Moro Restaurant

Really enjoyed this dining experience, the food and service fantastic — a choice I was very happy to make.
Ok so the restaurant was a bit more formal than I was expecting, I was hoping that with it being Basque with a hint of North African it would be more authentic and chilled out, but this wasn’t a problem, just not what I was expecting!
The wild boar pork bely was fantastic, perfectly cooked and the potatoes that went alongside it were some that I wish I could eat every day — so so nice!
They had a good selection of craft beers and wine, I was tempted by the sherry flights they also do but couldn’t really pair it up with my choice of dessert so decided to hold on for a beer at the next bar. And on the note of pudding — yoghurt cake FTW — so good!

My favorite go to restaurant whenever I travel to London. I can eat here all the time. It has the balance of everything — cozy, intimate, busy and above all delicious food !!

OK, Five years later I eat in the proper restaurant. The food was delicious! I loved my fish and all of the food we had was great. Service was a bit unfriendly. But loved the atmosphere and the food. (Although our rose was a tad warm as well).

We love this restaurant and return here every time we visit London. This time we came back three times and ate almost every item on the menu. The best of the best were the fish and vegetable dishes. Specifically, the seared mackerel with rhubarb/​tarragon/​walnut salad was amazing — even my husband who doesn’t like either mackerel or rhubarb, loved this dish. He had the broad bean soup twice. Two other starters not to be missed are the quail and the asparagus/​oyster mushroom/​jamon. The sea bass main course was our favorite entrée mostly because of the braised fennel, baked feta and salad of orange and pea salad that came with it — perfection.
The Spanish wines recommended paired with the food were also excellent.
Usually we are all about the food and not overly focused on the service but at Moro, the staff was not only good at their jobs but genuinely hospitable, even recognizing us on our second and third visits and welcoming us back.
Finally, I can’t thank Emma and her kitchen colleagues (including Sam) for taking such good care of us and answering my many questions about the preparation of their dishes. Their generosity enhanced our flavor filled dining experiences even more. Thanks Moro!

Delicious meal and friendly service. Reasonable wine list. Try the Malaga raisin ice cream.

Wasn’t blown away, especially given the price. Our food was generally good but not outstanding. The bread however was beautiful and definitely worth sampling. Service was extremely friendly and attentive.

Aweful place. The food was terrible and service was even worse. Waiter suggested we get the signature dessert and it tasted like crap literally. Then he tricked us into thinking he would gave us something else instead when we voiced our opinion. But he charged us for everything at the end and laughed at us !! How rude. Never again.

Consistently excellent with a great changing menu makes it a great place to visit as often as possible as you’re never going top be bored with the unusual flavours.
The wine list is always keeps me coming back for more with full of unusual offerings at decent prices and the atmosphere is very buzzy… which is what I ALWAYS love.
I would go her for all occasions.

The food was tasty but further checking into there practices of food hygine it scored 2 stars out of 5 i would expect better from such a high profile restaurant.

Everytime I have been here the food has been delicious, I love that the menu is printed each day and that there is enough of a selection to have options, but not too many that you have to send the waiter away to have more time to decide. I always manage to try something that I have never had before, last time trying fried chick peas (I would recommend). The service is excellent, the staff all know the menu very well and are happy to chat you through options and recommend if you wish. I also like the relaxed feel that they work hard to maintain, which means that eating here feels luxurious and not rushed. The rosewater and cardamom ice cream is a personal favourite of mine, but it is difficult to recommend meals as they are different each time I go. It is worth booking if in a party or at a busy time, but they are usually really helpful when trying to squeeze people in when you have forgotten to book, or are popping in just in case.

