Terrone — Restaurant in Birgu

Let me start by saying I really wish I wasn't writing a negative review for this place. This is my 4th visit to Terrone but my 1st visit to have a full meal rather than enjoy more than their drinks menu which is what my previous visits consisted of. Having always enjoyed the atmosphere and having even sat down an enjoyed a drink with the owner/manger last year I decided to make a booking and take my parents an aunt to have a nice evening and enjoy the full menu.

I will say I visited last week just for drinks and felt slightly unwelcomed by a staff member who made me and some friends feel like we weren't welcome to order a 2nd drink (because they were closing in 30 minutes!!) even though they were continuing to bring food to other patrons. Still their lovely staff member Simon/Sion was very welcoming and sweet so I put this experience down to a one-off staff attitude issue.... HOWEVER and here comes the negative feedback...

My opinion of Terrone and feel towards this place was completely ruined this evening. Everything was going well until my Mum an aunt who had ordered the chargrilled octopus found it to be chewy and not to their taste. My Mum loves octopus and did mention she specifically wanted to order it because she only eats it when going out for a meal.

Now perhaps this octopus was cooked differently to how she and my aunt are used to it being cooked... and maybe other people may have eaten it (I will say my father tried a bit towards the centre and he too said it was too raw and chewy). Regardless my mum politely told the lovely and attentive waitress that she wasn't enjoying it and the waitress apologised and said she would get it changed. What happened next is what ruined the rest of our evening and for me as some who has worked previously for years in hospitality and still have family that run restaurants in London I would say is the number one DON'T DO when running a restaurant. The man who I can only assume is the owner/manger as he was the same Australian fella who I'd enjoyed a drink with last year abruptly arrived and started to tell my mum she is wrong and the octopus was cooked perfectly and that he wanted her to come inside so he could show her why she was wrong.

Now regardless of whether he agreed with her or not the fact is you DON'T come to a table of your patrons whilst others are still eating and start an uncomfortable, rude and awkward atmosphere with an older lady thus ruining EVERYONE'S meal not just the person that wasn't happy. I was enjoying my food and so was my father but this man's attitude towards my mum put a sour taste in my mouth that wasn't there before.

My mum wasn't rude to the waitress nor to this guy even though he made her feel very uncomfortable and afterwards upset. It wasn't until I stepped in and asked for a resolution to this that he finally stopped telling her she was wrong.

Rule number one of hospitality: make your customers feel welcome.

Rule number two: if the customer is not happy seek a way to make them feel better.

Now don't get me wrong I have come across MANY rude and aggressive customers in my years who are trying to pull a fast one but even after this we continued to order dessert, coffees and cocktails with no issue so the least the owner/manger could have done was to return to the table to chat with us and at the very least appease the situation. He did not. For the rest of the evening he cowardly avoided our table at all costs. Which in my opinion is unforgivable.

What I will say is that yet again the evening was only made better by the brilliantly attentive and welcoming service of Simon/Sion who chatted with us and apologised for any awkwardness we had been made to feel. He even politely dealt with the bill at the end of the meal when I respectfully pointed out 2 extra cocktails had been added that weren't ordered.

My advice to the owners is sit down with this young waiter of yours and let him give you, your managers and the rest of your staff a lesson in good hospitality service... I think you'll learn a...

The picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk is well known for its luzzu and other small boats in vibrant colours, for its larger than life Sunday market and for its numerous seafood restaurants found all over the village's seafront. Situated in the core of the village, it is no surprise that Terrone appeals to seafood lovers, yet diners should not be mistaken as Terrone is not the typical Marsaxlokk seafood place. ​​ Terrone is a strange name for a restaurant. The term is derived from the Italian language used by northerners as derogatory to label southerners. It is formed from the word 'terra', meaning land, and historically it was used to describe Sicilian landlords, highlighting the fact they profited from the land without doing any work.

And perhaps the chef patron's inspiration from southern Italy's cuisine and his passion for fresh, organic, handpicked produce contributed towards this choice of name.

