San Giuliano Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Julian's

Gave me gastroenteritis!!! AVOID! Finally have the energy after a day in hospital and 2 days between bed and the toilet with gastroenteritis. Symptoms started the morning after our meal here. I knew when the Timpana I ordered arrived 45 minutes later and looked dry, reheated from a couple days ago and dull. I regret not sending it back immediately. My boyfriend's clam and swordfish spaghetti was also bland looking. I had a few mouthfuls and the waiter asked if everything was ok, I said "no, to be honest it's really bad, I know it's not your fault but I can't eat it". I wish I didn't! Hungry and almost crying because our 3rd of 5th evening in Malta had been ruined by my bad dinner, I stupidly ate the mince, as I hate wasting meat. Note the waiter did not ask if they could get me anything else and just said 'oh sorry' and looked awkward and went away.

I asked for the manager before the bill and explained how inedible the food was, that I know what fresh food looks like and that they were clearly reheating food from a couple of days ago. He was defensive, rolling his eyes and looking around, rather than listening to what I had to say. I said I wasn't paying for my dish. He took it off the bill.

The 'bill' came to €4.50 for the water and €14.20 for the spaghetti. The spaghetti on the menu is €10.20, so when I left €15 to cover the bill, that should have been it.

We left and they both chased us, the waiter claiming it would come out of his wages. Where do you think our money comes from to go on holiday? To choose Malta as our destination? To come to YOUR restaurant, only to be upset and disappointed? It all comes from our wages. I made the point that bad food can make people ill, that they have ruined our evening and if I was ill, my holiday. They did not care, the manager apologised to my boyfriend (weird, slightly sexist) and we paid the rest, reluctantly and left. I cried along the bay that I had been taken the mick out of as a tourist.

The next 3 days of my holiday, we tried to enjoy but I was slightly limited in that I was looking for a loo every hour. This cost me a lot in 'thank you' to pubs and restaurants for letting me go.

We landed home Thursday night and I spent the night mostly on the loo (too much info, maybe!?). I called 111 when blood appeared. 8 hours in hospital and 2 drips later, they said I have gastroenteritis and I am infective. I had to miss family plans and have spent all the time since and will for the next few days, in bed, in pain, taking painkillers, barely eating.

This is the reality of squeezing profit from tourists. You are making people ill. I am disgusted and appalled that you overcharged on the other meal, which was substandard and didn't offer me anything else when I alerted the waiter.

I hope people check tripadvisor before being lured in by your nice fairy lights. We usually know better than to eat in places where they have pictures of the food at the entrance and without checking here first. We were hungry and tired after walking 15km that day and should've checked. Still, nobody's fault but the greedy manager and perhaps the chef, knowingly reheating and reheating meat badly can cause illness.

Please,...

Very disappointing service! When we arrived at the restaurant was pick time for dinnerand been told by the waiter to leave and come back in 30 min maybe we are lucky, we said we would rather wait and maybe have a drink in the mean time but he said he can’t do that because of covid and left. A few minutes after I saw the man who was looking like being the Manager there and asked for a table he was way more pleasant to talk to and mentioned he will look for us and that some tables should be free soon, in the mean time a table got free and he seated us. After being seated we have been asked to order after 15 min while people who arrived after us already been served and we only been left to order because we asked to place our order otherwise no one bothered to come around. We ordered a bottle of wine, starters and their traditional dishes but again waited a while to be served same story as above. When we where finally served the food being stew type wasn’t served with bread and we asked for some bread, we have waited over 10 min for it, only to receive the driest bread I have ever tried and been told off by the manager that we should have order it from the start hence the delay, but the waiter didn’t advise and didn’t knew if was included or not considering was Maltese traditional dishes we wouldn’t know if we need bread. Overall the food was decent but not something to come back for, the service was horrible and unfortunately that matter even more than the food at time. I gave the 2 starts for food and 1 for service as the manager gave us the table and the girl who helped the waiters was actually knowing how to do her job but unfortunately she was...

I am bound to believe that my loyal and longstanding readers will believe that I continually endeavour to write fair and reasonable reviews. Honouring this custom, my review of Raffael Restaurant is unbiased and the content unsponsored.

As toasted sandwiches are rather more favoured in lieu of the customary English breakfast by Europeans, local trends dictated my choice of Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich for recent lunch at Rafael Bayside Restaurant. Admittedly, it was the location and the view that attracted my patronage and judging by popularity, I was bound to believe that the cuisine justified my visit.

Judging by the regular menu prices, one is lead to expect a par standard if not high end dining experience, however in fairness, the breakfast sandwiches (read: exception) were reasonably priced.

I regret to report that on this occasion, the meal was by far the most disappointing I have had in Malta to date. Lacking flavour, solid assembly and a complimenting side nibble, this is what one might expect from an unfrequented street vendor. A tragedy, indeed, since this establishment benefits from the Tribeca of location, scenery and tourist traffic.

Alas, the service was prompt and friendly, the beverage was cold and the scenery might well make up for the lacking sustenance.

In conclusion, I recommend a similarly priced breakfast bagel at the neighbouring Café Cuba where the coffee is robust and the breakfast is true value for money. The view, in addition, is...