Round-Up of some top restaurants visited for lunch or dinner during January and February, 2014.

Dinner at Venus Restaurant - Friday, 21st Feb.,2014.

Old haunts and favourite restaurants are like magnets, they always have that certain pull on you which makes you want to go and sample their food again and again. Venus Restaurant in Bugibba is most probably our favourite restaurant in Bugibba - good food, good service, good value for money, and co-owned and run by Michael Gera as front-of-house and Mark Briffa Chef-patron, both of whom are passionate about what they do as restaurateurs.

Visited for the first time this year, on Friday, 21st February, for dinner with friends, with food selections as shown in the following photographs, taken of each presentation as served, and which tell their own story.

Price for the dinner as shown excluding wine, but including water and coffees: EUR152 (EUR38 per person between four persons). Wine: Alto Adige Pinot Grigio EUR15.50.

Venus Restaurant is a WRMC Blue Riband Restaurant, and comes highly recommended.

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Four course lunch at the exclusive Ristotrante L’Antico Forziere, at Deruta limits of Perugia, Umbria, Italy on February, 27th.

This restaurant is a traditional Italian restaurant situated in a country house, and which is run by the Rodella family. Twin brothers Stefano and Andrea are the executive Chefs, with the front of house run by their elder brother and his wife. Tremendous hospitality and passion for food and service without comparison.

Cuisine is produced from fresh, local produce, meats and game in most cases, with an exception here and there, but cooked and presented with innovative flair and creativity which produce a sensation of tastes and flavours.

One can clearly follow the photos published hereunder for a description of the food ordered and served. One thing of note is, that although the food and service are of the highest standard, prices are extremely moderate, with a four course dinner as shown, being priced at about EUR45 per person, including water and coffees. Wine can be taken to the restaurant by the client and a token corkage fee is charged.

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Lunch at Beppe’s Restaurant in Marsalforn, Gozo.

February 20, 2026

I had heard a lot of good things over a period of time about Beppe’s in Marsalforn, but I never really thought that I was missing a real gourmet treat, until we went to this restaurant for lunch today, whilst on a visit to Gozo. Ordered a selection of Beppe’s antipasti misto with a taste of his excellent home-made tortelloni; see photos for the starters selection and description. Main course, a largish Sea Bream, from the day’s catch, bursting with freshness was shown to us, and was selected to be cooked grilled. Desserts: home-made pannacotta and Beppe’s home-made, coffee flavoured- Valrhona chocolate fondant, one of the very best I’ve had so far. Antipasto and amuse bouche were also served pre-dinner.

Greco di Tufo and a Masseria dei Carmelitani Gavi di Gavi were shared between six persons; water; espressos and complementary liqueurs. Average price all inclusive EUR40 per person. Excellent cuisine; very well prepared and presented; very good service and the Chef’s personal attention to all clients, made this lunch a highly commendable experience. Very good throughout.

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Lunch at Michael’s in Valletta:
Wednesday, 19th Feb.,2014.

Michael’s in Valletta is slowly but surely becoming one of the best restaurants in the City of Valletta. Situated in the ex- Civil Service Club building in Archbishop Street, the premises itself has a lot of history and heritage, and is the ideal location for a fine dining establishment. Michael Cauchi assisted by his son Daniel are doing credit to this establishment as Chef-Patron/s, and Michael’s long experience in the restaurant business is the trade mark here. The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, and diners can see their food being prepared and plated if one desires.

Lunch (Wednesday 19th Feb.,) was enjoyable as always at Michael’s, with a choice of deep fried calamari to share as starters and two Uruguayian beef rib-eye steaks cooked to perfection as main courses. Dessert choice was a sample of their home made ice-cream and home-made layered orange cheesecake and chocolate mousse served with passion fruit and berry ice-cream. One bottle of water and espressos. An Amuse Bouche of freshly made mushroom soup was served pre-lunch orders. Price between two persons EUR76.8 (EUR 38.4 per person), excluding wine. Food and service very good. Well priced wine list, with some good choices at just EUR 12 a bottle. We did enjoy a bottle of Valpolicella Classico from a good winery which rounded off our lunch admirably.

Michael’s is a WRMC Blue Riband Restaurant, and is highly recommended.

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Sunday lunch at La Nostra Padrona Restaurant, Marsaxlokk.

Sunday, February, 24th

Being a beautiful and sunny day, we decided to drive down to Marsaxlokk for lunch, having checked with this restaurant for table availability first of course. Marsaxlokk was chock-a-block with visitors this Sunday, and all restaurants in this location were full of diners, both local as well as foreign. Competition is at its utmost in this otherwise quiet fishing village, but it seems to come awake with hundreds of visitors every Sunday, especially when the weather permits such as today. Good luck to the restaurateurs in this area.

La Nostra Padrona, has recently gone through a management change, new staff employed, front of house run and managed extremely efficiently by the owners’ family members, daughter Stephanie and nephew William. The kitchen staff seem to have been also revamped and led by Chef Frankie Farrugia, another young and up-coming good chef, with his own outstanding ideas of gourmet dishes. No wonder the place was fully booked.

