MoVida chef & owner Frank Camorra was born in Barcelona and spent his first five years in his parents’ hometown of Córdoba in Andalusia, before his parents migrated to Australia.
In 2000, Frank returned to work in Spain and was inspired by both the modern and traditional aspects of Spanish cuisine as well as the dynamic tapas culture which he thought would translate well to Melbourne’s vibrant CBD.
Returning to Australia, Frank was determined to share his inspiration. In fact, MoVida is named after the art and film movement that flourished in Madrid during Spain’s reawakening. This innovative era – full of exuberant energy and freedom of Spanish character is another source that MoVida draws on.
In 2007 MoVida was awarded ‘Dish of the Year’ at The Age Good Food Guide awards for the ‘Cecina’ – a dish of air-dried Wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam, that is still on their menu currently.
The 2009 The Age Good Food Guide awards were also a success for MoVida with the restaurant receiving:
- Two Chef’s Hats for the restaurant, and
- Chef of the Year for Frank Camorra.
In 2007 Frank published a cook book titled MoVida, Spanish Culinary Adventures which was co-written with Richard Cornish and published by Murdoch Books. The book was awarded Best Cookery Book by a Chef at the recent Australian Food Media Awards.
June 2008 saw the opening of MoVida Next Door, more southern Spanish in feel with a focus on Sherry and seafood, it’s less of a restaurant and more of a casual bar with all the spirit that made MoVida successful only turned up a notch. MoVida Next Door was awarded the Don Levy Fitzpatrick Award for The Age Good Food Guide 2010.
2009 was a busy year with Frank publishing MoVida Rustica his second cook book and opening a third restaurant MoVida Aqui at 500 Bourke St Melbourne. MoVida Aqui is much larger than the original restaurant and also boasts outdoor seating. For both the 2011 and 2012 The Age Good Food Guide’s, MoVida Aqui was awarded One Chef’s Hat.
On the terrace adjacent to MoVida Aqui is our little taqueria and bar Paco’s Tacos which was launched late 2011 and specialises in soft shelled tacos and bar snacks and is the perfect spot to perch on a balmy summers evening.
Another dynamic year was 2011 which saw the publication of two new books from Frank; ‘MoVida Cocina – food from 5 kitchens’ and ‘MoVida Barcelona’ – a tapa bar guide to that wonderful city.
Bar Pulpo by MoVida opened up early 2012 in Melbourne Airport’s International Terminal as the ideal airport dining experience.
Towards the end of April 2012 MoVida Bakery opened in South Yarra. A joint venture with our long serving pastry chef Michael James, the Bakery is a small café with retail to the general public as well as wholesale to other businesses.
And finally MoVida Sydney is in the works and will open in October 2012. MoVida Sydney will focus on capturing the MoVida Spirit that our customers have come to know in Melbourne.
With all of the venues, Camorra will continue to present and explore his passion for Spanish food and lust for life for Melbourne and Sydney alike.
Thank you so much for opening in Sydney. Although we do make trips to Melbourne to eat at MoVida, there is nothing like having impromptu lunches at MoVida as happened on Wednesday last week. The food (lots of it), the wine (a very special Tondonia rose) and the service were impeccable. Congratulations to the whole team.
Hi Sue & Phil,
We love being in Sydney too! Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to having you in again.
- MoVida.
Buenos días, estoy viviendo en Nouvelle-Calédonie y el próximo martes viajaré a Sydney por unos pocos días. Estoy muy interesado en poder tener una conversación con Ud. puesto que entre otras cosas represento un buen aceite de arbequina en el Pacífico y me interesa conocer su opinión. Espero que será posible este encuentro.
A la espera de sus noticias, cordialmente Lluís Bernabé
Hi Lluis,
Apologies for the late reply. Were you able to set up a meeting?
- MoVida.
Hi Mr. Camorra,
We love your food. But yesterday was a disappointment in terms of service (in Sydney Movida). We sat at the counter for dinner but was completely ignored. It seems that the woman who served us was more interested in punching the cash register than anything else. We did not have our usual bread. In fact, she was surly throughout the evening. But we did not complain then (so as not to make a scene), but I think you should know this now. The service at the counter can improve (check out Momofuku’s counter service). However, the wine guy was great and so was the guy who showed us to our seats. The food was ultra delicious as usual – the service just needs to match up. I am happy to discuss more if you are interested. If not, all the best.
Hi Lawrence,
We’re sorry to hear of your experience with us. We take all feedback positive and negative seriously. I have passed on your comments to our Sydney Manager and he will be in touch with you via e-mail. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Kind Regards,
Isabel.