Moro is one of those places I’ve wanted to eat at for ages but haven’t because I don’t like having to reserve ages in advance so fortunately we were able to get a table for 9pm on a Friday evening with only a few days notice.
It was great. Inside it’s buzzing with a simple, open layout and open kitchen at the end. A long bar extends the entire length of the restaurant (taps menu only available at the bar).
Ordered the mushrooms on toast for starter which was excellent. Simple and with balanced flavours. They could have given the dish a fancy name with some unfamiliar funghi name on char grilled crispy sourdough bread with olive oil from some single estate in Spain (which it all may well have been) but credit to them that they just called it ‘mushrooms on toast’. Sometimes pretentious menu descriptions fail to deliver when the actual dish shows up but in this case it was the other way round.
For mains I ordered chargrilled lamb with rice and some beetroot based sauce. That wasn’t the actual menu description but just my memory of what I ate. The waitress mentioned the lamb would be served pink and was that OK. Yes, no problem. This dish was just delicious. A generous serving of yes, very pink lamb slices on a bed of rice and some other grains which had been slow cooked with spices and something else which just made it great and a cold beetroot based sauce over the top. Back to the lamb. It wasn’t rare in the normal sense yet tender and flavourful. Perhaps it was cooked sous vide and then finished on the chargrill… However they did it, it was just excellent.
For desert I opted for the Malaga raisin ice cream. So simple again and so good. What made it was the glass of sherry poured over with some giant raisins which may also have been sherry soaked. Yum.
Service was efficient and food arrived pronto, yet no feeling of time pressure at all even though tables were turning around us with only minutes between the next diners being seated.
I’m looking forward to going back.

I brought my boyfriend here for his birthday and it was one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. The ambience was great and wasn’t too loud even when we ate around seven. Our food was delivered in a timely manner and the water was refilled almost instantly after we ran out. Our waitress, Keren, was the BEST. She was extremely helpful when we asked questions about the menu, very attentive, and sweet. We tipped her generously and joked that we wanted her to be our best friend.
Aside from the service, the food was wonderful. Even the sourdough bread that they put on the table was delicious. The vegetable mezze was by far the best vegetarian dish I’ve had. I highly recommend this restaurant for a treat or special occasion as it is a bit pricey. But it was worth it!

Not sure what the fuss is all about at Moro. Sure, I’m glad its in my neighbourhood as it has made Exmouth Market a serious foody destination. I’ve also bought the books and made some wonderful food but the core product, the restaurant, always disappoints.
Firstly, whats with the menu? With all those exciting recipes in their three cookbooks the menu barely changes especially the main courses which heavily rely on the wood fired oven which tends to be a bit like russian roulette with the doneness of the meat. I have had overdone chicken and underdone pork. The more interesting tapas menu is only available if you eat at the bar which seems crazy even if you’re spend is the same.
Staff are a mixed back of eager and helpful with laid back and inattentive.
Morito next door is more interesting and has a more varied menu.

My wife gave me the Moro cooking book years ago as a birthday present. When we went to London this year I realy wanted to go, because the recipes in the book were very tasty already. So the expectation was very high an I must say this is one of my favorit restaurants in Europe. We had Gambas, pork-​kidney with peas, Kid (Young Goat) with delicious Tomato-​Sesame-​Chutney, vegetables and barley (have not had this for years, most of the times it is boring, but this barley was great), Pork-​Roast and some very juicy chicken. It was all very well done and the wine was good too. The waiters were very freindly, even though we did not spend a fortune on the drinks. The interior is a bit trendy but that’s the way it has to be. Oh and the bread was very good. I have not seen any bread like this in the UK before. Full points from me, whenever you come to London I can truly recommend the Moro

Sadly disappointing, went there this evening for my birthday, 12.5% service charge is now on the menu, service should be factored into the price, gratuities to go to staff, sorry but no thanks
Our first time going there for a few years and when we left the staff attitude was ’ like we give a sh*t, there are plenty of mug punters who’ll pay these prices’

A Spanish restaurant with hints of North African influence. If you are looking for tapas or small plates, then do not go here. The tapas are only available at the bar. For the tapas, small plates thing, go next door.
Our dishes were generally flavorful, but nothing that would make me run back. We (2 of us) had the following:
Starters:
Snail salad with sausage — okay, but not served warm enough.
Sardines — grilled sardines served with salad and harisa. It was okay, but drenched in oil.
Mains:
Lamb — a large plate that was less lamb and more sides. The lamb was nicely served pink and flavorful
Sea bream — a nice piece of white-​meat fish served in a fino sauce (sherry based). While the fish was good, the purple broccoli with better. But my side should not be better than the main.
Dessert:
Yogurt cake. This is not a pleasant dessert to look at. In fact, you may think something went terribly wrong. But it was very good. The yogurt was tangy and the cake parts underneath provided the right contrast in texture.

