Ed Eats

City Lounge
Old Theatre Street
Valletta
Tel: 2122 8144

Food: 5/10
Service: 6/10
Ambience: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

I’ve been told I’m overly idealistic. It is mainly because I expect things to work the way they should. Perhaps this makes me overly naïve or it just means that I’m expected to occasionally lower my expectations. I have high hopes for our society, expecting everyone I come in contact with to be responsible and considerate. Then the morning commute comes along and I realise how unrealistic I’m being.

This places an implied responsibility on people around me, whether they know it or not. If I’m expecting the person who’s doing 30 on the outer lane to do the right thing and get out of my way but have no way of communicating this clearly, then there’s little I can do to address the situation. I can hoot loudly but the person who is ignoring common sense will not be swayed by a loud noise that can mean absolutely anything.

On an individual level, this is far too complex a matter to discuss in detail on this page. We’re meant to be talking about food here after all. When it comes to a service rendered to the public, however, the matter is clearer. If I’ve opened shop and am delivering a product or service to the public, then I’m expected to be doing so to the level I’ve promised.

So if I’ve opened up a little café on the corner of a quiet street and promise decent coffee and serviceable sandwiches, that’s the least I can do. If I do more, then I’m delighting all those who walk through the doors of my little establishment. And as my establishment grows in size or shifts to a more meaningful location, so do the expectations of the public.

If I wind up with a restaurant in one of the most prominent positions on the islands, then I have a responsibility. Out of respect for the location and the expectations of those who visit, I have to offer a minimum level of food, décor, and service to lift the experience beyond that of a tourist trap. I ought to deliver that final piece of the puzzle that completes the experience of those who visit the area. One ideally goes beyond this and actually contributes to creating a magically memorable moment.

I spent last weekend in Barcelona. At no point was I disappointed by a meal. Everywhere I visited, food was being taken very seriously. And even if I’m biased in this direction, the relentless stream of excellent food contributed strongly towards me creating a very positive memory of the city that hosted me. The ultimate acid test is asking whether I’ll return and the city passes with flying colours.

I’d been planning to visit City Lounge that weekend because a couple of people told me about it, citing the spectacular location. Then plans happened and I was in the wrong country to do so but I did dash over as soon as I was back, taking four people with me. I’m blessed that way, being surrounded by gourmands who will always nod yay to an impromptu, mid-week feast.

There’s some attention that ought to be paid in the kitchen

I had absolutely no idea what to expect because I’d only heard reference to the view. As I parked, I realised that this was a little worrying. And when I walked up to the restaurant I was even more concerned. The entrance is just off St George’s square and the terrace is visible from the square so we knew that a lovely view was in the making. What was worrying was the presence of two huge menu boards, mounted on giant easels, that flanked the main door like banners heralding a tourist menu.

We walked up two flights of steps to get to the terrace and through what must be an eye-wateringly expensive restoration of the place. It might not all be done to my liking. I would never have picked that specific décor and would only keep the beautiful paintings on the wall if the place were mine. They win points for the effort.

The terrace is as spectacular as you can imagine it to be and the man who greeted us, ever helpful and polite, put a couple of tables together and made sure we were comfy. He was the only one who knew anything about service. Two of his colleagues occasionally tried to help but the only weapon in their arsenal was a bumbling enthusiasm... this alone does not a waiter make.

The menu is a very brief affair. It turns out that the ‘lounge’ is actually a steak house. So there is a handful of steaks, three ways to steak fish, and a few pasta dishes to choose from. The wine menu is also very humble and well-priced but don’t expect that particular Haut-Médoc you love so much to be represented here.

There’s a note on the menu that states that every main course is served with any of the 12 items at the salad bar and the food prices are really reasonable so it felt like whoever conceived this restaurant was on a mission to deliver democratically, making this lovely location accessible to almost all diners. This is another early win for City Lounge.

We placed our orders with the helpful man and he once again delivered a very pleasant experience. We ordered a single course each as this seemed to be expected. There are no starters on the menu and there is the mention of that salad bar.

Our food was delivered almost too quickly. I’d gone for the strip loin, the better half had the fillet, and the fish and solitary pasta dishes were served at the same time. There was nothing to go with the main courses except bowls of chips and I decided to ask one of the guys about the salad. He pointed inside the restaurant and I went to figure this out.

There is that kind of cold salad bars you get at hotel buffets and it rarely inspires much confidence. I suppose we were meant to have done this for starters but no one mentioned anything and we just stayed put, enjoying our perch above the square. I picked the marrows, aubergine and string beans as fitting sides for my steak and headed back out.

The steak was decent but not remarkable. The high temperature of the grilling on the outside gave it a lovely charred exterior and mine was done rare as I’d requested it. It was very simply seasoned and I’d avoided the sauces, something I tend to do when there’s the usual list of sauces on the menu for a quid each. The plates hadn’t been warmed so our food lost heat very rapidly. This isn’t awful when eating a rare steak but it does cause havoc on the fish-eating side of the table. The two fish-eaters gave up half way through when the salmon turned to cooked sashimi.

Active disappointment was being registered from the pasta eater. The Norma was apparently quite disappointing and, judging from the facial expressions, I decided I wouldn’t give it a try for additional verification. And so we all stopped eating quite early into the meal, devouring the excellent chips before they, too, grew cold.

We paid €25 each. The location itself is probably worth the price. And the price is what keeps the whole thing in perspective. I embarked on this journey imposing a set of high culinary expectations.

They could tighten up the service a little and there’s some attention that ought to be paid in the kitchen, yet I can’t fault them for making the experience so affordable.

You can send e-mails about this column to ed.eatson@gmail.com or follow @edeats on Twitter.