MOVIDA

Solid addition to Walker’s Point — they have a great happy hour and delicious food. I enjoy going there from time to time. Always happy with the service and it’s a great place to meet people after work.

Food was great, had chicken, scallops, and salad. Manager noticed it was our first time and offered us an octopus dish for free. My girlfriend usually dislikes octopus but loved this dish, the marinade gave it an unbelievable texture, incredibly tender. Get the sangria, it goes down like water, so good. Definitely will go back.

Beautiful ambiance, reasonable prices and good food! I was in a group of 6 people, so we managed to order a good amount of different items, nothing tasted bad, and all the products seem to be of good quality. With that being said, I found that every dish I tried was consistently low on salt, except for the paella, the paella was perfect, OMG that paella was sexy and very well made, I knew that when the waitress said that it would take at least 45 minutes, I wouldn’t have ordered it if it took less than that, just not possible. And BTW, you should order the VALENCIANA paella, unless you are allergic to shellfish, in which case, maybe not…
The «patatas bravas» where made with fingerling potatoes, which, even tho It makes it fancier, I don’t think was the best idea: fingerlings have more skin surface which in my opinion, discourages the potato from fully absorb the good flavor of the sauce, and regular, boring, diced potatoes may do a better job at taking some more sauce with them into your demanding palate.
The drinks: nice and balanced and they all share the same theme; fruity, strong and easy on the mouth,(secret algorithm: lemon+strawberry. Shhhhh) good job Mr bartender!
Ps: make a reservation, or wait for a long time!

This place is good, however, when we went it was all greasy and cheesy food — no salads to balance the meal out. Service was excellent — kudos to the wait staff. Food was good, but some of the plates fell a little flat for my taste (Jamon croquettes and Verduras fritas).
Was going to try again this summer but got a response from MOVIDA trying to downplay my critical points. For one: the paella looked stellar, but frankly, was much too large for a couple to consume. Secondly, we asked if there were any salad options and there were ZERO. Lastly, we didn’t get any suggestions for healthy options, per our waitress, who specifically said «I’m a rabbit and like to eat greens and there really isn’t much on the menu». Chalk it up to the season, but when we went there it was greasy, cheesy, or otherwise unhealthy comfort food — not really consistent with Espana.

For all those people who can never decide on what to order this place is perfect!
Get a couple small plates to share, enjoy some Sangria or any of the house cocktails in a beautiful ambiance. Girls night, or date night… always a good choice.

A group of girlfriends and I decided to try MOVIDA for dinner and drinks and absolutely loved it!
I studied in Madrid for 6 months and fell head over heels in love with Spanish flavors and traditional foods. When I noticed that they had paella, croquettas, and a wide variety of Spanish cheeses and meats, I was sold.
The ambiance itself was amazing. The lights, large wood tables, and band that was playing was a great backdrop to a wonderful night with friends.
We enjoyed glasses of white and red wine while one of my friends had a mocktail that the server helped us create!
We shared around 7 – 8 small plates and had the bill come out to being around 55 – 65 dollars each. I thought for the quality of food, great service, and the amazing ambiance that this was worth it.
I highly recommend this place for date nights and drinks with girlfriends and cannot wait to visit again sometime soon!

Absolutely FANTASTIC! From the steak tartare to the Manchego cheesecake this place is the spot to come to in the Milwaukee area for beautiful and breathtaking Spanish cuisine. Whenever we get the chance to come back to Milwaukee, we will make it to MOVIDA!

