Sciacca Grill — Attraction in Valletta

4 stars because I never rate with 5 it is a way to keep up the good work and this restaurant is a good restaurant provided the customer knows what he/she is ordering and how the meat should be prepared.. we ordered a 500gr Canadian ribeye medium rare and a spicy sausage and carpaccio with some local Merlot wine… the steak, the sausage and carpaccio was excellent no complaints whatsoever..!! Should I go again to this restaurant..? Definitely yes..!! I should mention that the Colombian waiter and the Serbian assistant were very caring and attentive.. the place was not busy at the time we had lunch..!! Well done guys..!!

REVISED: Returned to the place with a company of 4 on Thursday and a month later after my first visit.. It is quite busy and there are different waiters this time and in front of the “ butcher’s” window there was this tall slim gentleman with a Latin look..,I didn’t got his name, is the one he taking the orders for the meat..! Obviously he must be used to some silly tourist coming in there not knowing what they want so he came to write the order while I was looking at the available meat pieces in order to decide for all of us..! I was looking carefully and he took it like I don’t know what I want…so he started bossing me around… and I ignored his arrogant style… because I was eating premium meat before he was born..!😅 Any way we asked for 3Χ400gr Canadian ribeyes, the steaks were not cut at this time and I made the tragic mistake NOT to wait for the cut and the weighting… because no steak can be exactly the weight you want, (advice: have the meat cut and weighed in your presence) When the meat arrived at the table, steaks were paradoxically cut in pieces although we never asked for it but in this way the meat looked larger on tray but it wasn’t..! When we put the pieces on our plates we realised that the size of them was not of steaks 400 gr..!! I call the manager and asked him if what he sees is 400gr steaks…to his credit he realised I was right and he brought us an additional steak to fix the problem..! The steaks were very good and very well cooked no complaints there..! When the bill came I saw a salat charged which supposed to be a replacement for steamed vegetables that I didn’t want so I complained again to the manager… the same waiter from the butcher’s window arrived and obviously didn’t like the my complains of giving us less meat or changing us extra for a side salat… and he was like trying angrily to deduct the salat from the bill… but I wasn’t going to wait for that and we left….!! I believe the restaurant management should realise that not all customers are silly tourists according to their beliefs about customers and should show more respect to all customers..!!

Should I go back? I am not sure because I feel I should trust a restaurant in every way.. and the message I got yesterday was that I have to watch out.. and that is killing the fun of dinning there..!!😅

After the reply from the owner I feel I shoud provide an answer..!!

Dear Sir, you are right about 2 things the date it was Thursday not Friday and we were 4 not 5 as initially we panned.. sorry my mistake..!! However the rest of what you write are inaccurate:

1. You guys must me kind of magicians to be able to cut the meat exactly 400gr there is no way to do that.. in any case you saw the meat with your own eyes that there was no way our steaks were of 400gr…(and why did you cut them in pieces I don’t remember ask you to do that..!!) this is the reason why very correctly you decided to compensate us with another steak..!! But now with what you writing it is sounds like you were doing us a favour because we complain…! I should have ask you at that time to take the steaks back and put them on the scale, so now you wouldn’t say that you did a favour to us out of courtesy..!! I regret I did not ask in the very beginning to cut and weight the meat in front of me… like I did on my first visit…

As far as the salat goes I ask the waiter to substitute my veggies with salat and he agreed to that then why you charge...

Quite possibly the best meal I've ever had.

I'll preface this by saying that my recent trip to Malta was nothing short of spectacular. It's been a tough couple of years culminating in a messy breakup from what I'm starting to realize was a toxic relationship. Heading to Malta with a buddy was part of the healing process. Every single meal we had in every restaurant was exceptionally good.

It is significant then to say that the two meals i had at Sciacca were completely in a league of their own.

The restaurant is beautiful and classy without being ostentatious with contemporary style.

The staff are incredible. Not only are they all very polite and welcoming but they are all incredibly knowledgeable both of the cuts on sale (which change daily, there is no set menu) but of the incredibly extensive drinks menu too. On my last night in the city, I was able to treat myself to a few expensive whiskys that I'm reliably informed are difficult to come by back home in the UK.

The food was flawless. As mentioned above, there is no set menu. Instead the restaurant picks and chooses the very best cuts to cater on the day. For my first visit, I chose the smoked shortribs. I'd never had shortrib before and honestly the experience was a high point in my life. Several times during the meal I caught myself just staring in disbelief at how good it was. On my second visit (my last night in Malta), I was recommended the picanha (medium/medium rare) which was also exceptionally good. Perfectly prepared and rich in flavour.

Overall, I honestly can't recommend Sciacca Grill enough. It is absolutely a must to visit if you find yourself in Valletta. In my humble opinion, other restaurants worldwide could learn a lot from how this...

I've dined at Sciacca in Valletta multiple times over the years, and it continues to deliver when it comes to food — especially if you're after quality meat and a good choice of starters.

On our most recent visit (table of four), we began with a selection of starters that set the tone well: the mixed sausages were full of flavour, and the mushroom, egg, and truffle dish was a very good. The main meat dishes were equally impressive, all cooked with skill and care, and the sides complemented them well.

However, it’s hard to ignore that the service has noticeably declined. What was once an efficient and attentive front-of-house team now feels understaffed or undertrained — or both. Despite the restaurant’s higher price point, we found ourselves constantly having to flag down staff just to order. A simple request for a straw was forgotten entirely, and we eventually had to get one ourselves. The wrong bottle of wine was brought to our table (though, to be fair, it was still a good wine so we did not complain), and the service itself felt rushed and inattentive — such as wine being poured across the table mid-conversation rather than from a more professional position, including plates being placed across too - basic training that you wouldn't expect to see lacking here.

This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed a dip in the service quality, which is disappointing given how good the food consistently is. Sciacca has the potential to be a standout experience in Valletta, and at times it has been, but service needs to match the standard of the kitchen. I hope they improve on this, as I would still recommend it for the food alone, especially to meat lovers. Just go prepared...