MoVida Sydney had a lot to live up to – from its humble beginnings as a casual tapas bar to its evolution into a small empire successfully satisfying Melbourne’s ongoing love affair with modern Spanish tapas, the MoVida brand carries with it certain assurances.

At MoVida Sydney, the focus remains on the experimental and delicious food and the casual ambience preserved.

Like any family, there are unmistakable ‘family characteristics’ across MoVida restaurants, but at the same time each member of the family has successfully expressed its own quirky and unique personality.

The tiled bar front, chunky timber bar top, and rustic/industrial steel work are familiar inclusions. The cookie cutter screens of MoVida Next Door and Hosier lane are also represented, as well as the terracotta and schoolhouse lights. Spanish references are not overdone – instead they are integrated gently through colour and artwork.

The new inclusion of booths offers the intimacy of a traditional Spanish tapas bar. All the windows open up on the footpath to take full advantage Sydney’s climate, and to further engage the restaurant with the public realm.

Attention is given to the ‘theatre of eating out’ by positioning the bar and semi-open kitchen as centre stage. There is a conscious calibration of the relationship between the open kitchen and the dining room – with brightly coloured glass louvres providing an adjustable filter intervening between the two. This allows the kitchen to enrich and enliven the dining experience without overwhelming it.

As the latest addition to the MoVida family, the Sydney restaurant offers the diner no less than a familiar welcome into a fine dining restaurant with cool and casual sophistication.