Lovage Bistro is anything but that. The word bistro usually evokes a quick and casual diner, rather than the commendable level of sophistication this full scale restaurant truly offers. Similarly, although I am more than aware that it is has now been considered somewhat cool for some time to give even a smart restaurant a nonsensical and meaningless name such as this, which refers to a variety of celery, frankly I am rather eager for this somewhat deficient trend to end.

Lovage is a modern, bright and airy establishment in a rather dull street in Qawra, which is evidently doing its very best to greatly enhance the average level of dining in the area. This is I suppose a good thing, although on the other hand one might reason that such a good restaurant deserves a better and more prestigious location.

Four of us were there for lunch and as there was plenty of space available they very kindly and smartly allowed us to choose any table we pleased. The instant we were seated we were asked if we desired any drinks and were handed menus and wine lists in a flash. This for me is without a doubt the way it should always be. As you are always accompanied to your table by a staff member, ideally that same staff member brings along menus and wine list with them and asks you for drinks immediately. This also avoids an additional unnecessary visit by the staff to your table and saves them time too. There are certain things such as this and asking for your bill which do not merit any waiting whatsoever.

I also found the menu very well composed, interesting and balanced and offering a very good and varied choice. The wine list, although not fantastic, is adequate, however I must admit that I made a rather poor choice going for the Cefiro Chardonnay Riserva. I am familiar with various Chilean chardonnay riserva wines which are usually fruity, floral and very pleasing to the palate, while this one unfortunately, was not.

Besides the relatively extensive menu there were also quite a number of specials which were handily written on a portable blackboard which was left at our table until we ordered. We were therefore more than pleased with all the initial proceedings and were also offered a tasty and very well presented fish croquette on a bed of marinated mushrooms as an amuse bouche.

For starters we had a vol au vent with fresh salmon, prawns, zucchini and cream which was very pleasing and combined a number of rich flavours. A chicken liver vol au vent drizzled with cream and asparagus, which was equaly enjoyable and well prepared. And champagne battered prawns served on marinated mushrooms and cherry tomatoes which was a fine and interesting dish, quite different from the usual and customary prawns which are only too often served.

For mains we had a steamed cippolaza which was prepared and served whole as requested. As we immensely prefer fish not to be even in the very slightest way overcooked or dryish, we are now actually indicating when placing our order that we would rather have it undercooked. Although this rarely fails to attract a few odd looks and even possibly a few equally awkward remarks, it makes a lot of sense and goes a long way in ensuring that it is cooked just right. As we all know good fresh fish is perfectly fine even if eaten raw, so I would much rather have it relatively underdone at the centre and perfect throughout the rest of its flesh.

In theory when perfectly prepared a fish is meant to be cooked in exactly the same manner and to the same extent throughout. However in practice I find that there is sometimes a visible difference between the level of cooking on the outside and that next to the backbone. For this reason I far prefer having a little bit of semi-sushi in the middle along with moist succulent flesh as the rest of the fish. In this case however, the fish was cooked simply to perfection throughout and wasn’t cooked one second too much, which is exactly how we like it. We are also more fond of this totally plain version, whereby all you have to do is to add a tiny trickle of olive oil and squeeze some lemon, if even that at all, than the Sicilian method of adding cherry tomatoes, white wine, garlic and herbs. And I must say that as far as cippolazza is concerned this was about as good as it gets.

We also had pesce san pietro or john dory, which was served with a beurre noisette. It was a nice change from the more common plain version and added taste and texture to the delicate fish. There was also a perfectly satisfactory rump steak which was thoroughly enjoyed by its proud devourer.

We decided to skip desserts and had a nice expresso and a couple of white ports instead, the last of which was very kindly offered by Matthew Schembri the chef patron.

It was overall a very well prepared and pleasant meal which combined good service and a high level of cuisine, and which merits yet another congratulatory mention on their excellent menu.