Great. We went for lunch and had about 9 dishes. Not a clunker in the bunch - the gazpacho, fried chick peas and aubergine seemed to rank highest. The cod, too. We’re going again
I had been there for many times. The restaurant is charming inside, amazing atmosphere and delicious food.went to dinner with my lovely ones and enjoy the meal and had a great time there
I felt that with the unfortunate demise of Barrafina, tapas in London was not just going down the toilet but instead mutating into something worse. Something not without taste but rather, too much of it. I had been wowed by tapas while in wet but warm Madrid late last year and thought that that was what to eat while in Spain. An easy way to bliss and happiness, so much so that my usually calorie adverse dining companion deemed that the taste outweighed the excess calories. As she complains, there is usually a hidden catch to things that taste too good. Fats make things taste better. Things that make us happy usually aren’t good for us. As overzealous application of things that pose a danger to our health is an easy and quick way to make things taste better.
Great prices and dishes at this small pulsing restaurant in exmouth market. Great service, friendly staff and quick food / drink. Oh gosh the fried eggplant is going to be in my dreams for weeks to come.
I have waited over two years to go back to Morito and when i did it was their new branch. I do get lucky on my birthday and Laura said she wanted to take me out for dinner and straight away I chose Morito. Conveniently, I received an email the week before from them about their new branch on Hackney Road, I replied straight away to ask for availability.
Absolutely amazing. Morito serves Moorish tapas so it's quite unlike your standard tapas restaurant. You can sense the Eastern influence as dishes are topped with pomegranate, dill, and Persian spices. I highly recommend the beetroot, walnut and dill dish. It was phenomenal.
Only downside is you have to be prepared to wait to get a seat. But not such an issue given that you can go to a nearby bar to kill time.
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.
There are no places in London I love more than Clerkenwell.
Tucked away at its heart is my favourite little pocket of London, Exmouth Market.
It has absolutely everything I like: pretty brick houses and retro-looking stores with just the right amount of hipster to them, and most importantly, A LOT of lovely, independant and very good little restaurants.
Unfortunately I haven’t had time to try it all just yet.
Not because I rarely am around, oh no, rather because I always find myself making a beeline for my absolute favourite restaurant in all of London.
Morito is a tapas & mezze bar, opened by hospitality legends Sam & Sam Clark, of the nearby Moro fame, and both the atmosphere and food rival that of the best tapas bars across Spain, with a touch of Northern Africa meets the Middle East thrown in for good measure.
Last night I met Annie & Jerry at the wonderful Moro, one of my favourite restaurants (click here for review). I love the informality of the restaurant – almost like a gastro pub – but also the excellence of the food with its Spanish, North African influences. It’s never failed to delight me and last night was no exception. I’d no intention of blogging – having done that before – but still took photos of my own meal to Tweet later … and because, really, I can never resist photographing lovely food. I had some gorgeous Home Cured Salmon with Arak, Labneh & Roasted Beetroot to begin; Wood Roasted Pork with Braised Chestnuts, Oyster Mushrooms and red Rioja as a main; and their signature Yoghurt Cake with Pistachios & Pomegranate for dessert.
Morito is a tapas bar right next door to the famously successful Moro in Clerkenwell; it’s run by the same people, Sam and Sam Clark, and occupies a spot that used to belong to the legendarily good Spanish deli Brindisa. The menu at Morito changes on a daily basis and is inspired by the tastes and flavours of the western Mediterranean: Spain, Portugal, Gypsy and North Africa.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
The little sister to the next-door Moro (an excellent, more formal restaurant), Morito is certainly my favourite tapas joint in London, although admittedly I haven't visited the famed Barrafina yet. Owned by Sam and Sam Clark, It does all of the Spanish tapas classics well (padron peppers, great cava, tortillas) but implements a few Moorish ingredients such as sumac for a refreshing change.
