Restaurant La Giara — Restaurant in Valletta

Recently went to the restaraunt with my girlfriend - don't reccommend a visit.

We tried to order the seafood linguine and were told it was unavaliable (as well as all other seafood related pasta) only to have a table beside us be presented with a seafood linguine. We had instead ordered the squid ink pasta which was okay, but it had two measly bits of squid with it and no garnish. My dish was the proscuitto ham and cheese. My pasta was really good as was the cheese but the ham left something to be desired as there were only very small bits in each roll - the food is cheap but we did not leave remotely full due to the serving size so ended up buying more food. The bread baskets at the start are a nice touch.

We raised the issue of the seafood linguine with the server who said to our faces that there was again no seafood linguine left, i pointed out that another table had recieved it and they sat down to order about 30 minutes after we did.

He just said again that there was no seafood linguine. We were okay that they didn't have any at the start, things do run out etc but to see another table being given what you were told didn't exist - and then for them to deny that it happened is pretty laughable.

We went because the food was cheap and the reviews were good, i don't really reccommend going. Even if you have to pay another few €€€ somewhere else you will be full at the...

Stumbled upon this restaurant entirely by default after visiting the beautiful Casa Rocca Piccola on Republic Street. Was not overly hungry but made my way over here for a light lunch come mid afternoon and was ushered in graciously. Settled for Antipasto al Italiana which was akin to an expertly put together charcuterie board with a strikingly well balanced assortment of cold cuts, cheeses and vegetables, all drizzled with the most divinely imaginable olive oil. A palate tantaliser to be sure of and the presentation scored well too. The star turn over here however was the 'subtle' taste which lingered long after the meal-of- sorts was over and here lies the acid test of finely prepared cuisine. Quality over 'style'. Perhaps those dreadful restaurants with their questionable Michelin ratings should take note? A sigh goes up for their likes! Resolved to dine over here expansively but unfortunately the same could not materialise. The Calamari Ripieni was credited with a special recommendation from the chef but I suppose the same will have to wait till I visit Malta next! The best things in life come in unassuming packages and La Giara does just that from the little I have sampled of its fare. Taste over style- and in this insufferablly pretentious age of ours that's...

The ragu was rich in flavour, but was very under seasoned, and the nduja dish lacked any real flavour or depth, however, the tagliatelle was fresh. The lighting in the restaurant was very bright, lacked ambience, and actually felt a little depressing. Neither of the servers took the time to talk through any of the menu or make any recommendations, which was less than ideal, since 80% of the menu did not have dish descriptions, and there were only two other people dinning at the time. When our mains were brought over, our bread basket and used side plates were not taken away, which did not leave us with much space on what was quite a small table. Overall not a very pleasant dinning experience, and felt like a wasted night out in the beautiful city of Valette, which has such an array of great...