Yes another place I haven’t reviewed yet!
I had my third visit last week. I’ve been in once for a couple of tapas and drinks, once for brunch and once for dinner.
First visit was a year and a half ago, and it was great! Canary Potatoes and Lomo Tosta were delicious! It was a Tuesday night, so Evan Christian was playing flamenco guitar and we had a great time at the bar, celebrating a friend’s birthday.
Second time was for a birthday brunch last year. I ordered the Breakfast Paella. It was good, but I was hoping for more zest and flavor.
Last week’s dinner was near perfect for me. Three of us shared 4 tapas and 2 entrees. The tapas included Jamon Croquetas ($ 8), Beef Tartare ($ 13), Garlic Mushrooms ($ 13), and the Empanadillas ($ 12). The Beef Tartare and Garlic Mushrooms were the best of the four, and I would definitely order them again. They had multiple layers of flavors, and the textures were spot on. They were really outstanding! The croquetas and empanadillas were good, but I thought the orange-​infused honey was a bit too sweet to drizzle on top of the suckling pig empanadas. I think a sauce similar to a chimichurri or a salsa verde might have worked better for me, and I would prefer to just keep it on the side. Both dishes were solid.
We shared the Pulpo ($ 15) and Tagliatelle ($ 15) from the entrée section. The Pulpo was probably my favorite dish of the night! It was served with fingerling potatoes and a spicy red sauce, which I’m assuming were their Patatas Bravas. The octopus was tender and very well prepared.
The Tagliatelle pasta is made fresh in house. The texture was very soft and it was served with a short rib ragout, sautéed spinach, cherry tomatoes, and manchego. The short rib ragout didn’t bring the rich and savory flavor I was hoping for. I thought the dish was a bit bland and needed another texture to balance out all of the soft ingredients.
We also enjoyed wine and really excellent service, and it was a Tuesday, so Evan Christian was performing again!
I’m curious to try the paella, since it seems to be served in large paellas now, instead of the smaller individual skillets I heard and read about before. The paella prices are much higher than I’ve seen at other places I’ve had paella, but I’m willing to give it a try.

Omg I love this place. Everytime we go the staff is really nice and gives us great advice about what to order, and usually recognize us lol! We’ve had dinner there quite a few times and love the payaya. Get the crunchy rice! It’s the best part. We also love their thursday oyster deal. 3 delicious oysters all with different toppings and a glass of cava for $ 6! You can’t beat that! The mushroom croquettas are also a great dish to share, I just wish there was more!
We also tried their sunday brunch. The churro pop-​overs are to die for. such fluffy sugary goodness. They also change out the flavors of sangria and bellini’s depending on the season. I had a blueberry, myer lemon bellini that was fantastic.
It can get pretty pricey, but definitely worth the money! I can’t wait to go back again :)

Updating my review to 4.5 with more information as this time I went for dinner and the manager was so genuine and friendly I was impressed enough to share that. We ordered 5 tapas some of which get 5 stars.
5 stars for the Lomo tosta which is a grilled pork tenderloin atop a slice of grilled toast covered in pickled apricot and Brie. I’m drooling now just thinking about it.
5 stars for the jamon croquetas with garlic aioli — crispy panko crusted on the outside with creamy heavenly ham on the inside.
4.5 for the shrimp that are made with spicy guindilla peppers, white wine, rosemary and thyme. Use the bread slices to soak up the yummy broth
4 for the empanadillas which were stuffed with suckling pig, medjool dates, goat cheese, guindilla peppers and served with orange infused honey for dipping. I could have just eaten the honey on everything!
2 for the pork belly because even though the flavor of the dish were outstanding the pork itself was cooked without much sear or crispy outer crust. It was texturally too soft. But it’s accompaniments of diced sweet potato and fig jam were a clear 5 stars.
To top of this great meal I used a city tin coaster saving me 10 bucks but then the manager (who was already a great host) offered us 10% off if we wrote a Unilocal review. How can I decline that? The have a 10% off check in offer so you can get that if you visit for the first time.
All in all another great experience at Movida. I’ll be back — just need to figure out when.

My trend now is to have two visits before a review. Some other places were way different the second time. This is our second time to MOVIDA. First was brunch and now dinner. With so many amazing new restaurants in Milwaukee, it takes me a while to rotate back but MOVIDA was definitely worth the trip back. Inside is very attractive and was full but didn’t feel claustrophobic. Servers were friendly and helpful.
Started with Jamon Croquets. Great taste, fried with panko breaking and «Richy rich» rich. So creamy. Sign me up for 8 more.
Next was empanadillas. Quite good too and the orange infused honey rocked.
Third dish was pork belly with sweet potato and fig jam. Almost perfect. Pork just needed a bit more sear to it but flavors were spot on.
Fourth was the shrimp in garlic, Rosemary, white wine and thyme. Again, sign me up for 5 more. These were amazingly good.
Fifth was the star of the evening: lomo tosta. Pork tenderloin on top of crisp bread, Brie and pickled apricot. Had some delicious curry flavor and I could have eaten 3 more as well.
Service was great and owner came over to make sure we were totally happy, which we were. Even though we used a MKE tin $ 10 off coaster he still made sure to give us the 10% off Unilocal check in discount. Way to go and much appreciated.
Overall great meal for the price and MOVIDA will now definitely be part of my dinner rotation.