A few photos are attached from my most recent visit. The beetroot borani dish deserves its highly lauded status (TimeOut's top 10 London dishes, I believe) whilst the spiced lamb, aubergine yoghurt and pine nuts never disappoints - It consistently hits that perfect balance between salty, crisp meat and wonderfully smooth purée: a textural delight. Any of these with some cava or sweet vermouth makes an enticing lunchtime prospect - midweek shouldn't require any queueing, another bonus.
Also worth noting are Morito Sunday's - special menus that they put on from time to time. We once went to their homage to the Spanish 'calcotada' festival - an onion best described as a hybrid of the spring onion and leek. It was a fun evening with multiple courses (the charred calcots were served with an addictive romesco sauces). They recently put on a boozier Vermouth-themed night which (I'd wager) would have been brilliant.
So, keep an eye out for Morito Sundays or just get down for a spot of well executed tapas.
When you can't be bothered for a sit down dinner or not that hungry but want to have something tasty Morito is good. fried baby squid ( smallest squid I've seen in my life) fried pork belly, fried chickpea etc their small dishes are all nice. the taste is somewhat sophisticated, interesting spices (i love cumin and they use lot of that) very helpful staff. I asked for rose & cardiman icecream ( best ice cream flavour ever but it's not on the menu it's actually at Moro next door) the waiter got it for me from next door ! how nice. can't reserve and it gets very busy so week night or early hour if you don't want to wait.
It’s hard not fall in love with the casual and warm buzz and there’s enough character in the paired back decor so that you don’t think it has been designed by a tobacco rolling, tattooed hipster, like just about every restaurant these days. To start things off my partner helped herself to the nuts on the counter, mistaking them for a Spanish alternati
Tucked snugly in a narrow space in Exmouth Market, this little brother of distinguished Spanish restaurant Moro serves up little platters of deliciousness. The house specials are always changing which means ingredients are at their freshest. I have a soft spot for pedron peppers and Moritos peppers are the healthiest and juiciest ones around. A few weeks ago, however, I teared up for ten minutes after having popped the most spiciest pepper I had ever had. Morito’s is the perfect indulgent business lunch break, with bar seating for two and tables for larger parties. The vegetarian offerings are okay, but the tender lamp chops and grilled meats are where the action is. Dinners here are also fun for a relaxed evening out. The place fills up quick so be sure to book or get in early!
It is a small restaurant specialized in spanish food : Tapas !
I was surprised, they have a big tapas MENU.
I didn't take too much risk during this first visit. I ordered what I am used to order in Toulouse or Spain tapas restaurant : so croquettas, patatas bravas, tomato on toast with jamon and tortilla.
All dishes were good, I give a special mention for the jamón which was delicious. It was so go
Food And Drinks Noob
+3.5
Once again Morito gave me a lovely Spanish experience, price was also very reasonable. Without any wine, the cost came to under £50 for two which is very good value given the location.
Food And Drinks Noob
+4.5
it was simple tapas done in an authentic way with great use of seasoning, the meat dishes particularly stand out with their powerful and flavoursome taste
Gingle Lists Everything
+4.5
The lamb chops with cumin and paprika were tasty and once again had me bemoaning that you get so little meat on them. They weren't quite as good as the ones I had in The Painted Heron, and were maybe a tad underdone near the bone. Which was funny in a way, as Stephen had said that the last time he had them, they'd been a little overdone. So I guess consistency on the lamb chops isn't their strong point.
I’m ashamed to say that I tried Morito for the first time only this year…shame on me. The food is soooo good. Perfect for a lazy weekend lunch…just make sure you go there on an empty stomach.
Bref, j'adore, j'adore, j'adore. Et la prochaine fois que Monsieur G est de la partie à Londres, il n'y coupera pas !
You've guessed I loved it!
These dishes were fantastic even if teh service was a little slow. Salt cod croquetas, the nicest croquetas I’ve had, melt in your mouth. Lamb chops with cumin & paprika. Spiced lamb with aubergine, yoghurt and pine nuts. Beetroot borani with feta & walnuts. Patatas aliñadas (potatoes, green pepper, parsley, spring onions, sherry vinegar)
...The sausage and beans needed a bit more seasoning but were great sprinkled with the dried chilli on the table.
