Morito resides in the restaurant haven that is Exmouth Market and it serves tapas with influences from North Africa and Lebanon. It has a sister restaurant next door called Moro which is much bigger and serves larger dishes.
We turned up for lunch (booking was essential as it’s so small and it remained busy throughout our visit) and were seated at the bright orange bar overlooking the tiny kitchen. Just two chefs worked in the small space which was impressive seeing as they produced such delicious food. The place had a great atmosphere.
We kicked things off with some sliced jamón Ibérico bellota (£9.50) which was totally divine; not quite as good as the plate of jamón available at Pizarro, but half the price.
The crispy aubergine with Pedro Ximenez dressing (£4) was a tangy little number – plenty of chopped mint helped balance it all out. The aubergine was crisp and grease free (I’m used to it being stodgy and soggy) which was great.
Jamón and chicken croquetas (£4) were beautiful and as good as any croquettes I’ve eaten anywhere. A crisp exterior and a gloriously gooey centre – phwoar. They actually tasted of their said ingredients too, which isn’t always the case.
Octopus with fava bean purée (£7) featured perfectly cooked octopus with a slight smokey flavour atop a bean purée that was actually lovely (I hate beans of all varieties).
The only dish we weren’t enamoured with was Winter tabbouleh (£4.50) as it was so bitter – inedibly so. The pomegranate seeds, which I hoped would provide some contrasting sweetness, didn’t seem to do the job whatsoever.
Getting things positively back on track was the chorizo bocadillo (£5.50) which was sliced chorizo inside a crispy roll smothered with fresh tomato. It was quite honestly the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life and a visit to Morito would be worth going for this alone.
The pork fillet (£6.50) served with red pepper, black pudding and covered in rocket was another winner. The pork was soft and succulent and the whole thing was liberally drizzled with olive oil, making it taste utterly divine.
The lamb chops (£8.50) were beastly humongous things which blew my mind – how it’s possible to cook chops so rare in the centre yet with a crisp charcoal exterior is beyond me. They were sensationally marvellous!
As you might have gathered we fell in love with Morito; it was impossible not to. The food was so good we didn’t want to leave – I would have gladly stayed there and eaten myself to obesity. Service was chatty and friendly, the room was buzzy and the food was phenomenal. I can’t wait to try Moro.
10/10
