Enjoying the great outdoors

Doug’s dinners

The Terrace
Tigné Seafront, Sliema
Tel: 2346 0000

Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

A few days ago I was chatting on the phone to a friend in England when the subject of weather came up.

Now, I don’t know about you but I find it nearly impossible to talk to any English person without this particular topic arising at some point in the conversation. They are sort of genetically programmed that way.

So there we were, deeply involved in a discussion about the intricacies of an internet project he is working on, when he took an unexpected detour.

“What’s the weather like over there?” John asked suddenly.

“Erm. Hot. It’s summer,” I replied.

“Ah yes, summer, I remember that. We had ours last Tuesday.”

Of course, he exaggerates – I am led to believe England had the full three-day summer this year – but I can understand where he was coming from.

“I would give my right arm to be sitting outside some Maltese restaurant right now, sipping a glass of wine, chewing on a steak and soaking up the balmy atmosphere,” he added wistfully.

And that got me thinking about that fact that we do have it rather good over here weather-wise, don’t we?

Hundreds of thousands of people from various damp corners of the globe come here to enjoy what we have on our doorstep a good six months of the year. And it doesn’t exactly work the other way round does it? I mean when was the last time you were stretched out on the beach dreaming of being drizzled on in Doncaster?

What’s all this got to do with restaurants, I hear you cry. Well, not a great deal, really. Apart from the fact that John’s comment vis-à-vis his testicles put me right in the mood to sit outside a restaurant, sipping a glass of wine, chewing on a steak and soaking up the balmy atmosphere. And the beautiful thing was, not being in Doncaster, I could be doing so in the blink of an eye.

In fact, a quick babysitting request later, and Sharon and I find ourselves heading out to eat that very evening.

I had heard the Fortina Resort had recently added to its expanding repertoire of restaurants by opening a new eatery on the roof of their beach club – located across the road from their Sliema hotels.

And so it was there we headed, without a reservation but confident the gods of spontaneous dining would be watching over us. And, as it happened, they were: first by providing us with a parking space just a stone’s throw away from our destination, and then by ensuring there was a vacant table when we got to the restaurant.

The Terrace, as it is known, is exactly what it says on the tin – a terrace. Situated on the roof of the beach club and just a few metres from the sea, it enjoys quite spectacular views of Manoel Island and Valletta. And I mean proper spectacular.

Billed as a wine bar and restaurant, there are a variety of different types of seating arrangements to choose from, including your standard table and chairs, coffee tables with comfy sofas, and a few tall tables with bar stools.

As the standard ones were all full, and sofas don’t lend themselves to eating, we end up on one of the high tables. Should be interesting, considering Sharon is – how shall I put this politely – vertically challenged.

Having been guided to our seats by an exceptionally polite man, we order some drinks and swap between glancing down at the menu and up at the view. Ah, if John could see me now, he would be reaching for a pair of pliers and a stick to bite on.

Deciding on what to order isn’t an entirely complicated procedure. The menu, while covering all the food groups, is not overly extensive. There is a bit of something for everyone, as far as I can see, but not so much variety that you need weeks to make up your mind.

In fact, it takes us just a couple of minutes before we are ready to order. It’s a light plate of mixed meats to share as a starter, then a rib eye for me and a Fortina burger for Sharon.

I ask for a bottle of local wine but the waitress politely informs me that they don’t sell them. Although that seems a little strange she recommends the house white, which sounds fine and French, so we go with that.

I look over at Sharon to find her swinging her legs rapidly back and forth, like an excited child on a grown-up’s chair. However, this motion is not born out of excitement but a combination of the fact that her feet don’t reach the foot rest and that she is trying to keep warm.

There is the faintest of gentle sea breezes blowing in, and while most people (like me, for example, and the other 50 or so diners at The Terrace) would consider that a blessing in the middle of August, Sharon is actually starting to shiver.

As the waitress delivers our starters we ask if we could possibly move to one of the ordinary tables when one becomes available, the theory being that Sharon will be less exposed to the elements at that level.

The waitress very accommodatingly agrees, and by the time we are halfway through our salami, hams and crackers we find ourselves seamlessly transferred to a different table. All part and parcel of being married to someone with the body mass of a spatula.

Glancing around the other tables I would say it is an even split between locals and tourists, and another even split between people who are eating and others who are just here to enjoy a glass of wine or seven, while admiring their surroundings.

We watch in quiet amusement as our main courses are delivered to our previous table by a young waiter who obviously hadn’t been informed of our cunning table swap. A swap that has, incidentally, served its purpose. We gesture to the lad and put him out of his confused misery.

Now you may have noticed I didn’t focus much attention on the starter. That is primarily because you can’t really go wrong with a plate of cold cuts. The mains, however, are both worthy of a few column inches.

My steak, for example, has both essential areas covered – taste and size. The meat itself had been sliced down the middle and served as a double decker, allowing the juices to cascade onto the plate. I had asked for it medium and that is precisely what I got.

There would have been no getting away from it considering I could see right into the heart of the rib eye from the moment it arrived. While the steak was obviously the star of the show, the vegetable and potato supporting acts were also very worthy of mentions. A great main course.

Meanwhile, Sharon has struck gold with her burger. We have, on numerous occasions, been let down by ‘house’ burgers in the past. But no chance of that here. The patty is a blend of pork and beef that has been flame grilled to perfection. It comes with particularly crisp onion rings, salad and fries.

As burgers go, Sharon agrees this is one of the better ones.

Neither of us manage to clean our plates and this provokes concern from one of the waiters. Nice to see people care enough to wonder why you haven’t finished your meal, although in our case it was purely a capacity issue.

We briefly contemplate dessert but common sense wins over. Instead we ask for the bill and sit back to finish off the wine and take in as much of the atmosphere as possible before returning home.

The view from the balcony of our apartment is not quite as enthralling unless, of course, staring at other people’s balconies gets your juices flowing.

Our night out at The Terrace had been highly successful and thoroughly enjoyable. Although I wouldn’t specifically class this as a full-blown restaurant due to the limitations of the menu, the food we had was just what we wanted.

The service was polite, warm and friendly throughout, from the welcome on arrival to the chirpy farewell. And at slightly over €60 for the meal, the price certainly wasn’t over the odds either.

But the one thing that really sold this place to me was the ambience. When you have such a stunning backdrop to work with, it would be extremely difficult to go awry. But the simple, understated set-up of the place makes it all the more relaxing.

From what I understand, The Terrace will only be open during summer, which is to be expected considering it is the open-air aspect which really makes the place. On that basis, if you want to give it a try I would imagine you have only got a few weeks in which to do so.

Personally speaking, this was an evening out that really hit the spot. Malta 1, Doncaster 0.

dougsdinners@timesofmalta.com

The Scoring

When reviewing any restaurant I try to be as objective as possible and take into consideration all the different aspects which make for an enjoyable meal. The scores I give cannot be seen as a permanent result for a venue, but merely a reflection on how it performed on the occasion I was there. Also, it is important to note that comparisons between different restaurants’ marks should not be made. I score an establishment on how it performs within its own field, not against competitors in different catering sectors. For example, a cheap pizzeria that does what it does well is just as deserving of a high mark as a fine dining establishment would be.