Vini e Capricci — Restaurant in Xewkija

We visit Vini & Capricci Everytime we come to gozo which is at least once a year. Sadly this time around there won't be a next time. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and we made our way through the cellar and we were met by one of the servers. He may have been the only server on the day. It was quiet inside, a large party of maybe 10 people dining on the cellar table and a family of four in the restaurant. We asked the server if we could sit anywhere we wanted and he simply nodded. We sat at a table for 2 and waited. The server passed our table 4 times, before he dropped the menus to our table. No explanation of the specials. Almost slammed the wine list down and asked if we wanted any water. After serving the water he seemed to have disappeared. We had already agreed that if our order wasn't taken within 15 minutes we would leave as we really felt unwelcome. The server came to our table after about 10 minutes. I asked if they had Cisk Zero, and all I got as an answer was No. No recommendation or whether they had any other non alcoholic beers. We ordered two cokes, I ordered the Duck and had to ask how it was cooked. My partner ordered the tagliata medium rare with peppercorn sauce. The server brought over the cokes and slammed them on the table. A few minutes later he dropped us a bag of bread on the table. And dropped is the exact word to describe the action. The food didn't take long to arrive. My duck and chips were unseasoned and there was no plum jus on the plate. Just a few overcooked vegetables, corn puree and a few pieces of popcorn that I'm not sure what they added to the plate as they were very stale. My partner's tagliata was ok but the peppercorn sauce was an over reduced powder mix with no taste whatsoever. Not at one time did the server come and ask if the food was ok. Overall very disappointed and will never go back. The server need some basic training in up selling and...

The food is without doubt excellent, we had starters of Rabbit pasta and Ravioli Maltese, which was as good as my mum used to make. For mains we had the special Lampuki -putescana and the Rabbit Stew. The Rabbit was exceptional while the Lampuki (Mahi Mahi) was good but spoiled by the overly salty capers. The sad thing is the environment! Mostly due to the ineffectual lighting, albeit fancy bulbous glass fittings, the lighting is bland and sterile. Those kind of lights only really work against a coloured background and are more commonly used as a feature fitting over counters or in clusters, as it is they are the equivalent of naked single 60w light bulbs producing a very basic and depressing effect. Either put some colour into the walls (currently sterile dull white) or change the light fittings. The furniture is quality with deep red leather banquets but the overall atmosphere is dull and lacks intimacy, some touch sensitive table lamps would make a huge difference. I speak with some experience having been in commercial retail design...

My wife and I had lunch here and it was so incredible that we had to come back again the next day to try more of the dishes. Any place that greets you with complimentary Prosecco, you know it’s going to be a great experience. Not only that but complimentary limoncello, or after dinner drink was on the house. The pastas were some of the best we have ever had, and all very different and unique flavors. The staff was also amazing and very friendly, had wonderful wine recommendations that paired beautifully with the dishes. I wish we would have had every meal here the 4 days we stayed on Gozo. The other 4 restaurants we tried that were “highly rated” didn’t come anywhere close to the level of perfection and overall experience that Vini e Capricci provides. Don’t think about it, just go - and...