Le GV Rooftop Restaurant — Restaurant in Sliema

Unusually for me, no photographs as I didn't want to be disrupted by my phone.

Only 6 months old, this stunning art deco styled restaurant inspired by the Orient Express has been awarded a Michelin star and it is well deserved. The hard working staff had not yet had time to celebrate the achievement but their attention to detail demonstrated why they deserve it.

On arrival we had two cocktails, a champagne Belinni and a house styled Mezcal and Grapefruit combination, effectivey an upmarket take on a Paloma.

We elected for 4 courses from the options for 3, 4 or 6 plus there is an optional cheese course which we did not have. Apparently you can order al la carte if you prefer.

In reality we received ten courses!

1. A delicious multi textured cauliflower bowl topped by a creamy cauliflower foam plus a tiny and beautiful rabbit terrine decorated with flower petals (canapes)

2. The most unctuous chicken consomme I have ever tasted, with minute veal dumplings and crisp vegetable balls (amuse bouche)

3. Two amazing hot breads (a moist rice and seed bread and a crusty sourdough Ftira) served with rillette plus a butter blended with local olive oil. The restaurant does not consider this a course but when you eat all of the bread as we did, it is!

4. Starters: We both chose a custard of foie gras served with toasted brioche with chicken fat.

5. Pasta: Paccheri with sweet local red prawns and ravioli stuffed with sweetbreads in a cream sauce with shaved truffle (NB. pasta is served al dente)

6. Mains: I had house aged beef and my wife had exquisite Barbery duck, literally melt in the mouth - both accompanied with a loaf of hot airy milk bread to mop up the sauces

7. Desert of the day: A duo of an amazing multi element chocolate tart / chocolate and hazelnut based desert (the chef makes his own chocolate!) and a refreshingly tangy lemon meringue treat.

By this stage we were not excited to see another course but, in retrospect, we would be very sad to have missed it. (NB. apparently this is not included with a 3 course menu)

9. Brioche, laminated and blown up like the butteriest croissant which was used as directed to scoop up a light vanilla cream and Jerusalem artichoke jelly. I cannot explain how amazing this was. Apparently the dipping bowl changes from time to time but hopefully the dish remains as a signature element. I would have this for breakfast every day if I could!

10. Petite Four with a minute pastizzi (my wife claims the best she has ever eaten) and chocolate dipped and coffee dusted boiled almonds.

There are two options for wine pairings but we chose to order a bottle of Isabella Guasconi from Ta Betta winery, a delightful, fresh, medium dry Syrah Rose which complimented every course.

This is a very special restaurant that offers elegant food and service...

Packed like sardines on Valentine's Day was never going to bring a great experience; I felt for the team; clearly they bravely held things together from the front of house through to the kitchen team.

The food quality was a high standard with the exception of a grapefruit hollandaise with one of the starter course which just didn't work at all. Otherwise all was perfectly executed given feeding 20 covers at the same time over the course of 3 hours via what seemed to be an under populated kitchen team.

The service was also professional but friendly even though the gaps between courses became uncomfortable; we opted for four courses but the couple millimeters away from us went for 6 and as we left at 11:30pm after arriving after them at 8 they were just getting their 'main' dishes. The two millimeters away on the other side bizarrely just spent the whole 3 hours staring a their phones and adjusting their makeup in the mirror before largely not eating what was served to them.

Also a bit weird was on ordering a very nice bottle of white wine was warned twice they only had one left. We aren't in the habit of ordering a bottle of wine each for dinner !! Maybe our British accents betrayed a national stereotype we luckily don't ascribe to!

We will probably come back but at well over £200 per person will be over lunch when the views can work their magic and the rest of the diners are there not because they have to be rather than...

Quite an underwhelming experience at the newest addition to Malta's Michelin list.

We were looking forward to dinning at Le GV as we generally had a very positive experience at other Michelin starred restaurants accross the island.

We both felt that despite not doing anything wrong in particular, the restaurant just fell short in all key areas. It simply does not deliver the same level of creativity, thoughtfulness of the menu, service and overall experience in comparison to ION, Under Grain or De Mondion.

The concept is relatively uninspiring, stating elevated Mediterranean cuisine and blend of new and old, yet we felt that the dishes failed to capture any of this. The staff also didn't really try to run us down through the dishes and create a narrative, so it was really hard to understand the purpose of the menu vs. other Michelin venues in Malta.

I personally felt the pacing was off too, with uneven breaks between the dishes and generally a longer-than-needed experience.

Service, while being friendly, was generally slow and failed to deliver the basics expected at such level - removing dishes after the meals on time, filling up water glasses and similar things that are just a default in a one star kitchen.

I really wish this venue best of luck but at the moment it is significantly behind similar one stars...