I have no idea how many times I have dined at Terrone and this review is well overdue. Terrone combines rustic charm with modern cuisine and offers dishes with authentic, fresh and seasonal ingredients only. Hence the menu changes everyday which is a good thing as I always have something new to look forward to when I visit. ​​ At Terrone, you have the option to choose between dining al fresco or indoors but if the weather permits I would always suggest a table on the terrace and with some luck you could also enjoy the beautiful colours of the Marsaxlokk sunset.

Irrespective whether I am in a party of two or part of a large group, I always enjoy the dining experience offered at Terrone. I prefer to order various dishes off the sharing plates section of the menu as that gives me the opportunity to try more different tastes and textures and many times I do the same thing with the pasta dishes too.

On the last visit, my wife and I shared the chargrilled octopus with anchovy and rosemary sauce and fregola salad, the deep fried cuttlefish with fresh chilli, coriander and onions agro dolce as well as the perfectly prepared yellowfin tuna tartare with shallots, capers, parsley, chilli and lemon. Following the starters we ordered spaghetti with fresh, local sardines, golden raisins, pine nuts, capers, wild fennel and pangrattato and handmade ravioli stuffed with buffalo ricotta cheese and marjoram with slow-cooked merinda and datterini tomatoes. All the food was perfectly seasoned and tasted amazing.

We could not eat more and therefore we did not order any of the mains that included various options of seafood, local pork, veal or beef. However, in general, dinner at Terrone is not complete without having one of their mouth-watering sweets on offer and this time I ordered the almond and apricot tart which was equally delicious as the amaretto pannacotta I had on my previous visit.

At Terrone, carefully selected wines from the best wines available locally, in southern Italy, Sicily and Sardegna complement their cuisine. My choice was a smooth southern Italy white, Varvaglione 12 e Mezzo Malvasia del Salento, which was rich in fruit and accompanied the seafood brilliantly.

Besides opening daily for lunch and dinner, during week-ends Terrone are also open for breakfast where they serve various healthy options as well as their take on baked eggs. The eggs benedict on toasted local ftira and scrambled eggs with cherry-smoked trout are my favourite. Both are, however, best accompanied with extra dry Italian Pro Secco.

Staff at Terrone are super friendly, attentive and efficient, thus completing the whole dining package.

I would recommend Terrone to anyone but I would also advise to look beyond price as you are paying for an experience which you'll want to...

TO AVOID IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR IF YOU HAVE ANY INTOLERANCES. I'm not used to review any restaurant, but in this case is a must do. The restaurant didn't offer us à la carte options since we were more than 6 people. They provided us a fix restricted menú the day before the booking, but once we arrived they gave us a completely different menú compared with the original one. We explained them that I'm pregnant and I have food intolerances. We asked if due to the unusual situation we could do few amendments to the menù. They immediately complained saying that maybe I should have gone to a different restaurant. That's was already quite weird considering they are on the Michlen guide. Anyway, I didn't want to bother them since I know how stressed is working in a restaurant and I choose something from the menù. The ONLY change I asked for was to remove all fresh herbs from the dishes since they are risky for my condition. Really nothing special or difficult. When the fish fillet arrived was full of fresh herbs, I explained to the waitress that I couldn't eat that fish. She took the plate and came back 1 minute later with the same dish telling me that she was sorry but she thought I could eat that kind of fresh herbs. I explained her again that I couldn't and I asked her if was possible to bring me a new fillet. At this point the chef came in a very rude and impolite way asking me some clarification. He started shouting and didn't allow me to explain anything. I mentioned him about toxoplasmosis, but since he is also a "CHEF-DOCTOR" he took the plate and came back after 2 other minutes with the same fillet. He just removed few leaves from the plate and gave me the same contaminated dish like I was stupid. I was very disappointed. None of the staff ( not even the manager) came asking sorry or if I would like something different. Long story short I paid 66€ just to eat a calamari starter, a piece of cake and water. I still have to understand how come they are on the Michlen guide. I worked for ages in a restaurant and my husband use to travel a lot trying different restaurants around the world and this never happened to us before. This is definitely very unacceptable service for customers. As we respect their job they should respect us and take care of their clients. Definitely we will contact...