Before Christmas I finally made it to Morito in Exmouth Market, the little sister to Moro. There were five of us there to celebrate the engagement of my best friend giving us a good excuse to try somewhere new! Morito is a tapas and mezze bar so it was the perfect place to share food and chat all things wedding around a couple of glasses of cava.
This little gem in definitely on the snug side but that is part of it’s charm I feel. You can’t book so we speedily made our way straight from work and nabbed the last table just after 6pm. We had to squeeze onto a table meant for four, but we’re all friends so it was okay to squish in!
Once the bubbles were ordered we got to looking through the menu, trying desperately to narrow down our order from ‘everything please!?’. After much discussion we managed to come to a decision. I definitely need to go back so I can order all the other dishes we didn’t get through. Yes, it was that good!
First to come out was the jamón ibérico. I mean, look at it. It just melted on your tongue. I was sad that I had to share the plate. Next time I’m ordering a plate to myself!
The spiced lamb, aubergine, pine nuts and pomegranate was next to arrive. I have a thing for aubergine at the moment so I wasn’t fussed that it was a little light on the lamb. It was wonderfully creamy and I enjoyed the crunch of the pine nuts and freshness from the mint.
Now, no tapas meal is complete without a portion of padron peppers! When in Ibiza last year there was one meal where we played padron roulette. Some were seriously spicy and others tame. But luckily for us this time around they were equally peppery with no risk of blowing your head off. Pan con tomate is also a necessity for me. Such a simple dish, but when executed perfectly it can make me unbelievably happy. Tomato, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Oh, yes. And it did not disappoint.
When I went to Morocco for the first time last year I fell in love with chickpeas. I was never bothered about them at all before I went, but then I tried them spiced and crunchy and I fell in love. So when I saw the chickpeas, butternut, coriander & tahini yoghurt I had to order them. I keep meaning to try this out at home because it would make a great snack or topping for hummus.
I think the winner of the evening for me was the crispy aubergine, whipped feta and date molasses. My god. The aubergine really was crispy – how do they do it!? And that whipped feta! Just incredible.
The puntillitas (squid) with sumac and aioli was light, crisp and bloody lovely. As was the goats cheese with honeycomb and toast. I have a real thing for honey and cheese at the moment. I’m really enjoying savoury/sweet combos and I think goats cheese works especially well like this. Though I have to admit we were pretty stuffed by this point.
We had a great evening at Morito. The menu is just beautiful. Everything can be mixed and matched to build the perfect meal and the food is just spot on. I really can’t wait to return to Morito and I definitely need to get to Moro pronto!
Morito
32 Exmouth Market
London
EC1R 4QE
020 7278 7007
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