Restaurants of Malta No.13: TARRAGON RESTAURANT

25th February, 2012.

St.Paul's Bay Location.

I had been postponing dining out on our customery Friday night fling for the last couple of weeks mainly due to a bout of flu coupled with the foul weather that we have been experiencing throughout this month.
Yesterday, was one of those long awaited beautiful winter days in Malta, warm sunny and bright, resulting in a balmy and pleasant evening, so the drive over to St. Paul's Bay was not such an ordeal.

Tarragon Logo.

TARRAGON RESTAURANT, has been on our books for a review visit since the begining of winter, not that it was going to be our first visit to this establishment, as we had already dined there twice before in the last year or so, but nevertheless, for our review purposes, features published must indicate the present. Past visits, or more than just one visit, are of course important as through them we can determine the consistency of an establishment.

View from the table.

Tarragon has been consistent and synonymous with quality cuisine and excellent service since, its Chef/Patron Marvin Gauchi opened its doors for the first time in January, 2007. Marvin insists that under his guidance and direction, the kitchen team at Tarragon provide the very best cuisine, produced from the freshest ingredients, ranging from heart-warming soups, pasta dishes, a selection of delicious starters, with chunky and innovative main dishes, complemented by a selection of home-made desserts. Decor is casual but very designer-smart and welcomomg with seating in dining areas both on the ground floor as well as on the first floor.

The menu is divided in four sections with a separate specialities of the day menu, consisting of selections of Starters: such as their Octopus, salmon and Black Angus carpacios; truffle and grouper croquette; calamari,; carrot and apple soup, etc; Price range approx Eur9 to Eur12.
Pasta: with choices of homemade pasta tossed in squid black ink, tiger prawns and lobster bisque; their special chocolate and Brasilian orange ravioli; fresh pasta filled with scalops and prawns, etc. Price ranging from Eur9 to Eur12..
Main courses: which range from the restaurant's signature Meagre (gurbell) cooked and flambeed in sea salt; seafood and fresh fish by weight;  Black Angus rib-eye and fillet steaks; Chateaubriand for two; pork; lamb fillet; veal; chicken and duck breast. Prices range from about Eur20 to Eur30 depending on selection.

Our Cuisine Selections:

Our food choices fell on the following selections:

Starters:

Four fresh scallops.
Delicious and recommended.

One serving of four fresh scallops which was listed in the day's specialities. Scallops are imported in Malta every Tuesday from Scotland. A delicious starter.

The Calamari fritti.

One, line caught calamari cooked in seasoned flour, tossed in garlic, parsley and Himalaya salt.

The linguine rizzi al cartocio.

Fresh pasta parcels stuffed with
scallops and prawn meat.
Recommended.

One fresh pasta filled with scallops and prawn meat, olive oil, cherry tomato and cream shellfish bisque, and green caviar on te side.

One linguine seafood al cartocio.







Main Courses:

The Black Angus Fillet with
potatoes, veg and mushroom
and truffle sauce.

The Black Angus Fillet as initially
presented.

One USDA Black Angus prime cut fillet with mushroom and truffle sauce on the side.
The fillet is served on a flat open platform. It was ordered medium and served perfectly, well rested and without the slightest indication of blood.
This fillet simply melts in the mouth.

The grilled milk-fed veal.

The slow cooked pork with crackling
and sauce on the side.

One  fresh local pork, slow cooked served with roasted white onion, port and citrus jus and crackling.

One local red king prawns baked in garlic-infused olive oil and herbs. This is the first time that I have seen king prawns sliced in two halves, and baked;  normally and usually king prawns are served whole unless they are the giant imported ones.

One,  grilled milk-fed veal, topped with smoked salt, with bairnaise sauce on the side, served on a similar flat platform to the fillet steak.
The red stips on top of the meat main courses are some sort of coloured pasta, boiled and dried. It gives a bit of colour to the presentation, but should it be placed in every platter?

The baked local king prawns
sliced in halves and baked.

Desserts:

The pancakes.

The Red Velvet and coconut cake.

Two servings of pancakes with fruit, sorbet and Grand Marnier.
One dark chocolate and peanut tart;
 and one Red Velvet and coconut cake.

The dark chocolate and
peanut tart.

In the opinion of the reviewers, the pancakes should be served hot. A contrast will be created with the cold sorbet wrapped in the pancakes, but still, the outside pancake should be hot and the Grand Marnier flambe' should enhance it further. A look at this presentation is necessary.
Both the Red Velvet and coconut cake as well as the Dark Chocolate and Peanut tart were very nice in their own right, but in the opinion of the the viewers they are more suitable  with coffee or tea, rather than desserts after a heavy meal. True enough there were other choices on the menu such as creme brulee', tiramisu, etc.

The Wine List:

The wine list is vast and the actual presentation is huge. Various local and imported wines are offered to suit most pockets. Our choice was a lovely Patriarch Chianti Classico at Eur21.50 which was good value and which complemented the food choices very well.- indeed.

Service:

Service at Tarragon has always been very good, both upstairs as well as downstairs. Attentive head waiters, knowledgeable wine servers, and the table server was very pleasant and efficient. Cuisine is served calmly without fuss, and in good time between courses. The restaurant was fully booked on this Friday evening, but everything was administered smoothly with every table, whether it seated two persons or eight, given every attention.  Well done to Michael Sultana the Head Chef who was running the show on this day as Marvin was on his day-off after having just arrived in Malta after attending a culinary show Italy in which he had participated.

Value of money:

The dinner as described and illustrated above including one bottle of wine, four glasses of pre-dinner Proseccos; four bottles of water (two still and two sparkling); espressos, and complementary liqueurs came up to Eur188.50 or Eur47 per person.

REVIEWERS IMPRESSIONS:

Ambience, Decor and Atmosphere:  Very Good.
Cuisine quality:                                  Very Good.+
Preparation and presentation:             Very Good +
Harmony of Menu:                             Very Good.
Service, attention to clients' needs
and general attitude:                           Very Good+

OVERALL RATING: 9/10 Fine dining cuisine in an up-market casual dining atmosphere.
Recommended.

Contact Details:

Tarragon Restaurant,
Church Street,
St. Paul's Bay.
Tel: 21573 759; 2726 6999; 9926 6999.