2012 Inspection and review.

BOTTEGA DEL VINO at the Hilton Malta, is it a wine bar? Is it a casual diner? Is it an exquisite, up-market restaurant? It is all of these things and much much more.

This restaurant is for wine afficionados, and discerning diners who love authentic and fine Mediterranean cuisine excellently prepared and presented from the freshest local and imported ingredients, enjoyed in a rustic blend of casual atmosphere and elegant sophistication, complemented by well trained management and service staff.

The menu at the Bottega Del Vino has been overhauled and the new version and new choices of cuisine were introduced in February of this year.
Choices of Antipasti; Soups; Pasta and Rice; Delectable Maincourses; the Hilton Classics choice of burgers, Ceasers Salads, Club sandwiches, and the Classic Malta Hilton pizza remain, but with different and newly introduced dishes. Also available is a seperate menu in which are highlighted the Chef’s recommendations which include some exquisite freshly made veloutes and fresh baked or grilled whole lobsters. When I say fresh lobster, I mean exactly that, whole , live, lobsters which are picked and chosen by the diners from the aquarium and fished out by the chef. One cannot have it freshest than this, can one?

I have recently published a short feature in our Facebook Group site: Restaurants in Malta:The Good;The Bad;The Rip-Offs, titled: To Succeed or Not to Succeed in the Restaurant Industry. In this feature I gave six principles that would make a restaurant successful. The Bottega Del Vino at the Hilton Malta, practice these six principles to perfection and which make it one of the very best, up-market Casual Dining Restaurants in Malta.

There is a big difference betwen “good” and “great” food and the cuisine offered by Bottega Del Vino is unbelievably great, the selection mind-boggling in quality choices, with everything prepared and presented impeccably.The selection is unmatched anywhere for quality, with precise service to boot, with a number of servers attending to each table, making sure that food is served to diners on each table together, empty plates cleared immediately and wine and water glasses replenished with the desired liquid regularly, without in any way seeming to impose on the conversation on the table. This creates a simple yet efficient dining experience which is hard to beat.

A bowl of fresh bread was placed on the table with an elegant platter of dips, olives, olive oil and balsamico, and our pre-dinner drinks and water orders were served. Menus and wine lists handed out, and food selections were discussed and debated as the menu lists offered various sublime and exotic dishes both in the starters as well as in the main courses selections.

Our Cuisine Selections:

Starters:

Our choices were individual servings of:

An excellent Orecchiette pasta with freshly made veal ragu which turned out be sublime and nearly a main course in itself;
one mouth watering serving of Prawn Ravioli with calamari rings and tomato compote, admirably presented and delicious;
one Tortellini with goat cheese;
and one Roasted Buffalo Mozzarella wrapped with garlic zucchini on a plum fondue, roquette salad and seasoned with aged balsamic and sweet mustard walnut dressing which was reported to be divine

1. The Orechiette pasta with veal ragu; 2. The Roasted Buffalo Mozzarella; 3. The Prawn Ravioli and calamari rings; 4. Tortellini with goat cheese.

Main Courses:

I went specifically to try out their exquisite Tornedo Rossini which is a prime beef tornedo fillet grilled to order to perfection and served with potato hash and grilled liver foie gras. But when I saw that fresh lobster was available, my taste buds simply changed course.

Main course selections fell on three fresh lobsters, one each for three members of the review team, chosen live from the aquarium and fished out one by one. I always feel a bit of pity for these creatures, but that is part of the food chain I suppose.
The lobsters were taken to the kitchen, cooked to perfection under the grill and beautifully presented with side servings of the freshest green salad ever, freshly cooked chips which were not really required as the portions were large enough, and a small bowl of garlic butter.

There is no other words to describe the presentation, flavours and taste of these lobsters apart from salubrious and exquisite. I have been served lobsters in other venues both in Malta and abroad, but I can state without hesitation that these were the very best ever. These servings at Eur35 per person were worth every euro.

The fourth maincourse was the sublime Tornedo Rossini. Served as stated above on a bed of potato hash, cooked medium as ordered, with a serving of grilled liver foie gras on top. Serving price Eur31.50, also as for the lobsters the quality, preparation and presentation was well worth the price, and which would make the most discerning connoisseur well satisfied.

1,2 and 3: Show the three lobsters perfectly oven baked; 4. The Tornedo Rossini; 5. The Tornedo Rossini split to show the perfect medium grilling.