I really can’t make up my mind about this place. I keep returning (a good thing) but I often leave slightly disappointed (like tonight). There are lots of plus points — a lively atmosphere, good Spanish focused wine list and engaging knowledgeable staff. However, I feel a little too crammed in, to the point that navigating through the tables means knocking into other diners.
The food is also a bit hit and miss. From the starters we chose baby onions on toast with cecina and gamba y patatas alinadas. The former was delicious with caramelised onions and tender beef (albeit on slightly burnt toast). The later was something of a disappointment with the predominant flavour being slightly vinegary onions. Not good!
From the main courses, we ordered from the wood oven. The lamb (ordered medium and served, at best, medium to well done) was tasty although some of the accompanying vegetables got slightly lost. For example, a date and parsnip salad seemed conspicuously absent of date. The wood pigeon was better — partially deboned which made it easy to eat and pleasant on the eye with excellent crispy skin.
To finish, we enjoyed the Malaga raisin ice cream featuring giant raisins and a lovely silky texture and Moro’s stellar Chocolate and Apricot Tart never fails to deliver. The pastry is super thin and crunchy. The apricot gives a good glug of flavour and the chocolate is a soft, almost soufflé like topping.
It almost makes me forget all that went before. However, weaving your way through the crowd brings it all back. Just far too annoying for a restaurant with these prices.
I am sure I will be back, perhaps sitting outside at lunch on a Summer’s day. However moving forwards I expect it’s little neighbour, Morito, will get more of its business — more fun, better value and no need to make reservations.

Sometimes London gives you a day packed with sunshine and puffy clouds. When this happens it’s necessary to spend every second possible outside. Saturday was brimming with summer so I went on a quest for tapas and ended up grazing at one of Moro’s outdoor tables during lunchtime. And it was perfect.
The first thing on the table was hummus and I didn’t want it to end. I don’t know what they put in it to make it taste so smokey and earthy. It was probably magic dust.
While flipping through the weekend newspaper I nibbled on frutos secos (expensive corn nuts), pimentos de padron (oh, sea salt, I love you so), manchego with membrillo, and some of the best gazpatcho I’ve ever put in my mouth. I believe there were hard bits of ham floating on top. I’m hungry just thinking about it. Dessert was a cheese plate that came with a flaky tortilla.
I have to give it five stars because I wouldn’t have changed a single thing.

Apart from a smaller-​than-​expected appetiser (the Sea Urchin was perhaps the most absurdly tiny dish that I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant) and a few pieces of half-​baked bread, Moro exceeded expectations for food, atmosphere, and service. With a long «tapas» bar stretching from the door, funky music, and an audible buzz — Moro feels trendy from the get-​go; the kitchen, however, also seems to put considerable emphasis on fresh ingredients and delicious pairings. Loin of Lamb, served with an Okra/​Chickpea Ratatouille was fantastic — and I heard similar exclamations/​nods of approval from those around me, who were devouring everything from deep fried snails, to pork belly, to a sumptuous looking crab ragout on toast. Service was quick and friendly… no complaints here.
Moro boasts a deep, Iberian-​concentrated wine list — and a huge selection of sweet and dry sherries. If just looking for a nibble, there are a dozen smaller dishes available to eat at the bar.

I’ve read. I’ve pined. I’ve attempted. I’ve craved. I’ve done the walk-​by more times than I’d like to admit. And last night, on London’s most warm and glorious evening of the year, I finally sampled what all the Moro fuss is about.
The Fuss:
The ambiance helps… the food is as beautiful as the venue is as beautiful as the servers is as beautiful as the sun setting on Exmouth Market, revealing almost a Greek-​like pleasure-​filled, bustling alleyway. Not a bad way to dine, eh? The fresh bread immediately comes chunky, fluffy and freshly floured. The vegetarian mezze was a colourful splattering of various Spanish bits, and the fish and lamb were both perfectly charred outside and pink in the middle. All very very good things.
But it’s the wine that really stood out to me. The menu was so robust that it even came with training wheels — a numbering system for those who don’t know much about the grape escape. I ended the evening with a dessert flight that blew me away.
Sure it’s pricey. Sure it’s been a buzzing hot spot for 12 years. Sure it’s busy and sometimes that ‘we’re the shizz and we know it’ attitude can come through the phone reservation people. (I tried to reserve and dine three previous dates before getting seated tonight.) But there is certainly a rational reason behind all of those things. Don’t go for a humble bargain — go for an experience of opulent deliciousness.
So without any shame in my pun, gimme some Moro!

This review is of the Moro stall setup during weekday lunch at Exmouth Market. I think it only serves 1 dish a day. I had the chicken kebab and it was fantastic. I wasn’t expecting the couscous but it definitely added a nice texture to the meal. £5 for a very generous lunch portion.