Morito is the spin-off tapas bar by the Observer Food Monthly darlings 'Sam n Sam' of Moro , right next door on Exmouth Market. I do wonder which York Way eateries will start getting the hype since The Guardian's Kings Cross move, but I digress...Morito is rather great. What else could you order for an unseasonably lovely day, but a caña of Cruzcampo and kick back to watch the buzz from the market... A mere two seconds later, the beer arrives frothing away and ice cold in an authentic tumbler, perfect start. My companion has been here before, and she takes the lead from the quite extensive menu of predominantly Andalucian and North African inspired dishes, all doused in chilli, cumin and paprika. We start with that Catalan breakfast of kings, the tomato toast with jamon (£3.50) which was a little tough due to the bread used; the underside of a dense roll. I love the tomate mush dripping through the holes of sliced baguette or ciabatta, so this isn't quite as fun. The tabouleh salad (
It was a great evening (not least of all because the company was paying for it) and I would highly recommend that you come here though with a few caveats.
I do love Spain and its Tapas bars. A whole night in some towns on a tapas crawl will leave you drunk and very nicely filled up as well. It's the diversity I love so much. Imagine a street lined with small bars that only do a few different plates, but do them well. You go from one to the other having a glass of wine or beer sampling what each bar does so well. A very good night indeed. I'm amazed some shrewd businessman here hasn't opened 3 or 4 tapas bars all within a ½ mile of each other, so we can have this mini tapas crawl in London. Hey if I had the cash I'd open them up. Does anyone want to join me ? All you have to do is put in the cash for my wonderful idea. I'm surprised Brindisa or Moro haven't done this. Or maybe Morito is just the first in a mini chain of Tapas bars around Clerkenwell. Hey you read it here first. But this is what is kind of happening in Soho with Polpo et al, but they are more for the civilised dining scene, than the drunken tapas crawl I want to see here
"Hey, it’s empty!” Wife was gesturing towards Morito, which seldom is during lunchtimes. These days we are frequent visitors to Exmouth Market. Someone I knew mentioned just the other day that Exmouth Market, with its selection of bars, cafes, eateries and restaurants, is like a mini-London to her. Well, I won’t go so far to say that but that’s not far from the truth either.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Morito serves superb Spanish fare; a kind of cross between a tapas bar and a fine-dining restaurant. The restaurant is quite small and fills up rather quickly, so definitely book a table before going. Sit at the bar so you can watch the chefs prepare your food...
The menu has changed since the last time I visited, so some of the dishes I mention may not be there any more..
Try the grilled tetilla cheese, walnuts and membrillo (quince paste), the melted salty cheese goes well with the sweet quince paste, and the crunchy nuts provide some texture.
I'm a fan of chorizo, so I recommend the chorizo bocadillo, which is grilled chorizo in a toasted bun. The tortilla, a Spanish tapas classic is cooked just right here - soft and gooey, the way its supposed to be, not dense and overcooked like some other places. End with the deliciously boozy malaga raisin ice-cream or the crema catalana if they still have it...
The portions are generous at Morito and the service is informal and friendly. The food you get here is very different from what you get in allot of tapas bars dotting London.
Morito serves a really interesting fusion of Spanish tapas with a North African influence. One example is the Fried Rose Shrimp and Baby Squid served with Sumac and Alioli: refreshing and rich.
You don't need to be rich to come here though as the prices are notably modest, especially for this type of restaurant.
I came here on a glorious summer evening and the atmosphere was simply terrific. You can't book, so expect a wait even on a Tuesday night.
Laid back tapas bar. A more agile sibling of Moro just down the road. Serving a wide variety of Spanish small dishes. Ideal for sharing over a glass of wine. Often busy, generally a good sign. The scallops with slow cooked cauliflower is one of my favourite dishes on ex mouth market.
Gingle Lists Everything
+4
Morito does little plates with a Moorish feel to them. Prices range from 2.50 for an assortment of breads up to about 8.50 for some lamb chops. The place is very fond of cumin.
