We have been very happily dining at Tmun for many many years now, first in their original location followed by their second premises in Xlendi, then at their present location in Mgarr, Gozo. Naturally the advantage now is that you can very easily just go for a lunch or dinner by leaving your car at Cirkewwa, walk across, treat yourself to a wonderful meal, then sail back to Malta, without even having to drive across, making for an overall lovely outing.

So we were very pleased when Nicki Stivala decided to organise his 47th (or was it 48th?) birthday luncheon party at this esteemed establishment. And being the organiser extraordinaire that he is, he as always managed to arrange for a wonderful set menu, along with very decent wines, and all at extremely good value!

Now I must admit I wasn’t expecting much, in the sense that judging or commenting about a restaurant when serving a set menu for some 25 guests is not quite the same as doing it with an a la carte table of two. In such circumstances I usually set ‘adequate’ as my highest expectation. Similarly I would never dream of reviewing a restaurant on say Christmas, Valentine’s or Mother’s Day. In any case, this is even more unlikely to happen as I have long learned to avoid such occasions like the plague and make it a point to go out a day or two before or after.

So after having missed our intended ferry, as a direct consequence ofJeremy Cope and Michael’s morning wooziness, we finally made it to Tmun where the party was already in full swing. Several glasses of prosecco later, we were seated at three separate tables and in spite of our many desperate efforts, my poor wife and myself ended up at what very clearly turned out to be the bad table. This consisted of Jeremy and Michael, two nice gentleman – one of whom was Julian Boffa, and two rather annoying women whose sense of humour was just as exaggerated as their dizzying height. I am of course referring to Francesca Farrugia and Lillian Chetcuti Riolo, who simply insisted on being seated right next to me, in spite of my many desperate attempts to avoid them. Moreover, not that it makes a great difference, but it is always a nice added bonus when you are sitting along with the host. On this occasion however, this was clearly not our case, as Nicki very effectively steered clear of our freaks and outcasts table.

To return to more pleasant matters, having frequented Tmun for so many years, we have been able to observe their very marked progression in the form of a gradual transformation of their overall cuisine. What started off as relatively straightforward and uncomplicated, good, wholesome home-style cooking – and I say this with every joy and respect, in memory of so many very delicious meals back then, eventually started to gain in momentum in the form of refinement, finesse and sophistication, To unfold the whole picture, this daunting kitchen has been in the firm and unrelenting grips of chef patron Jane, while the front of house is most efficiently managed by seasoned, suave and savvy husband Emanuel Buttigieg aka Leli. Upon their relocated to the new custom-built venue in Mgarr, Jane insisted on having an open kitchen. This allows for the easy flinging of frying pans straight onto Leli’s head, just in case he might as much as even hint that he’s the boss with any of the diners…

But as most other intriguing stories, this one doesn’t end here. What we originally remembered to be a little urchin back in Xlendi, who on busy nights was usually in the way, going not by the name of Paul but Pawlu, as his mum used to point out, starting taking interest in his mum’s ample skills and craftswomanship. And this is where the story becomes the most perilous and where I have to use extreme caution in the words I choose. The incidental, or should I say accidental, uses of that open kitchen might in certain cases not remain limited to husbands only… So this brings us to that proverbial master and pupil dilemma, which I definitely will not entertain. Mother and son are without a doubt working as a formidable team, in perfect harmony, to produce some stunning food with all the marks of a great kitchen. It must obviously be a classic case of them perfectly complimenting each other, one with decades of solid experience and the other with the introduction of new progressive ideas.

Suffice to say that since Paul Buttigieg has matured into a great talent equalling that of his mother’s stature, the cuisine at Tmun has attained even greater heights, adding that contemporary flair and latest cutting edge, to make their kitchen today second to none. And this was on a bad day with our group set menu!

