Soul Food — Restaurant in Valletta

Visiting Soul Food in Malta was quite the unforgettable experience—for all the wrong reasons.

Let's start with the ambiance. Imagine trying to enjoy a meal under the blazing sun because the restaurant can't seem to figure out how to provide adequate sunshades. The hygiene is another delightful aspect; the food scraps reeks under the sunlight, making you question your life choices.

The service? Oh, it's a masterpiece of incompetence and prejudice. We ordered two cold dishes—a salad and a poke bowl—and waited a mere 40 minutes. Mind you, the place wasn't even busy, but somehow, guests who arrived later were served before us. Maybe they just had a special affinity for non-Asian customers.

After waiting for an eternity, I walked into the kitchen to check on our order. The waitress, exuding charm and grace, responded with the kind of arrogance that makes you want to reconsider dining out altogether. It was evident that being the only Asian customers didn't work in our favor.

When the food finally arrived, it was worth the wait—if you enjoy raw rice and unseasoned ingredients. The salmon had a unique flavor, reminiscent of charcoal. It's safe to say that 'Soul Food' did nothing for my soul, except maybe make it weep.

Overall, if you're looking for an establishment that excels in terrible service, questionable hygiene, and subpar food, look no further than Soul Food. Truly an experience that will leave you...

Nice place, nice environment... It was there until the young lady, who I think is 20 years old, who calls herself a server, made one so big that Oscar would come for it. It all starts there, they are packing, laughing, chatting and at least (I watched directly) it was 3 minutes before the little girl started towards us, we started to rejoice, we are finally eating... But as soon as she picked up the menu, she saw her friends or I don't even know who , then with that momentum he threw down the menu and rushed there amid loud squeals and they exchanged experiences after talking and laughing for 3 minutes. He didn't even care that other paying guests were waiting for him. Meanwhile, no one from inside came out or at least looked to see if reinforcements were needed or if the guests were alive. Then, after the big friendly meeting was over, you chased them away for a while, and then you went to pick up the menu. But we didn't expect that because what they did was extremely condescending and rude, regardless of whether the person is Maltese or a tourist. This is not a style suitable for a restaurant and it is not a waiter's mentality, it is all a shame and it is humiliating, for us as well, but especially for the owner, that he employs incompetent people who do not respect the profession or...

At first we were happy to see that the menu had lots of different vegan options, although everything looked quite pricey for what it was. We ordered two freshly squeezed orange juices and each had the whole wheat veggie pasta. The menu said the pasta would come with soy sauce, vegetables and peanut butter. The orange juice was delicious but was served in a tiny glass with lots of ice which meant we only got a few sips of actual juice. When the pasta came it looked disappointing (see photo) and tasted even worse. It seemed to be cooked in a dark soy sauce (intense flavour) and was extremely salty. The pasta was only just cooked - I like pasta al dente but this bordered on undercooked. The vegetables were overcooked and the olives were cooked whole and steaming hot inside. The peanut butter, if there was any, must have been applied very sparingly and melted into the soy sauce, as we could not taste it. Overall the meals were so terrible we did not finish them, and we usually would not leave food. The staff asked if we did not like it and I explained politely why it was not good but nonetheless we were served the full bill of around €33. I cannot recommend this place to others and would say it is an overpriced...