The Undercroft Autentico Ristorante Italiano. — Restaurant in Valletta

This gem of a restaurant was recommended by friends and to say that we were not disappointed will be a huge understatement.

First the location; the restaurant occupies the crypt of Saint Paul's Cathedral and, being nearly at the end of the street, is slightly removed from the mess of noisy eateries that Old Theater Street has become.

There are a few tables outside but we preferred dining inside the crypt (the lighting is a bit harsh). The table setting is simple but tasteful.

The menu offers the classic staples of Italian cuisine, and some less-Italian entries: we ordered the shrimp tempura with sweet and sour sauce and it was nothing short of extraordinary.

I then had an excellent carbonara, with proper "guanciale", done how you would expect in one of the Temples of Carbonara in Rome (no need to mention them here): it is one of my all-time favourite dishes / soul food and I was absolutely satisfied. The quality of the spaghettoni that the restaurant uses is top notch and that really puts it several steps ahead of the pack.

My wife had tagliatelle al pesto, with an addition of shrimps, cherry tomatoes and walnuts and it was equally excellent.

The pasta dishes are done on the spot (no pre-boiled, awful pasta!) so you have to wait a bit for your order to be ready: this is how it should be and I commend the restaurant for this.

The wine list is more than adequate and it offers a surprising range of high quality wines by the glass which was ideal since we would have been unable to finish a bottle: another excellent point.

We ended with a very good Sicilan cannolo.

All the dishes were tastefully presented; service was excellent, efficient, courteous, present but non intrusive.

Last but surely not least, we were delighted by a live band (two guitars and one standing bass) playing Manouche Jazz in the style of Django Reinhardt: being a guitarist myself, I was in heaven!

We were able to meet Michele, the owner, and Simona, the manager who are charming, competent and committed to quality.

We will surely go back during our stay in Malta.

Highly...

As an Italian, I could not recommend this wonderful restaurant more wholeheartedly. It offers authentic, high-level Italian cuisine at absolutely accessible prices - in fact, far more competitive than most restaurants in central Malta, while delivering a food quality that is on a completely different level.

In Malta, it’s easy to find countless places serving pasta and pizza claiming to be “Italian” or “Italian-inspired,” but the truth is that very few truly capture the flavour, authenticity, and quality of ingredients that make the Italian cuisine so special. This place does. Every dish reflects not only real cooking skills, but also the kind of carefully chosen ingredients that allow Italian food to shine :)

I wish I could share photos of the incredible Amatriciana and spaghetti alla Norma we had - honestly among the best pasta dishes we’ve eaten in years (including Italy)

I highly recommend this restaurant not only for the generosity and warmth of the owner, the fair and accessible prices, and its central location just steps away from most of Malta’s main attractions, but above all for the outstanding quality of the food ♥️...

We were a group of 15 for a Sunday lunch. Restaurant was half full. Prices overtly expensive for what is eventually served. Risotto with prawns at €19 and you get 3 prawns in total, with 4-5 tablespoons of rice which is not even risotto rice, but short grain rice used for rice salads. €18 paccheri Allo scoglio and you get 4 mussels, one chopped up prawn, and 2 baby octopus with 100gr max of pasta. That’s it.

Kids ordered pasta with tomato sauce, and after over an hr of waiting, kids get served gnocchi with tomatoes not what was ordered. The Indian waiter insisted it was indeed pasta with pomodoro, so we had to go to lengths to explain to the waiter difference between pasta and gnocchi. Pasta with pomodoro was eventually served 30 min later, when adults had all finished eating, and kids lost appetite. Won’t be returning for restaurant offers zero value for money. Pity for our last visit here, when they used to serve pizza, was significantly better.

Hint for restaurants - when you serve 10 baskets of bread for 15 customer, and they devour it - get the hint that customers are hungry, and a plate of pasta shouldn’t take 1.5...