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Good Food hat15/20

MoVida Aqui

Updated ,first published

Spanner crab crumpets at MoVida Aqui.
1 / 9Spanner crab crumpets at MoVida Aqui.Supplied
Inside MoVida Aqui.
2 / 9Inside MoVida Aqui.Bonnie Savage
Talos con txistorra.
3 / 9Talos con txistorra.Yvette Scott
Paella.
4 / 9Paella.Supplied
Cold cuts plate.
5 / 9Cold cuts plate.Supplied
Salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke.
6 / 9Salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke.Yvette Scott.
Lamb pinchos.
7 / 9Lamb pinchos.Bonnie Savage
Beef tartare.
8 / 9Beef tartare.Bonnie Savage
The kitchen-side seats are still the best in the house.
9 / 9The kitchen-side seats are still the best in the house.Simon Schluter
Good Food hat15/20

MoVida Aqui

Spanish$$

A handsome perch to talk shop over croquetas and Estrella.

It’s guindilla and calamari sandwiches all round for the business-casual bros lunching at a long table near the vintage drink poster. The couple by the window that frames the Supreme Court’s dome coo over a saffron-bright paella crowned by golden jointed spatchcock.

Everywhere in this room of bottle-green leather and chequerboard tiles, phones hover above the tapa that turbocharged co-founder Frank Camorra’s early career: a whisper-thin wafer capped with a Cantabrian anchovy and smoky tomato sorbet. Yes, MoVida’s greatest hits still strike all the right notes, but there’s more.

Piquillo peppers might come roasted and stuffed with diced autumn vegetables. Blush-pink coal-roasted lamb loin is served in a deeply satisfying broth with morsels of jamon. Add a zesty godello from the Iberian-leaning wines and a madeira to chase bitter-sweet creme caramel, and a siesta may be in order.

Good to know: High-top tables by the kitchen have the best terrace outlook.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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