This glorious meal started off with a very tasty and somewhat daring amuse bouche in the form of Maltese sausage in barbecue sauce with a wild fidloqqom flower (blue borage). This set the scene for very cleverly combined, unexpected ingredients and above all intensely tasty food, from the word go. For starters we were all served a magnificent mixed dish, aptly labelled as Antipasti. This consisted of tuna carpaccio, tempura battered prawns, monkfish arancini, fried calamari, lamb curry samosas, Asian pork rolls, fried brie and pea soup. In short, these were fortunately ever so tiny bite-sized portions, which impressed not only by their astounding variety, but also by their goodness and above all by the fabulous and eclectic abundance of so many lavish and bold tastes. Just to mention a few highlights, the Asian fare offered lovely strong curry flavours, the soup was overflowing with natural goodness topped off with lovely seasoning and the tuna carpaccio was among the finest I have ever eaten.

As for mains there was a choice based on the logical options of either meat or fish. The fish was again a stunning medley of swordfish, calamari with an Asian sauce, and king prawns with a beurre noisette. Now I must admit that I am not aways too keen on such wildly hybrid dishes in the name of the once trendy fusion cuisine. But in cases like this, where all ingredients and flavours blend in together to somehow create a harmonious dish which is even better than each of its individual and seemingly incongruous components, I realise why fusion was actually created.

The other main was one of the house’s signature dishes – a Uruguayan beef tagliata, prepared from the bavette cut or flank, which happens to be very popular in France, but seemingly less in Malta. It was served with ruccola, parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil. At this point, Julian my left hand neighbour, explained to me why he prefers, and was indeed served, a whole steak rather than a tagliata. His main reason being that tagliata cools down quicker. And while I will not argue with him on this point, I found that contrary to common belief sliced steak can in fact present many advantages. Firstly for people like me who are very easily intimidated by massive slabs of meat, it is much more pleasing to the eye. As I like beef either blue or rare, depending on the amount of fat and marbling it contains, tagliata actually allows for more variety in textures, rather than one relatively huge and raw chunk of never-ending meat. And also this allows for a much greater surface area which will be seasoned and in direct contact with the grill, all making for a tastier way of eating your steak. So needless to say this dish too was plain and simple enjoyment and a meat lover’s dream.

To end this stunning meal we were given a choice between what is aptly termed as Jane’s famous cheese cake, which I have already sampled on countless occasions and a heavenly chocolate and orange fondant with Marsala zabaione ice cream. I personally found the latter to be superior. And this not in any way due to any shortcoming from the cheesecake, which as always was flawless, but purely due to the exquisite presentation, intense tastes and the remarkable and pronounced flavours of the fondant and accompanying ice cream of the latter.

For wines we were served the very decent Corvo Glicine and/or Castillero del Diablo carmenere as part of our set menu. And when we very quickly finished our allocation, Leli very kindly offered his expertise first by suggesting a Chilean De Martino carmenere Maipo Valley, which was smooth, silky and well balanced, but perhaps lacked just a little bit of body. Following this he proposed a finer Chilean Sol de Chile Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere, which was more intense and tannic, with a spicy and smoky character. In normal graceful Leli style, many of the extra drinks we were purchasing were definitely being charged at well below normal list prices and our proposals to top up our payments were firmly refused.

Believe it or not, the set menu including water and the initial half bottle of wine, was charged at € 40.00 per person, For such a splendid menu this was simply a giveaway price, leaving us all wondering what sort of extreme favours Nicki must have offered to obtain such a wonderful deal. But besides the food I would also like to mention the fact that the service was absolutely impeccable and in spite of our loud, rowdy, unruly and often even vulgar behaviour, we were treated like royalty. So much so that Martina, one of the exceptional waitresses there, manifested a sense of humour which was inversely proportionate to her height – and believe you me she is not at all a tall person. This came in stark contrast to the two ogresses at our table, who also insisted on lowering the level of the conversation to abysmal depths, something I personally find very shocking and always firmly refuse to participate in.

So I would like to end this review by thanking everyone at Tmun primarily Leli, Jane and Paul, but also Martina for being such a great sport, as well as all the other staff, for what can only be considered as a truly splendid meal. And also last but not least, I would of course like to thank Nicki, our remarkable albeit aging host. I love him dearly and even if he refused to sit at our table, I will continue to thank until the day I die, which, based upon all this eating and drinking…