MoVida: Chef Frank Camorra set to open first New Zealand restaurant

Next Door: A taste of Barcelona is moving to Auckland from Melbourne. Photo / Visit Victoria

Some serious Iberian flavours are inbound to Auckland - via Melbourne - as Frank Camorra prepares to open his first New Zealand restaurant.

MoVida is getting ready to open in the second floor of Britomart's Seafarers Building, on the waterfront.

The Spaniard first ignited Australia's love-affair with tapas in 2003 after opening MoVida in his home town of Melbourne, and has become a regular feature of the dining scene.

The Barcelona-born chef says that he was drawn across the Tasman by the prospect of New Zealand ingredients - crayfish, paua and octopus.

Camorra has been spending an increasing amount of time on this side of the ditch visiting suppliers and producers. This month the chef was visiting Waikato and the Tora collective.

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The chef first hinted his intentions in 2016 after running a month-long pop-up in Auckland. The new, permanent premises will be part of Auckland's Savor Group.

The Spaniard who first ignited Australia's love affair with Spanish food in 2003, opening a restaurant in Hosier Lane, and quickly became one of the darlings of the Melbourne laneways. It has since expanded to Sydney and Lorne.

"We can't wait to bring the MoVida experience to Auckland – and New Zealand very soon," the chef said.

Frank Camorra has arrived in Auckland. Photo / Supplied, Murdoch Books

Camorra migrated to Australia with his parents aged 5. He began his training under Melbourne's Grossi family in Toorak, before returning to Spain to retrace his culinary roots.