The uptempo song contains musical elements of salsa, cumbia, and reggaeton. Allan Raible from Yahoo! further found "flamenco-esque propulsion and modern electro and EDM touches". Marcus Floyd of the website "Renowned for Sound" felt that the song was reminiscent of the "Latino party vibe" characteristic of Martin's other songs. Other critics further found influences of African and Latin music in its instrumentation and rhythms. "La Mordidita" contains a soccer chant during its bridge. Rapper Yotuel has a short rap contribution in the song. Lyrically, "La Mordidita" which translates to "The Nibble" in English, talks about the lust felt for a desired person. Upon its release, "La Mordidita" received favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Jessica Lucia Roiz of "Latin Times" praised the track for being "sexy", "fun", and "addicting". Marcus Floyd of the website "Renowned for Sound" described it as "intense" and felt that musically, it exemplified the "Latino party vibe we love Ricky Martin for". AllMusic's writer Thom Jurek picked the song as one of the best on "A Quien Quiera Escuchar". Clint Rhode of "The Herald-Standard" opined that "La Mordidita" is one of the songs on the album on which the singer is "delivering intoxicating rhythms". Yahoo!s Allan Raible praised the "interesting mix" of musical elements on "La Mordidita". "El Nuevo Día" journalist Eliezer Ríos Camacho called the song "pure craftmanship" and wrote that it was created for dancing with a blend of merengue and La Quebrada-style techno. A writer of Televisa dubbed the track a dance number in which all of Martin's Latin style is present. He further described it as a fusion of merengue and bachata and added that "it is going to be present on all of the dance floors". Carolina Cabrera from Starmedia praised the song for being "full with energy, sensuality and temptation". "La Mordidita" received nominations on several Latin-based award ceremonies. At the first Latin American Music Awards held in 2015, the song received an award in the category for favorite pop/rock song. At the 2016 Latin "Billboard" Music Awards, "La Mordidita" was nominated in the category Latin Pop Song of the Year, but lost to "Mi Verdad" by Maná and Shakira.