Ed eats
Lava Lounge
Valletta Waterfront
Tel 2124 2400
Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 7/10
Last week’s review was quite particular. It described a dining experience that many could consider unaffordable. Affordability in this case is taken from the point of view of what one is prepared to spend on a meal. Welcome to the era of cherry-picking.
Just a decade ago, the world of marketing and product development placed us all into convenient boxes. If your income occupied a particular bracket, you were unceremoniously dumped into a category that was largely defined by that income. Welcome to the second renaissance, we shout back at the lazy stereotypers.
We’re prepared to spend well above our expected purchasing power on something we’re very passionate about, allowing the unimportant things to languish unloved and unspent on. I haven’t bought a pair of running shoes since it was obligatory for me to do so in secondary school. Those who run regularly have spent as much on running shoes as I most likely spend on assorted geekery and associated accoutrements. And the beauty of this very individualistic rebirth is that we’re both perfectly correct to have done so.
This led me to consider reviewing an altogether more democratic restaurant last week. I sort of, kind of, loosely planned this. It ended up happening, but not in the way I expected it to. I had a particular place in mind and, as is often the case when five people are meeting for an informal dinner, everyone expected everyone else to have placed a reservation.
None of us had, so we stood outside the restaurant we had in mind, all in various states of hunger and short temper. We milled around, crammed ourselves into one car and wound up at the Valletta Waterfront because that’s what the person in the driver’s seat thought would be the quickest route to a certain meal.
No one could argue with that. The place is basically a row of restaurants. Most are unremarkable, some are quite decent and they are all vastly more affordable than last week’s forays.
We walked into the area from the little car park and found one of those boards that lists all the restaurants available and could come to no agreement. This was heading south quite quickly so we picked the only person who hadn’t voiced an opinion and asked which place she’d choose. She pointed at one tile, seemingly at random, and off to Lava Lounge we headed.
This sign said ‘Bar and Grill – Tapas Bar’. This could be interesting. When we arrived we peeked at the menu. The young ladies who were evidently taking care of the dining area smiled politely but never approached us. They allowed us the space to reach our own decision. This we did, even if the menu smelled of ‘concept’ and I’m developing an allergy to concepts.
It does what it promises to and it does so with a smile
Once we asked for a table, the girl we spoke to immediately sprang into action and had us seated within a minute. She returned with menus and took our order for water, delivering bottles and glasses really quickly, and she toured the table, asking each of us whether we preferred still or sparkling and filling our glasses.
I’m used to this treatment at far more pricey restaurants. What had been dread so far was quickly turning to optimism.
We pored over the menus and ordered a spread of tapas to start with and a selection of main courses from all over the menu. Since no one seemed to be going for the hot lava stone business, I decided I’d give it a shot and cheekily ordered the ‘giant prawns’. The meat would be too easy.
We all placed our orders, with the young lady who took them politely putting up with our indecision and chaotic babble. We added an inexpensive bottle of wine and resumed our chatter.
Twenty minutes later we were wondering where our food had gone and, as if by magic, the girl who had taken our orders walked to our table and apologised for the delay. Any angst at the wait promptly vanished.
Five minutes later all of our food was served. We’d ordered tapas but failed to say that we wanted these to start with, so everything turned up at once. Within a minute, our table was laden with food, and nothing looks better to a ravenous group of big eaters. No one was complaining about our lack of foresight. We actually tapped ourselves on the back for having unexpected foresight.
I touched one of my prawns to make sure the top wasn’t cooked. They looked quite opaque, so I feared they had been pre-cooked, but the temperature contradicted this. I quickly turned them over, realising that the wickedly hot stone would cook them in seconds. By the time I got to the first one it was practically overdone, so I did my best to tip them onto the dish at the side that hosted chips and vegetables.
The prawns tasted of ammonia and, thanks to my fumbling with them as I removed them, had been almost overdone. Such was the annoying smell that I ate two of them and left the rest. There was a table full of food I had my eyes on.
My chips were fine but not the kind you can’t stop eating, so I turned to the veg. This turned out to be excellent. The marrows seemed to have been blanched and then grilled lightly so they remained firm and full of flavour. They were so much better than the prawns that by the time my dish was taken from in front of me there were more than half the prawns left and none of the vegetables.
I started to tour the tapas. The Bravas, potatoes with a slightly spicy tomato sauce, were unremarkable. The pork and beef meatballs in a tomato sauce, on the other hand, were quite lovely. The sauce had chunks of chorizo in it, too, and these added a pleasant surprise to the little bowl. We could have gone through two more of them.
Also really enjoyable were the battered calamari. I expected the usual rings but there were bits and pieces of tiny squid in a light, crisp, and well-seasoned coating. The Spanish omelette, or tortilla de patata, was quite a generous portion and works really well as a side dish. I wouldn’t order it as a single dish, but it formed a comforting wedge of home cooking that soaked up plenty of the sauces the other dishes had plenty of.
The bravest among us had gone for quite an impressive rack of ribs. They were decent, probably quite the standard level of ribs that hits the spot without really causing excitement. What the ribs lacked in excitement, however, was made up for in the shape of a sizeable bowl of fiery piri piri sauce on the side.
Perhaps the most unusual dish was the chorizo burger. It wasn’t quite what we expected. This turned out to be four rings of grilled chorizo on top of a thick patty of roasted pepper, hummus and some rucola. It was like a veggie burger with a trick bit of chorizo snuck in.
Even if this was quite a departure from the idea we’d formed of a chorizo burger, it was a really pleasant dish. If I do return, this would very likely be my choice.
As we ate, families turned up and occupied some of the other tables. I observed as they too were made to feel comfortable, and special attention was given to the kids. There’s plenty of room for them to run around without getting overly entangled in matters that went on at table other than their own.
We wound up paying €20 each for the meal and thought this modest for the quantity of food and the manner in which it was served.
The happy families, the modest bill and the variety on the menu are what win here, ably complemented with service appropriate to what patrons expect. It might not win any Michelin stars just yet, but it does what it promises to and does so with a smile.
You can send e-mails about this column to ed.eatson@gmail.com or follow @edeats on Twitter.