Desserts:

As expected and as befits the Hilton Malta, desserts are in-house made and the presentation was once again faultless:

Two servings of Chocolate Fondante with chocolate tart and fruit tiramisu cup.
One serving of Chocolate cheesecake with orange icecream and orange sections;
and one serving of Apple Crumble with ice-cream and strawberry praline were selected.

Beautiful servings that complemented an otherwise already exceptional dinner to perfection.

1. The Apple Crumble presentation; 2. The Chocolate Cheesecake; 3 and 4. The Chocolate Fondant.

Two good bottles of chilled Sancerre Grand Riserve 2010, water and espressos complemented the dinner.

Value: The value of a dinner at the Bottega Del Vino can vary from as little as Eur20 for the Hilton Classics Menu choices, anywhere up to Eur58 per person for choices from the a la carte menu depending on food choices, excluding wine, water and any drinks. Soups and veloute prices range from Eur7.50 to Eur12.50; Antipasti prices range from Eur10.80 to Eur19.50 for the Angus rib-eye carpaccio; Pasta and rice from Eur10.80 to Eur16; Main courses selections are exquisite with lobsters, prime beef fillet tornedos; 400grm Angus beef rib-eye and sirloin steaks; chicken; lamb and veal full rib racks, etc. Price range Eur19 to Eur36.
Quality, presentations and portion size of any main course is considered to be worth every euro. Cuisine is well above the average of the very best restaurants.

Wine List: The wine list has been compiled to complement the delectable cuisine on the menu. Prices vary, but when one is choosing a wine at such a venue, it is advisable to choose the food first; then decide if its either a red or a white wine that would pair best with the food chosen; then decide on your grape preference; pick the country of choice for the wine; then choose the one most affordable from that country. Trying to read the whole wine-list is mind boggling and takes time.

REVIEWERS REMARKS:

Ambience: Very Good +.
Atmosphere and Decor: Very Good.
Cuisine Quality: Excellent.
Preparation and Presentation: Excellent.
Harmony of Menu: Very Good.
Service: Very Good +.
Wine list and mark-up: Very Good.
Value: Very Good and commensurate with the quality of the cuisine and venue.

RATING: 9.5/10 Fine Dining in an Up-Market Casual Dining atmosphere.

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Follow-up 2013 inspection as per dinner on the 8th of March, 2013.

The pre-dinner dips and olives with the bread basket.

The following is the cuisine ordered and served on this occasion:

Starters:

Mosaic pressed foie gras and rabbit terrine;

Warm moist pumpkin and quail breast salad;

Spinach and ricotta ravioli (described on the menu as canneloni, but were in fact ravioli) with chorizo sausage, cherry tomatoes and basil cream sauce;

Deep fried breaded brie with tomato fondue, spinach and walnut salad.

Main Courses:

Medley of pork with pan fried fillet of pork wrapped in ginger bread crust, braised pork belly, with apple puree, buttered cabbage and truffle pomme puree;

Braisesd lamb shank with Moroccan chickpeas ragout;

and two, grilled, beef fillet steaks.

The beef fillet presentations were very different from those presented during the 2012 inspections, as one can compare from the photos published in this section as well as the photos published in the 2013 inspections above. In the 2012 menu, the beef fillet was described as Tornedo Rosssini and was served with foie gras as is more appropriate to fine dining.

Desserts:

Mango cheesecake with coconut sorbet and caramelised pineapple;

Medley of homemade ice cream and sorbets;

Carved seasonal fruit;

and trio of apples with warm apple cake, berries, apple bavarios and green apple sorbet.

One bottle of a very good Primitivo, two bottles of water and espressos.

Service was good but some details were missing during this visit. A comment that I wish to make is the fact that the Spinach and Ricotta Canneloni as detailed on the menu were in fact ravioli and not canneloni. Also as happens more often than one wishes to mention in mosts restaurants, when for example, two fillets are ordered, one cooked medium-rare and the other cooked medium, although the Chef would have cooked the steaks as ordered excellently and without fault, these are always mixed up on the way from the kitchen to the table, as happened on this occasion. I was served with the medium and my wife was served with the medium-rare, which should have been the other way round. Not that she complained, because it was the far better steak, but I was not very happy, although the steak quality was excellent.

Costs per per person average food only: Eur48.60. Wine, water and espressos Eur40.

RATING for the present visit: 9/10.