Belleview — Restaurant in Mellieha

OMG where do I start. I am firstly sorry to the owner to write such a poor review, but they should know the good and bad. Perhaps then they can make some choices about who they recruit . Me and 2 friends came by here for some food on our second day in Malta, Tuesday 16th August at approx. 1pm. We could sense that the waiter that took our order was perhaps new and maybe a little unsure of our order. He was very nice and did his best in taking our order and double checked this with us. After quite some time a lady came out - very slim, jeans, light brown/blonde hair up in a bun. She re-checked our order again, complete with huffing and puffing. We highlighted the items that had been missed by the first waiter. Not a problem - we were all new in a job once and perhaps the guy before was on his first day at this restaurant. This lady however completely ruined our experience. When she checked our order we made it very clear we were starving and for that reason the food could come out in any order. Part of order included the trio of dips from the antipasti. We were sat for almost 50 mins before our food made an appearance. No explanation re. delays or acknowledgment of waiting times. Our mains were served first. My friends sweet potato fries were undercooked and burnt on the outside, as if they’d forgotten these and then shoved them in the oven to quickly get them cooked. Because of how long we had waited we didn’t see the use of the trio of dips arriving – these still hadn’t come. I let the nice waiter know that we no longer required this. After a moment the lady comes out and tries to convince me to have these and I politely declined explaining why. She then tried to tell me to take them as take away! No acknowledgement or sincerity demonstrated for the long wait for food. She shrugged her shoulders and went away. In all honesty I felt as though she was running the show and if anything the young male waiters seemed to be in the dark about what they were doing. I felt for them. We later asked for the bill. In the end I had to go into the restaurant (we were sat outside) and request this as it was taking so long and we had been here for an unreasonable time already. In doing so made my payment inside the restaurant. The same lady tried to then get me to take the remainder of the bill to my friends. I was baffled. Should I just do her job for her? Needless to say she sent one of the male waiters to our table with the bill. No card machine and no staff to then come and take our payment. My friends grew impatient and went inside to make payment. One of my friends asked the same lady if she was the manager. She abruptly answered, “No I am not, the Manager is not here today.” Honestly this woman must have been having a terrible day or this is just her state of being. Whatever the reason, the experience was so poor and she was extremely unkind unprofessional and rude. Her whole manner was just blerugh. Please avoid if...

Belleview is a very special place for us in a part of the world that we don't live, but which we very much think of as a safe space where we go to top up our soul buckets whenever we can. On our most recent visit to Malta, Belleview was literally the first place that we visited when we arrived in Mellieha (we stay a 10-min walk away in Santa Maria) and the last place before we boarded the bus back to Luqa Airport.

Why is this the case? It's not just one thing; it's a combination of factors that we can't quite put our finger on but once you've ben and experienced it for yourself, hopefully you'll know exactly what it is that makes the place so special.

It's everything from the warm greeting, the fabulous atmosphere at any time of day or night (check out the super opening hours) to the last sip and bite of the huge range of delicious food and drink on offer. The coffees are just incredible (I've never found a finer cappuccino) and the range of cakes provides plenty of excuses to come back to try the next one. We found an excuse to grab a coffee before boarding the bus for our daily adventure around the islands and if the timing worked out, to grab a quick recharge before heading back to our accommodation.

As well as that we enjoyed scrumptious breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Oh and don't forget Doughnut Sunday. My favourite filling is chocolate but my wife says that the vanilla custard is better (and there's always pistachio and jam to give even more choice).

So whether it's a sweet treat, a perfect pizza (watching the dough being tossed is always fun) for one, two or a whole family outing, and everything in between then Belleview is the perfect venue. I can't wait until we are able to go back.

Did I mention the...

So we ate at one of Xara hotel restaurants called Trattoria AD1530. The food was amazing, the location pure magic. As starter we had a pizza to share. The pastry was the best I've had in a long while. As main I had Seabass with king prawn, muscles, asparagus, cherry tomatoes and a choice between roadt potatoes and fries, salad and roast veg. My hubby had ribeye. Both were scrumptious. Desserts were to die for. Coconut cake, chocolate fondant. I was disapointed with service. During the meal service was impeccabile. The issue arose at the end. I paid in cash. The amount Ibgave by far exceeded the actual bill ( by 20 euros) so obvioysly I was expecting change. It became clear however that the waiters automatucalluy considred the amount to be tips. When Ibdrew their attention aftef a 20 minute wait, the wsitress apologised and went to rectify. She came back saying change would be given shortly by her colleague. 15 minutes later, empty restaurant cause it was by then late, no change,.... colleague chatting and joking with another member of staff. In the end I got up and told him off. I was so annoyed I ended up not tipping at all although I had fully intended to. Pity. An otherwise...