Movida is a beautiful, intimate, and upscale dining experience, offering tapas and other fantastic classic Spanish dish options. In fact, it was voted Milwaukee’s best small plates 2015, featuring authentic Spanish products and local grass-​fed livestock. The dim-​lighting produces a personal and romantic ambience. The staff were very friendly and attentive and well-​versed on serving etiquette.
I went here for dinner with two girlfriends on a Wednesday night. Luckily I made reservations because the place was hopping! Oh yes, I am also sure glad I went here on Women Wine Wednesday, as I received a free glass of wine! That was a pleasant surprise! I ending up ordering the staple vegetable paella, which is a Valencia rice dish, now made to serve 2 – 4 people! The flavoring was amazing, I couldn’t stop eating it! The three of us polished that sucker off! And naturally, claimed that it doesn’t serve 4 ;-) We also enjoyed the house made sangria – split a bottle between the three of us, served over ice with an orange slice and cinnamon stick. It was delicious! A must try!!! It was also thirst– quenching=dangerous, haha. Now that I’ve experienced the awesomeness of the paella, I will have to come back for the tapas! I am also excited to try their brunch, seeing as how Movida nailed the dinner, I’m sure it’ll be just as enjoyable of a dining experience! A bit pricey, but WELL worth it!

I’ve got to give Movida an update review because they have such an amazing brunch (only on Sundays!) and I crave the special things they offer. No one in the city does it like them. They have the BEST bottomless sangria and coffee drinks. Their Spanish Coffee tastes like a boozy gingerbread house. Mmmm. That’s me drinking one in my profile pic!!! Also churro popovers that come with dark chocolate for dipping and a cinnamon whipped butter. I rest my case.
It’s not just sweet things, though. You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu and they change it up sometimes, too. Like, check out their description of their version of «chicken and waffles» — blackberry, guindilla, braised chicken, paprika and black pepper maple syrup. Girl, bye. You get everything you need right there!
Plus, the atmosphere is just SO great. A ton of natural light, great music and you just want to sit and hang out! And I don’t know if it’s weird to cross-​pollinate reviews, but Anodyne is less than a block away and a lot of times when we’ve eaten our fill at Movida we’ll walk over there and grab a Honey Bee latte because those are the best. It’s a great way to spend, like, half your Sunday.

Empanadillas: Consider these as empanadas stuffed with pork, goat cheese, and a red pepper sauce. I was not a fan of these. The stuffing wasn’t impressive at all. I would consider the unappealing dish to a lack of filling rather than lack of flavor. Of the stuffing I could taste, the texture was mushy. The pastry was light and flaky which was a plus.
Pork Cheek: This dish was one of my favorites of the night. The pork was so tender you could slice through it with your fork. It was so rich with flavor. The sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, and carrot purée added a very nice balance to the pork. The only gripe I have about this dish was that I wished we had more.
Pulpo a la Gallega: This was my second favorite dish of the night. Grilled octopus served with fingerling potatoes and mojo picon, which is a red pepper sauce. The octopus was cooked well enough to where the meat was chewy but not rubbery. I did enjoy the potatoes as I alway do, and the mojo picon sauce added a nice taste.
Seafood Paella: This was our last dish of the night. Paella is a staple dish in Spain and I believe this was the first time I’ve ever had it. We ordered the seafood dish which came with shrimp, squid, mussels, and spinach. This dish had the most flavor of any other dish we had that night. It may have packed too much because all I could think about during some bites was how much sodium I was intaking with this dish. It was a good dish, but a little more salty than what I preferred.
Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding: I don’t eat much sweets so I’m not going to even try to break this down. However, it was really good. Sweet, creamy, hot, soft, crispy… great way to end the meal.

Summary: go here if you want spanish inspired brunch and want to make a reservation ahead of time for a group. Beware of parking & dim lit restaurant. Would come back at least 1 more time to try a couple other dishes for brunch
Reservation: Went for my birthday brunch on Sunday at 11:30. My fiancé made reservations for 12 people on Friday and they were able to accommodate us. Warning usually parties over 10 they make you do set menu. We ended up just being 6 of us and when we came in the place was packed.
Parking:Parking in the area is a bit difficult but it looks like you may be able to get it validated if you park at Central distillery across the street.
Ambiance: dark, understand the atmosphere they were going for but could’ve been a bit brighter for brunch time
Service: quick friendly and informative. Waitress informed us that plates took a bit longer so to get appetizers.
Food:
–flatbread: yummy especially with the egg on top and the cold cuts. Easy to share, came in 4 pieces.
–churros: looked really good but they ran out as we were ordering
–baked eggs: came in a cool skillet with runny eggs and tender meat, base of the sauce is a sweet tomato sauce. Could’ve used more flavor-​peppers and spices probably won’t order again. Side of sourdough bread was nice n crispy
–chicken n waffles: great balance of sweet n savory. Chicken was well cooked and spices. Would’ve loved a side of the syrup to customize the amount I wanted per bite
–drinks: coffee was good for the price, nothing special. Bellini was delicious!

