Valletta Restaurant & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Portsmouth

Not what I was expecting. Let’s start with the fact that the food that we had was ok, it was hot and tasty, it was however a smaller portion so would advise having more than one course. As the food is cook from scratch 3 of the choices were unavailable. We were a table of 10 and would have been happy to pre order to avoid disappointment. The drinks were nice I had the non alcoholic cocktail which was tasty. Unfortunately for us we were sat in the window which gave for an uncomfortable environment as we were all cold, we did ask for a heater in the end to help warm us up. This seat could possibly benefit from some draft exclusion or curtains and half frosted glass as the people in our party directly next to the window did feel a little exposed (especially when a random guy drinking a can of beer stood and watched us eating) The two waitresses were pleasant and apologetic when what we ordered didn’t quite meet the description on the menu and tried to get the Chef to come and speak to us (this didn’t actually happen) My meal was removed from the total as requested it was a very sticky carbonara they did offer to cook me an “English”carbonara which I declined, we obviously had a different impression of texture here. The Manager eventually came over and tried to explain however was quite matter of fact and very un-apologetic. We were offered a voucher to come back or a drink. To be honest we were cold still a little hungry and did not feel valued as customers so we paid the bill and went to another venue in Drayton to finish our evening. The restaurant itself felt unfinished with regards to fixtures and fittings. We had to ask for drinks. At no point was there a check back once the food was delivered. From the description I was expecting a comfortable environment with delicious fresh food. I don’t like to finish on a bad note so will say the smaller tables around us seemed...

Friday 2nd December was our Christmas get together. Upon arrival everything looked very nice. The two young girl waitresses were really lovely.

Unfortunately the evening did not turn out as we had planned. The first issue with the place was a hole in the front window, were one of our group was sat. We had to ask for a heater which didn’t make much difference to the draft. Then when the waiting staff went for their breaks the whole restaurant went cold because of the draft coming up from the open door. The ladies toilet door was held on by cello tape, there were holes in walls, skirting boards were not fixed properly and the overall work downstairs did not reflect the image the restaurant is trying to achieve.

Onto the food , we were advised that some dishes of the menu were no longer available. One of which I was planning to order. We were not told of any other changes to any of the other dishes. Four of our table of 10 ordered Poussins. Not once were we advised that we would get a cheaper 1/2 of a small chicken instead of the described whole poussin. My husband and myself are Chefs and we know what a poussin is , I did not order 1/2 a small chicken I ordered a whole poussin. £19 worth. What I got was half a small chicken and not a Poussin. This was a cheap £4 chicken. Only after we complained were we offered a £10 voucher, a free drink or a free dessert. The owner was invited to come to speak to our table four times and ignored the requests. The whole experience put a dampener on our night. We paid up and left. On our way out the Chef/owner was looking at us from the kitchen. He had ample opportunity to come and speak to us. He was not busy. We will not be back. If I could give no...

We decided to book having seen an online promotion for a £5pp roast dinner. The only stipulation was that you had to purchase either a starter or a dessert also. Not a problem! We had no idea what to expect and we had booked a last sitting however, we could not fault a thing.

Upon arrival we were met by a friendly young lady who showed us to our table and handed us a menu. The menu showed all of the courses available along with details of possible upgrades should you wish I.e. a supplement if you would like beef or, an additional cost for cauliflower cheese (which I highly recommend by the way!! 1 dish will serve x2 people). Our drinks order was taken and as our drinks were served, the lady took our food order. My O/H had the bruschetta starter and I had the pâtè & bread. My O/H ordered the pork roast and I had the beef 😋

We didn’t wait too long for our food to be served. Equally, it wasn’t thrown at us as though it was pre~prepared or anything, it was the perfect timing. As was the roast dinner being served. Our starter were lovely! Then it was time for our mains…….. The beef was succulent, the roast potatoes were perfect and the vegetables were cooked to perfection and very flavoursome! My O/H thoroughly enjoyed his pork roast and I even managed to sneak a bit of his crackling 😂

I had initially thought I would be able to squeeze in a dessert but we were absolutely stuffed by the time we had eaten all of that so sadly, we gave that a miss this time.

The ambience of the restaurant was relaxing and we shall certainly be visiting again! The roast dinner was SO good that I would even pay full price for one in future.

Many thanks to George...