Food ordered: We did not really look at the menu as we new that what we wanted was some of their very fresh fish and seafood, and once we had selected the fish from the display, orders for starters, water and wine were placed. An amuse bouche of bruschetta was served immediately, once the wine and water were brought over. Starters of their home-made Tortellacci alla Nostra Padrona - stuffed with fresh fish and served with seafood and king prawns; and a serving of their rich and thick fresh fish soup.
Main courses: Frutti di Mare - seafood platter with a variety of mussels, king prawns, langoustine, medium prawns, octopus and fazolari cooked in garlic, wine and herbs; and a serving of a very fresh 600gm Rock fish, grilled and oven finished to perfection. Side servings of roast potatoes and freshly cooked vegetables complemented the main courses.
Dessert: One dessert was ordered of a home-made apple crumble with a serving of vanilla ice-cream and cream. One bottle of a South African Sauvignon Blanc, one bottle of water, espressos, and complementary Avernas.

Price total: Excluding the wine which was a very reasonable Eur17.50 on its own came up to a very acceptable and reasonable EUR79 between two persons; (EUR39.50 per person).
Very good food, very good service, and very good value for money considering the freshness of the food served. Worth a try. Booking is essential for weekends especially Sunday lunch.

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Lunch at Pepe Nero Restaurant -Valletta WF - January 5, 2026.

First Sunday lunch of 2014 - at Pepe Nero Restaurant at the Valletta Waterfront. Excellent meat choices with selections from Ireland; Argentina; Uruguay, which includes prime beef cuts,Wild Boar, Venison and pork. Gourmet burgers; seafood including lobster. Very Good pizza worth going for to enjoy with a bottle of wine. Good value at approx EUR38 per person for the cuisine shown (for three adults, three starters, three main courses, etc.,), including two bottles of water, and espressos, but excluding wine cost. It goes without saying that a very good, red, bottle of wine was paired with this food selection. Been there before, shall return in due course without a doubt.

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Pintonino at the Valletta Waterfront - February 2, 2026.

Sunday lunch at Pintonino at the Valletta Waterfront. Seafood antipasti platter to share, between three persons, with fresh, Mediterranean, red king prawns, neonati and prawn fritters and fried squid as starter; Fettucine Astice with half a lobster per portion. The lobster was fished out live from the aquarium by the chef; fresh dot cooked acqua pazza; Apple pie desserts; still and sparkling water; bottle of a very good Falanghina white wine; coffees and complementary liqueurs. Price EUR60 per per person. Excellent food, very good service. Pintonino Restaurant is a WRMC Blue Riband restaurant.

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Dinner at Al Molo -Friday ,January 17, 2014.

An enjoyable, quiet, but up-scale dinner at Al Molo Restaurant at Portomaso. As we have always maintained the secret of good food is the sourcing of the best and freshest ingredients, and there is no doubt that Executive Chef Andrew Pace is a master at this, a practice which naturally translates into great cuisine. 11 photos in album. Click on the album’s title to view all photos, or click on any photo to see descriptive caption of each presentation. Price per person for this dinner excluding wine, but including water and coffees EUR44.

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Dinner at Palazzo Preca Restaurant - January 10, 2026.

Palazzo Preca Restaurant in Strait Street, Valletta, and its young Chef-Patron Ramona Preca have come a long way since they opened about three years ago. The restaurant is operated by the Preca family who also operate Tal-Familja Restaurant in Marsascala. A very good selection of traditional Maltese dishes, Italian oriented dishes, and general favourites. Desserts are home-made with the apple tart tatin and Ramona’s Maltese trifle way-out favourites. Price per person for dinner as shown, average about EUR45 including water and coffees, but excluding wine. Fish is charged at EUR4.75 per 100gm which is reasonable. A very satisfying dinner, with very good service, and value. There are twelve photos with descriptive caption against each, in this album. Click on the title to view all photos, or click on any photo to enlarge and see the caption.

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Full degustation dinner at Tarragon Restaurant - January 4, 2026.

Degustation menu with antipasti, starters, main course and dessert - at Tarragon Restaurant, St.Paul’s bay in December 2013. The degustation Menu from Tarragon Restaurant in St. Paul’s Bay for four persons sharing - in December, 2013. Innovation in presentation. Very good use of modern, nitrogen cooking at minus 190 degrees. Fresh ingredients, excellent flavours and tastes. Album has 17 photos. Click on title to view all or click on any photo to see the description of the presentation. Check-out the full album to see the sequence of presentations - just click on the album’s title.

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Dinner at Q Bar & Restaurant -Valletta Waterfront- January 3, 2026.

Dinner at Q Bar & Restaurant at the Valletta Waterfront, with friends on a Friday evening. This restaurant has come a long way since it was taken over and refurbished by Patrick Spiteri. Portions are overtly large but good nonetheless. Reasonably good value at about EUR35/40 per person, excluding wine cost, but including water and espressos. Must make more room for indoors, dinner table seating, utilizing the total floor area; with soft jazz music at a low level, to give a classical, yet ultra modern atmosphere for discerning clients to enjoy. Worth try. Nice atmosphere on the outside section also, on a warm afternoon or evening. Click on any photo to see descriptive caption. VOSS Artesian Water from Norway is represented in Malta by P.J.Sutters (Marketing) Ltd.

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