Checked out Movida for brunch a couple of weeks ago and I was not disappointed. Brunch offerings include shareable plates along with some larger dishes. The stand out was the Bloody Maria made with gazpacho and tequila.
Our server knew the menu well and made some great recommendations. Loved their music, took me back to my high school days with 90’s alternative music.

I absolutely loved Movida! I came here Friday night with a friend visiting from out of town. She was incredibly impressed as well! We made a reservation and were seated right away but I heard there was a long wait if you hadn’t.
The ambiance is so nice. Upon walking in we were excited about the space. The cocktail selection is great. I got the house sangria which was delicious and my friend went off a recommendation from our server. We were both happy. Speaking of which our server was very attentive and helpful when we asked questions about the menu.
I can’t say enough about the food! I can’t wait to come back and try more! Our favorite was the dry aged NY — amazing flavor! I also liked be pork cheek and the seafood paella. My friend is a celiac and they had plenty of gluten free options. I want to come back and get the charcuterie and queso!
Wonderful experience all around!

Because I was craving paella, and this spot had a vegetarian option, describing the vegetables as the «kitchen’s daily selection of fresh produce», I decided to try this restaurant out with my food buddy.
While the place was packed and full of life on a Thursday night, we were seated quickly (as we had made a reservation via Unilocal). The service was quick and efficient. Upon being seated, the ambiance and décor caught my eye. The décor could be described as a getaway to the Iberian peninsula with a modern touch.
In addition to the paella, I chose: eggplant + honey + salmorejo along with the papas with alioli. Impressively, even though I am not a fan of tapas purely because my appetite is never satiated, the portion sizes were more than adequate. Unfortunately, the paella had the opposite problem. The paella size was that of a tapas dish with the cost of an entrée. Apparently, you have to specify if you want a larger portion size. Also, while the ingredients in all the dishes were very fresh, the vegetable selection for the paella did not compliment the dish. It was an odd combination for my taste buds.
For dessert, we tried the churros con chocolate, expecting to be transported to mid-​day Spain. While the consistency, texture, and shape of the churro was similar to those found in Spain, there was cinnamon on the churro, which reminded me of a churro from Mexico. Although the chocolate had the right consistency, the taste was not pleasant.
Overall, this was an enjoyable tapas experience. The prices, aside from the paella, was very reasonable, given the larger tapas portion sizes. An added bonus is the 10% off your visit, available on Unilocal

First I’ll start off by saying my wife and I were very very excited to try this place. After reading the reviews on here and the buzz around town about it we were floored that we didn’t like it.
That said, let’s start with the positives. The location is great, right off of second in the up-​and-​coming foodie area. That atmosphere is great, exposed brick and wood make for a really warm inviting spot. The service was really great as well.
Now on to what earned this place a low ranking. For a Spanish restaurant we were surprised to find no Rioja wine available by the glass. I had the Alto’s de la Hoya and it was so-​so.
Then we ordered four items. The short rib tosta, the tomato starter, the chicken paella, and octopus tapa. Not one of them had us excited for more. In fact, we said that the items lacked spice so they took the paella off of our bill.

love love love this place!
where do I start the ambiance is awesome. I love the cream brick industrial look with tastefully decorated walls.
the layout was pretty good and the dim lighting really made a difference to the whole setting
The wine.
is really good. you cant go wrong with the wine here. i tried about 4 glasses of whites to reds which were all great
I am so glad we went here with a bunch of friends as we were able to
The food
where do I start. Everything we tried was awesome. the Bruschetta was average but everything else was just awesome
— the garlic shrimp was the crow favorite
— the anchovies which came on a thinly sliced fried plantains or maybe some sort of potato!!! was just fabulous (but may be too salty for some of the America foodies). this was my favorite !
— The pork cheek was really tender and melted in your mouth
Empanadas were great (not the best in town. but I would say it’s up there)
— Octopus was surprisingly good and flavorful
Service was great
the girl who served us was really helpful, patient and answered all our questions. I wish I remembered her name to pas on the complement. but thanks for the great service !!
I will definitely return, recommend going with a group so you can share and try out many options