Farina — Restaurant in Valletta

Food wait time extremely slow. My pasta carbonara was the worse I’ve ever had. Although the waiter approached our table 3 times to confirm the order, no one came over to ask how was our meal. First course mixed salad was salty. Carbonara pasta was the saltiest eaten. The sauce appeared cold and clumped together. Unlike the pizza version which had a cooked egg, Farina’s pasta carbonara did not appear to have a traditional egg on it. Truly a disappointment. Do not order their carbonara. After I spoke to the staff, they did not reimburse or even offer to compensate an alternative. A waitress said there was nothing they could do as the cook ‘went home’. Ironically as I gave them the thumbs down on the way out the door, the cook identified himself and said he never left. This place is not only a tourist trap, but a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT with respect to service. (from a pasta aficionado). Also, I noticed the couple at the next table were not served at the same time as they mixed up their order. The lady waited 10 minutes for her order while her companion ate his meal. The staff’s excuse was they were too busy. GO ELSEWHERE, since they can’t handle being too busy. See my photo below. Pic taken immediately after it was served. Does this look hot? To me a fresh, hot dish should not look clumped with sauce...

Food was good however the service was really disappointing. The waiter that greeted us was chewing gum and he kept chewing it throughout the evening which is very unprofessional when you need to speak to clients. We ordered a bruschetta, 2 plates of pasta and 2 pints Birra Messina. First hiccup was that they did not have Birra Messina and we opted for Birra Moretti which wasn't a big deal in itself. However when presented with the bill we were charged 8 euro per pint. Price on the menu stated 4 euro for 330cl, not sure how we got charged for 660ml instead of a pint. Price should have been around 6 euro like it was for the pint of Birra Messina. Second issue was the pasta, only one plate of pasta came whilst the second one was forgotten, so that one us was left waiting whilst the other was eating as it would get cold otherwise. Lastly, we were offered the desert menu which we accepted however it seems the waitress changed her mind and decided not to bring it as they were very looking forward to close the restaurant. Restaurant should be open till 10pm which usually means last order at 10pm however before 10 they were already clearing up everything, making you feel rushed to leave. And that's what we did when the desert menu never came, we just asked for the...

I was really disappointed with the lobster I was served here. It looked and smelled strange, with a slimy texture, especially in the claw area. I expressed my concerns to an older waiter, but was told that “lobster meat is supposed to have that consistency.” I still had doubts, so they checked with the chef and reassured me that it was fine.

Honestly, this is not normal. If a restaurant can’t recognize when seafood is questionable, that’s a serious issue. When you’re not a food expert, it’s frustrating to be dismissed and talked down to when you raise a valid concern. The fact that a frozen lobster from Lidl was much better — clean, firm, and fresh — says it all.

This kind of ignorance is unacceptable in a professional kitchen. If you don’t know your product, you shouldn’t...