Mysterious. Outgoing. Ravishing. Energetic. Nuts. Ambitious. Code word: MORENA!
Oh yeah! You’ve had enough of this crazy Gozitan girl playing Spy 1 for a while and chasing Vodka – so I’ll just spare you and get to the point immediately.
I’m sitting at Jubilee in Gżira with my best friend – Mr Laptop – and Morena is actually sitting next to me watching me type away until she expertly dabs her full lips with several layers of lip gloss (I told her she will be photographed later! Vanity! Vanity!).
Jubilee café and wine bar is buzzing with activity, and we just managed to grab a booth at the far end of the café, sliding into cosy comfort while we wait to be served.
The place rocks! I love the concept they created. The ceiling wallpaper made out of newspapers and the tables, chairs, and other paraphernalia hanging upside down just makes Jubilee stand out from the crowd. It’s totally crazy but works perfectly.
Gżira Jubilee is very spacious. It has a long bar area, where those of us wanting to train their legs and stand up sipping beer or wine can do so freely. For those who prefer to sit (and I happen to belong to the latter group) we are spoilt for choice. Maybe you would fancy a table by the entrance or one of the cosy booths at the rear end of the café… If you are a smoker and want to fill your lungs with more smoke, then you can choose to do so by hogging one of the tables outside.
Now that the lip gloss is back in its plastic tube, I share some casual chit-chat with La Morena.
The lovely Jubilee waitress brings us menus and a wine list without us having to ask for it. She smiles heartily, and tells us she will give us some time to decide and be back soon.
Of course, it does take a while for us to decide.
I’m looking at the wine menu and think that I was a fool to assume that Jubilee would not have a good wine selection. I am pleasantly surprised. I count about six rosés, 22 reds, and 16 whites – all equally balanced between local and foreign.
Morena is getting excited. She is not a big alcohol drinker (Oh really!), but I convince her to choose the wine, and as I guessed, she plays the Miss Patriotic trump card and chooses a Gozitan wine – Victoria Heights Shiraz.
Next is the food menu.
The problem was what to pick. So many things look delicious but I’m in the mood for some dips and Morena asks if we could get a salad Nicoise to go with them. Yes of course! Pig yourself my dear! A foreign waiter who could have walked out of the Ford Model Agency takes our order. His English is not exactly great (and that’s being nice), but we give him our order and show him the Nicoise salad on the menu (there is a pronunciation problem) and it works out beautifully.
He returns back in a flash to tell us that from all the wines on the menu the Victoria Heights Shiraz is not available. Morena sighs, opens the wine menu again, and picks the Odyssey Grenache Rosé – a local wine with Gozitan roots. The girl does not give up easily!
The Ford would-be model smiles graciously, and walks away.
Great! So now it’s me and Morena, and I have every intention to ask her all the things I want to know.
“You love Gozo so much,” I start off, “but I’m curious if you would rather be unknown in Gozo or popular in Malta?”
Jackpot! Her brows furrow in thought. “I would appreciate if you are honest,” I continue playfully watching her beautiful brown eyes dart around nervously.
And she is! “Popular in Malta,” she finally admits. “I would prefer to live my private life in Gozo.”
A mere 10 minutes pass and the charismatic Jubilee waitress is back with the Odyssey and my-oh-my… the food!
She opens the wine professionally, and I get to taste it. Divine! Then she pours the wine systematically into our glasses, and asks if we require anything else. We don’t. We just want to eat.
I can easily recommend the trio of dips. They consist of an in-house chicken liver pâté, piquant caper and black olive dip, cream sun-dried tomatoes and crudities with a basket full of galletti and bread. All this for €6!
The salad Nicoise is equally delicious. It’s a freshly grilled tuna (two big chunks), with cherry tomatoes and a mix of green leaves drizzled with a classic vinaigrette priced at €7.
So what about the wine?
The Odyssey is another superb choice. This fine rosé has an intense aroma reminiscent of fresh apples and warm spice. It’s a medium bodied wine and it’s served to us chilled – exactly how it should be. The menu suggests it’s good with veal and poultry dishes, but, judging by the rate Morena is topping up our glasses I can assure you it’s perfectly all right with the tuna and dips. Bank on my advice!
The wild, Gozitan brunette is seriously hungry, and her appetite is contagious. We devour the platter and the tuna in between some local gossip which gets close to home.
“And just for the record, I’m happily married,” she adds munching on some galletti, and killing all rumour that has been circulating like a deadly virus.
Just for fun, and to add some more spice to our conversation, I ask whom she would French-kiss if she had a choice between Peppi Azzopardi and Lou Bondi, and she is surprisingly quick with her answer. “Peppi!”
The evening rolls on, and soon it’s time to embark on my bathroom ritual.
The first thing that hits me is that the bathrooms are wheelchair friendly, and perfectly equipped for people with special needs. Absolutely impressive! How often do we get this in Malta? Not that often I can tell you. It’s high time we start thinking about such facilities for our wine bars, cafés, and restaurants. Top marks to Jubilee for being so thoughtful.
It’s quite seldom that I have nice things to say about bathrooms in our wine bars, but hey – I like these ones! Nice colours, nice design, and spacious.
I’m back from my little visit to the men’s room, and Morena is getting ready to rush off. We take a couple of pictures (lip gloss still very present), and I ask the friendly staff to bring over the bill. They realise we are in a rush and they punch in the data at supersonic speed with the potential Ford Model boy handing it over.
At €23.25 for the Odyssey, dips and Nicoise salad I can freely say it screams out good value for money.
I am very happy with the evening. Maybe the music could have been a little less loud, but apart from that I have nothing to complain about.
I also feel it was a good choice to ask Morena to Jubilee. She fits the ambience just like silicone fits Pamela Anderson. It simply works!

privateye@timesofmalta.com

Rating 1 - 7

Wine ******

Food *******

Ambience *****

Service ******

Source: Weekender, February 7, 2009

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