if i had to make a call i'd say it's going to be very hard to get a table at movida next door in a few weeks. i'm excited and disappointed at the same time. when we arrived at 5.45, there were maybe three tables free. by 6.15, about 20 more people had descended on the place. i will definitely be bringing friends to movida next door but i know it's going to be hard to get in. another winner for melbourne. in your face, sydney!!