Tatitas by Verve — Restaurant in Saint Lawrence

This is the first review I've ever left. I never felt compelled to do so before but I remain shocked by how myself and my girlfriend were treated by this restaurant.

We had been recommended Tatitas by friends so we had high hopes but, perhaps crucially, our friends had been in Gozo about a decade previously.

My girlfriend ate mussels as a starter and about an hour later began to feel very ill. We were only partially through our second course at the time: to provide context, our meal was interrupted by an island-wide power cut. This understandably caused a huge delay in service, so I do not hold that against Tatitas.

My girlfriend had drunk one cocktail over the 90 minutes we had been at the restaurant. Unfortunately, within half an hour after beginning to feel ill, my girlfriend was violently ill in the bathroom. The hostess informed me that I would not be allowed to leave without paying my bill while we stood at the door of the bathroom listening to my girlfriend vomit. My concern was obviously to get my girlfriend medical attention and so I paid the bill and left.

About half an hour later, my girlfriend had vomited pretty much continuously and we waited for an ambulance the hotel staff had kindly called for us and she convinced me to call the restaurant to complain. The hostess was incredibly rude, and alleged that my girlfriend had been drunk when she arrived. This is a blatant lie: the hostess herself even noted that my girlfriend had been unable to even begin her second cocktail. She went on to accuse me of caring more about my refund than my girlfriend’s health, an accusation I take obvious exception to.

Finally, she claimed that the mussels were fresh harvested that morning. It is worth noting that mussles do not naturally live in Maltese waters: the Maltese coastline is dominated by cliffs, which are not the mussels natural habitat. Some invasive species have been noted but mussels used for cuisine are invariably imported from Sicily or Scotland. Even in the event the mussels were fresh, the obvious answer is that the preparation fouled them: I suspect the mussels were being prepared during the power cut and were then reheated elsewhere.

I laid out the precise facts and told the hostess that I accepted things can go wrong and would think no more of it if I received an apology and a refund. The hostess then brusquely hung up on me. I repeat: this conversation occurred while my girlfriend was on a brief hiatus from vomiting up their food and waiting for an ambulance.

I do not blame Tatitas for the power cut and I do not necessarily harbour ill-will due to the mussels: seafood is always a risk. I harbour ill-will due to the contempt with which I and my girlfriend, who required hospitalization after consuming their food, were treated. Had we received an apology and a refund, I would have thought no further of it and likely recommended Tatitas for their professionalism and care. Both my girlfriend and I have worked in the service industry and would be ashamed to have treated guests the way Tatitas treated us.

There are so many extraordinary restaurants on Gozo. Within a 10-15 minute drive you have:

L’Istorja in the Kempinski Il-Kunvent in Gharb Ta’Karolina and The Boathouse, both in Xlendi Casa Vostra in Victoria Roza in Victoria Osteria Scottadito in Nadur

I can personally attest that each one of those restaurants are exceptional, and there are many more I did not try. Please do not give your time, money or attention to Tatitas: the owners and staff think very little of you and treat their guests with patronising contempt. The above restaurants deserve your patronage and custom, and bring with them life-changing views in Osteria Scottadita and Ta’Karolina and The Boathouse, both in Xlendi. I can imagine Tatitas was once excellent, judging by the reviews and the recommendations. But it certainly...

We had a mixed experience here and we are rating this establishment 3 stars for the following reasons:

First the positives: the mains were really good and the staff was nice and friendly

However:

1. we asked if we could come at 9pm to one of the waiters as we were passing by around 7ish in front of the restaurant as we were walking around and the waiter bluntly told us that is better to come earlier as the kitchen closes at 10pm. Fair enough we thought. But then as we were there, 2 groups of 3 and 4 people came at 10 pm and were served nonetheless. We did not appreciate being “lied” to.

2)We ordered the fondant for dessert and it came 3 minutes later. Anyone who has cooked a fondant knows it takes 15-20 minutes to cook. And so it was clearly reheated and predictably it was more of a cake than a fondant (I took a photo to show that I am not exaggerating)

3. a group of people (a family) arrived late at around 10pm and they clearly seemed to be either regulars or “vips” . They were served immediately (and I mean in the first 60 seconds) by 3 staff members simultaneously. I cannot say that we were badly served but the way these people were much better treated then the rest of us was so clearly obvious than many other patrons around us made remarks and jokes about it to the waiters. Why not treat everyone the same and make us feel as welcome? It will greatly improve the reviews and tips.

We write this review in a bitter sweet manner and we hope that the owner will take it as a chance to improve on an already...

Fine dining without the Faff, where fine is generous portions of deliciously cooked food, served in a welcoming atmosphere by a team who clearly care. All at a fair price.

Menus may change however: I had the tempura prawns to start, Denise the asparagus, compliments to the chef.

Tuna happened to be one of the “specials”, we both chose that. If you thought you liked tuna before, like will probably turn to love. What an innovative dish, compliments to the chef … again.

Then there was that thing where we’d said beforehand that we weren’t going to have a dessert, but the first 2 courses were so good we had to try one. Tiramisu for me, chocolate fondant for Denise, there’s a pattern forming, compliments to the Chef.

I suggest booking as this is definitely one of those places that you’ll visit for the first time, only to find that if the opportunity presents itself, you’ll visit again without...