Restaurants of Malta No. 6 : PALAZZO PRECA RESTAURANT.

Entrance.

PALAZZO PRECA RESTAURANT/CAFE situated at 54, Strait Street Valletta, has opened its doors just about six weeks ago , and as expected from the owner Mr. Charles Preca of Tal-Familja Restaurant of Marsascala fame, and his daughter Ramona who is the Executive Chef at this restaurant, is fast establishing itself as a leading, upmarket fine dining restaurant in the heart of Valletta.

The restaurant is located in a fully refurbished 15th century palazzo, and is easily reached as it is a few paces away from the Strait Street corner with the Embassy Shopping Complex. Entrance through a tastefully refurbished main hall, resplended with 15th century architecture and solid stone pillars, which form the main restaurant, leading to the Saphire Room on the right hand side for exclusive dinners, or staight on to the bar and cafe' area on the inside, which is also used as part of the restaurant on busy days. The restaurant is run by Mrs. Preca (Charles' wife),  as front of house manager, and by a good team of waiters and waitresses who have been trained to give efficient service with a smile without in any way imposing themselves on patrons.

Complementary antipasto
As served to us.

Snails aglioli
As served to us.

We happened to decide to have lunch at this venue, after finishing our morning Christmas shopping on December 28th, and just walked in at about 13.30. The place was full in the main hall, and we were seated in the very pleasant Saphire Room on the right hand side which was also nearly full. We ordered a bottle of water and were presented with the menus and wine list, and when the water arrived we were also served with a decent platter of antipasto with bruschetta, bigilla dip, salami, olives, rukola and galletti, as well as a bowl of snails in aglioli sauce which were delicious. This convinced us to skip out on a starter and ordered directly two main courses. Our choices fell on a serving of duck breast in orange reduction sauce for my wife, and an Angus rib-eye Mdina cooked medium-rare and served on a delicate cream and mushroom sauce reduction, complemented by a "well priced" bottle of Valpolicella Classico Superiore wine.

The Duck Breast in orange
reduction sauce. As Served to us.

The main courses were served in no time and once again, Ramona Preca's culinary skills were demonstrated in the two servings, which although one can comment that both duck breast as well as rib-eye steak can be found in most good, and in most not-so-good restaurants, Ramona's products were sublime. The combined flavours of the duck and orange reduction were out of this world and I had to try a nibble from my wife's plate. My rib-eye was also cooked to perfection, medium-rare, well rested, and not a drop of blood anywhere. The reduction sauce was exquisite, and I could not help dipping a piece of fresh bread crust in it when I finished eating my steak. A decent dish of potatoes and vegetables was also served to complement the main course.

Angus Beef Rib-Eye Mdina.
As Served to us.

Potatoes and hot vegetables.
As served to us.

We had to once again skip desserts, and opted for two espressos,  and were offered a liquor compliments of the house which we accepted with pleasure.

The menus offered contained a very well put together, selection of dishes divided between antipasto, salads, pasta dishes for starters as well as fresh fish from the trolley and selections of oysters, king prawns, various seashells including scallops and mussels; Irish and Angus beef fillet and rib-eye cooked with different sauces; traditional rabbit and bragioli. Prices shown on the menu where considered by us to be moderate with Eur13.90 for the duck breast, and Eur20 and Eur17.90 for the Angus fillet and rib-eye; and pasta and starter plates starting at some Eur6.50. Fresh fish as is normal  charged by weight.

Other dishes on the menu:
Traditional Maltese Bragioli.

Other dishes on the menu:
Traditional Maltese Rabbit in Garlic.

The wine list is also very well appointed with selections of most local wines as well as a good selection of imported wines. What I would like to comment here is that some wines are slightly over-marked-up, especially some of the local wines. This is happening in most restaurants, I'm afraid.
 In my opinion local wines costing Eur10 or more in wineshops should not carry a mark-up of anything more than 50% to 75%  over the wine shop price anywhere and in any restaurant. One also has to remember that restaurants buy their wines at wholesale prices. So please restaurateurs, do moderate wine prices.

Reviewer's Remarks:

Ambience:            Very well appointed venue.
Cuisine quality:     Very Good.
Preparation and presentation: Very Good.
Service:                  Very Good.
Wine List: A good selection of wines - markup should be adjusted.
Value for money:    Very Good.

OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10 RECOMMENDED.

Location and contact details:
Palazzo Preca Restaurant/Cafe
54, Strait Street,
Valletta.
Tel: 21226777 - 9984 6866.