MoVida Aqui, Melbourne restaurant review

Full article: MoVida Aqui, Melbourne restaurant review in Gourmet Traveller

By Marcel Aucar

The author, Michael Harden, starts the article with an interesting question to engage the readers - “What’s your favourite MoVida?” Even for a reader that has never heard of the restaurant, he will understand that there must be more than one MoVida.

Harden then smoothly proceeds to give a brief yet concise background of the different restaurants in this modern Spanish food brand in Melbourne.

The article is a review on MoVida Aqui, the latest addition of the MoVida brand. Harden successfully differentiates Aqui from other MoVida, in terms of food served, location, decor and ambience, while preserving its inheritance from the brand – all these signify the distinctive character of Aqui.

The human side of Aqui – the staff, injected by Harden into the article, adds depth and colour to the place. Through knowing more about the people that work there, reader can fully feel the vibe and style of the place. And the picture of the staff that goes with the article complements the story.

Harden helps reader to visualize the place with detailed description of taste and visuals. He also uses these details to show what’s so special about the place, such as the size and decor of the kitchen and all the mouth-watering signature dishes. 

Nonetheless, I do hope he would have provided more sensory details as in smell and sound, to arouse readers’ senses even more.

Another slight drawback of the review is that it is not critical enough. The review is clearly positive but why should I trust the writer? And how does it compare with other Spanish restaurants in the town (apart from other MoVidas)? But all in all, this is still an informative and objective review.

I presume this article is targeted at young (aged 25-40) Melbourne’s city dwellers or professionals who have probably known the MoVida brand.  Nevertheless, for a foodie like me who has never heard of it, the article still attracts me with Harden’s tantalizing descriptions.