Because my boyfriend has been there so often and done the hard work for me, by trying most of the dishes on the menu, I turned to him to lead on the choices and I was pretty much guaranteed that each one was going to be a winner. And they were all good.
I had a carafe of full bodied, syrupy syrah with my meal, although Stephen had a few glasses of this as well as his medium beer. We ordered the bread basket to start - a dense, chewy roll each, a large cumin dusted flatbread to share and some breadstick nibs. The breadstick nibs seemed a bit pointless, not really having anything to dip them in, although I did discover you could roll them in some oil and then roll them in the spices you get on the table, which made them quite nice. The other two breads were delicious and I should have saved more of mine to soak up the extraneous oils, juices and aioli from our little dishes.
You can order as many as you like at a time and they all sort of come out haphazardly. The first to come was the scallop dish with sherry vinegar and butter sauce. One plump scallop which had been sliced neatly in three.
We then had the jamon croquetas - perfectly crispy on the outside while being soft and creamy inside. And no scrimping on the jamon either.
The lamb chops with cumin and paprika were tasty and once again had me bemoaning that you get so little meat on them. They weren't quite as good as the ones I had in The Painted Heron, and were maybe a tad underdone near the bone. Which was funny in a way, as Stephen had said that the last time he had them, they'd been a little overdone. So I guess consistency on the lamb chops isn't their strong point.
The butifarra sausage with white beans and alioli was a lovely salty, meaty, and slightly stodgy dish. Both the sausage and the lamb chops provided plenty of extra oil, and a bit of alioli to get that bread out and make sure none of it went to waste.
We knew we wanted to end with the grilled tetilla cheese with walnuts and membrillo but we also splurged and ordered one other dish as well with that - the chicharrones. I am so glad we got these - I think they were my favourite dish. Cubes of pork belly in cumin (again!) and lemon. The pork was crispy around the edges but soft and tender in the middle, and I loved the lemony tang.
As we were finishing off with the cheese - the sweet quince bringing out the slightly sweet flavour in the cheese, we had a couple of 'digestifs' to end the meal with. I ordered an amontillado sherry, my first ever sherry, and Stephen had a negroni. That slightly melted tetilla cheese was wonderful, another highlight. I loved the sort of crust on the edge where it had been grilled and then the oozy middle to scoop out and sprinkle with walnuts.
I enjoyed my sherry more than I had actually expected. It was much more like a strong wine, quite dry - I think I might now be a sherry drinker! But then I knew that Morito/Moro was a good place to start.
Highly recommended. Best spot for a date, drink and light tapas on Exmouth Market, much prefer food here than the larger sister Moro next door. Wine list is small but very well put together, reasonably priced and very tasty, including carafes. We have been here several times and tried everything - do not miss the chorizo, pan con tamate, chickpeas, squid, lamb chops or raisin ice cream.
Boldly presented middle-eastern flavors with Spanish flavours served tapas style in the ever-lively exmouth market. Very good!
Had a few tapas for dinner with a friend: asparagus tortilla, slow cooked cauliflower, beetroot borani and deep fried baby squid. Unfortunately I find the food is generally on the salty side. Our favourite is the beetroot borani which is an excellent dip for bread!!
Hands down, MORITO served the best tapas I’ve ever eaten in my life!
That’s saying something coming from this foodie.
It was packed yet maintained a relaxed and lively vibe, with customers enjoying conversations and the servers offering excellent service and well informed selections.
My favorite was the jerusalem artichoke and merinda tomato salad with crickets & cardamom. So fresh, crispy and flavorful.
My partner loved the chicharrones - pork belly, lemon & cumin. Outstanding!
We also savored the gambas al ajillo (shrimp sautéed in garlic).
Walk-ins only, this restaurant is worth a short wait on a busy night.
The orange and pink wines match perfectly!
BRAVO!!
Excellent tapas at a great price, packed full of seasonal ingredients.
What a great spot for a Saturday afternoon lunch. We ordered slightly too much, but the menu was just irresistible!
