Bottegin Palazzo Xara — Restaurant in Rabat

A party of 6 went for dinner here this evening. Lovely place, lovely atmosphere and have frequented here before. The restaurant wasn’t too busy and the waiter took our order which we repeated twice and he repeated back to us. The sharing platters starters were fabulous but 3 of the main courses were wrong. The waiter said the chef had read the order wrongly. Therefore 3 people ate their food and had finished long before the remaining 3 in the party had been served theirs. When the 3 replacement dishes came, it was obvious they’d be cooked in haste! No clean cutlery was offered after the first course so we were forced to go to the serving area and collect clean cutlery ourselves! No apology was offered for the delay in service. The sweets looked delicious but sadly were obviously not fresh as they were dry! Serving staff should also be trained/told that you do not clear empty plates until everyone has finished eating. There is a huge communications problem in many restaurants in Malta with staff who are taking orders, not being fluent enough in either English or Maltese ( or Italian ) and thus putting a damper on the evening for patrons, as well as the restaurant as verbal and written feedback will surely influence prospective or repeat customers. Sadly I will...

Very Disappointing Experience

We came to what’s supposed to be a “secret garden” – and honestly, it should stay a secret. Kids were running wild like it was a zoo, with no supervision or care from staff or parents. Not exactly the relaxing vibe we were hoping for.

When we ordered, we were told the pizza would take 40 minutes – fair enough, we accepted that. But midway through taking our order, the waiter was interrupted by another staff member who randomly decided to tell him she had finished her shift… right in front of us. Unprofessional doesn’t even begin to cover it.

After waiting over an hour and ten minutes, our food finally arrived – and it was wrong. We ordered a buffalo chicken pizza and got mozzarella and chicken. No buffalo anything. The massaman curry we ordered? Came out as a red Thai curry. No explanation, no apology.

Honestly, the whole experience felt chaotic, careless, and not worth the time or money. Won’t...

If you’re coming here just for the food, you’ll already be happy — it’s delicious, fresh, and beautifully presented. If you’re coming for the location, you’ll be double-happy — cozy, lively, and the kind of place that makes you want to linger with one more glass of wine.

But the real star of the evening? Victor, the waiter. Imagine a stand-up comedian who also happens to know the menu inside out and can balance three plates at once without breaking a sweat. Every recommendation came with a smile, a joke, and just the right amount of charm. He didn’t just serve dinner; he turned it into a show — and I mean the good kind of show, not the awkward open-mic-night kind.

By the end, I wasn’t sure what I liked more: the food, the atmosphere, or Victor’s witty one-liners. (Okay, the food was amazing… but Victor definitely got a standing ovation in my heart.)

In short: come hungry, come thirsty, but most importantly, come...