It all started with about the longest journey possible in the Maltese islands. From Marsalforn via Marsa to Marsaxlokk.

Having left our dear friend Nicki
fast asleep in Gozo, we headed down South on this seemingly long journey of sorts. Well although I admit that the distance is far less than many people would commute to work on a daily basis abroad, it still took us just over two and a half hours in all. This is roughly the equivalent of flying from Malta to Paris. Is that a lot or a little? I’m not quite sure really, it depends on how you look at it I suppose, so I’ll let you be the judge of that.

After Nicki’s stylish personal extravagance we were meeting Jeremy and Michael known for their vehicular extravagance. For they come with a spectacular convertible Bentley which they somehow always manage to plonk down right in front of any restaurant and which according to them, never fails to draw in passing trade into the fortunate establishment.

Terrone is a very recent restaurant with a very distinctive Italian flavour throughout. You may choose to dine indoors our outdoors and as Jeremy and Michael’s empty promises to stop smoking for the last 15 years have led absolutely nowhere, you can easily guess where we sat.

This was great for us too as although the restaurant is well set back from the water’s edge, you still manage to catch a lovely view of the colourful boats and the bay.

We were very warmly welcomed by everyone there including the very helpful Irish Tom, who kindly drew us maps and wrote down useful hints for our forthcoming driving holiday in Ireland.

The menu is exclusively Italian and is changed every day. It featured a good mix of starters and mains of typical Italian dishes, which all however seemed to include some original ingredients, making it intriguingly and distinctly different from the expected norm.

We had Sicilian mussels for starters which were truly delicious and far superior to those we sampled the evening before. Their taste and texture as well as the accompanying zuppa was of a very high standard.

We had a very simple prosciutto di Soave with baby figs, which was as divine as it was straightforward.

There was also a superb combination of grilled peaches with Gorgonzola and greens with a tasty dressing.

And a wonderous caponata which besides the usual ingredients also had carrots, celery, raisins, nuts and honey. The combination was heavenly and the overall texture was quite firm and crisp, rather than the usual soft expected version. It was most definitely one of the best caponatas that I have ever had the pleasure of sampling.

For mains we had a plain grilled pagel which was a bit disappointing and which did not have the lovely taste and texture one would expect from a truly fresh fish.

Also a mixed fish grill which consisted of baby swordfish, cuttlefish and king prawns served on zucchini and brown lentils with an anchovy and rosemary sauce. This was a very pleasing dish and the pairing between the fish and the lentils was excellent.

We also had a risotto with shrimps, king prawns, zucchini, mint and lemon, which was very finely prepared. The rice too was served just at the right texture.

So with the exception of the pagel the food was simply excellent. Unfortunately we often encounter disappointing fish in many restaurants, where either it lacks freshness or it is not cooked quite right.

The wine list exclusively features Maltese and Italian wines. But at least what it lacks in international variety it makes up for in choice from these two countries of origin. So we went for the La Cala Vermentino di Sardengna of Sella & Mosca fame. It proved to be an excellent choice and accompanied the food perfectly. I enjoy vermentino much more than many other Italian grapes. And Sella & Mosca always tends to be a label of quality.

The service throughout was flawlessly executed both by Tom and by the chef patron’s gracious father. The only tiny hick up we encountered, which I am mentioning because it tends to be such a common mistake in so many restaurants, is that we were not asked whether we wanted to taste our second bottle of wine. I believe that there is still a common misconception that you taste the wine to see whether you like it or not. Similarly some also wrongly assume that if the bottle is a screw top and therefore cannot be corked, that tasting then becomes superfluous.

When you order a wine you’re supposed to know it or at least to know what you’re ordering. That is why a description of each of the wines on the list is so important. You can also ask for details and recommendations from the server taking your order, who in principle should know the wines well. If after all this the wine is simply not to your personal taste, the restaurant does not really have any obligation to change it for you without charging.

You taste the wine to check whether there is something wrong with that particular bottle, such as being corked, or off, or oxidized, or produced badly or even if it is being served at the desired temperature. And if the first bottle was entirely fine there is still absolutely no guarantee that the second one will be too. Hence every consecutive bottle of wine should be tasted and this should always be done in a clean glass.

So back to Terrone where in a very sensible attitude we decided to limit further calories by skipping dessert. We had expessos, Avernas and grappas, which we later realized were offered on the house. Very kind and generous indeed.

I only tend to mention prices when this is worth mentioning, usually when the establishment offers either very good or very poor value. Well in this can it is certainly worth mentioning that this meal including two bottles of water and two of wine only cost a very reasonable €140 for the four of us. We did only have three main courses but I still find this to be very good value.

So we thoroughly thanked our gracious hosts for their good choice of restaurant, before they jumped into their flashy Bentley and sped off into the distance, leaving everyone there gobsmacked in awe and admiration.