Highlights were the lamb chops
Have been to both Exmouth store and Hackney store. Would definitely prefer Exmouth.
We order the following for our visits (4 people):
1. Padro peppers
2. Sweet Onion tortilla
3. Fried chickpeas
4. Crispy aubergine
5. Deep fried squid
6. Prawns
7. Chicharrones (pork belly)
8. Spiced lamb, aubergine, pomegranate
Everything is delicious, sweet onion tortilla and deep fried squid are very well cooked and delicious. Fried chickpeas, crispy aubergine and spiced lamb are exceptional, creative, and simply excellent. Prawn and pork belley are not bad, but the flavor is a bit too strong (salty).
It has been 8 years since I first visit Morito. I am surprised and exuberant to find some of my favorite dishes are still on the menu (fried chickpeas and spiced lamb).
Now that I know they offer different menu from the one in Hackney, I would definitely visit the store more often.
Had dinner with a friend here last Wednesday. Whilst the tapas are expensive -£9!! or so- and we commiserated how we can get the same items in Spain for less than half of that price, we had to admit the quality was excellent. I had the pumpkin pisto, aubergine with honey and bacalao croquetas and was very impressed with the portion sizes as well, especially the aubergine. My friend also was impressed with the plate size of her patatas bravas. Service was quick and efficient. We sat at the bar. I’m also subtracting a star bc the wine “carafe” was really overpriced. Honestly I’ve seen MUCH bigger carafes in other places- this was barely two glasses a person. For £14! It’s a better deal to get a single glass. Not a bad dry white wine but not the best I’ve had.
Delicious tapas - as good as any I've had in Barcelona. Buzzy atmosphere. Good choice on the menu including vegetarian options. They have a few tables outside which was perfect for us as it was a warm evening. Service was a bit slow.
A cute little tapas place at the heart of Exmouth market. The food is fresh and delicious, albeit the portion is a bit small. But - it’s tapas and it’s London so I guess it’s to be expected. The food is super delicious though.
Great food and great service, would definitely return to try more tapas 😋
Great tapas, casual ambiance and fast service. We will definitely go back!
Below are a few dishes we would recommend:
-chicken with almond sauce and red peppers
-cod croquetas
-fried aubergine
-the bread was delightful!
There aren't too many seats inside but it's nice to sit by the bar and see what the staff is doing inside the bar. The atmosphere is lively. The food here is really good. Don't have other tapas experience in London but at least this one lives up to my expectations. Don't come alone though or you cannot get too many tapas.
Spanish restaurant. Good tapas. Tortilla was excellent. Interesting cocktails. Service was polite but not slick (E.g gave us the bill but did not return with the card machine).
One of my favorites in the city. You can’t go wrong with anything. Do go early or book in advance. The restaurant gets filled up fast. We ordered the scallops, lamb chops, fried aubergine, and the chorizo dish for two people. The aubergine fries was amazing! It’s “tapas” style so the portions won’t be very big but still great for sharing and trying loads of new flavors. Their drinks are also very good. It’s very popular, we were so lucky to get seats!
Love this place. Food is always top-notch as is the atmosphere. Would particularly recommend the prawns and avocado, the lamb chops, and the deep fried baby squid. Already excited for my next visit!
Delicious experience. Would definitely recommend a good 7-8 plates between 4 people. Servings of bread also to lap up the sauces and dips. The pork belly was exceptional.
This casual restaurant serves delicious well-priced tapas. Everything is well-seasoned and moreish.
It's ideal for small groups, so you can order many dishes and share.
The crispy aubergine, whipped feta and date molasses are highly recommended (we had two servings!). As are the croquetas, and fried chickpeas, chopped salad and tahini. The puntillitas are crisp and delicious. The grilled tetilla cheese is also a must!
Nice local tapas bar. A bit too crowded, both servers and other patrons keep walking into you and apologising all the time. The tapas were tasty, albeit a bit under seasoned for the most part. The main server was friendly, but some of the others seemed not to have any idea what was going on.
Worth going there if you happen to be close by.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes