Ed eats

Bongo Nyah
Triq il-Gardiel,
Marsascala
Tel: 9985 5057

Food: 7/10
Location: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Once in a while I emerge from my cave to cavort with actual humans. On one such occasion I was with a friend who did something that can turn out to be a little awkward. When a conversation turned into a deep discussion about food, as is wont to happen, this friend outed me to someone I’d just been introduced to.

“He’s Ed,” she said, going on to qualify that I’m the one who writes this column. I fidgeted because, despite years of this going on, I don’t quite know how to react, particularly because I do all I can to keep my identity under wraps.

This new acquaintance shifted gears as she seemed to have bottled up a number of questions to ask me should she ever happen to be introduced to me. I won’t go into detail but I must have given her the impression that I only ever eat at fine dining restaurants and will only eat food that’s taken hours to prepare.

Well, that’s not the point of food. I love fine dining as much as I’m content to fill my face with pastizzi grease. The point of food is suitability. It’s ability to fit a scenario like a glove. The way in which food can form the kingpin of a conversation when necessary, or simply melt into the background and take its placeas a single component of a complete experience.

The oddity of the question about whether I turn every eating moment into a bacchanalian orgy was compounded by the fact that we were eating a pizza dispensed by the slice at one of the trashiest locations these fair Islands have the good sense not to turn their nose upon.

So I don’t rate food by it’s proximity to a Michelin star. I rate it by its ability to be served within the most appropriate context and to fulfil the promise that surrounds it. I’d dish out a nine on 10 to a ftira at Andrew’s Bar in Birkirkara, because it is consistent, well-priced, and bang on the promise the bar makes.

One Sunday night, after a rather involving weekend, I felt like simple and comforting food within an environment that would allow a quiet conversation. I’d planned to meet my brother for dinner. It’s not that we need a reason to meet and eat – we both love having our bellies filled with good food – but we did have something to discuss and needed a couple of hours during which we’d both be bolted to the same patch of planet.

He suggested that we pay a visit to Bongo Nyah in Marsascala and I jumped at the opportunity, because I’d heard that it was worth a visit. I also value the opinion of a picky and incurable gourmand, so I was in for the win.

The restaurant has a very unassuming exterior and you’re greeted by a flight of stairs with nothing to indicate what’s going on up there. We climbed the dimly lit staircase and it opens up into a very welcoming and cosy space. The décor has its own brand of charm, with wooden furniture, shelves filled with books and board games, exposed stone walls and tastefully arranged bits and bobs that all come together to help all who enter feel at home quite quickly.

Bongo Nyah treated us very kindly on all levels

This is just what I needed. There are nights when I want to move as far away from all that is pretentious as possible and this was right on the money. We’d placed a reservation and this was just as well because the restaurant was pretty busy.

The girl who greeted us and brought menus was polite and jovial, keeping interaction friendly without ever overstepping the mark. She knew enough about the menu to help out with our queries and dashed off to keep up with the rest of the diners while we browsed the menus.

These aren’t particularly extensive and they’re supplemented by a page of specialities that included a couple of pasta dishes and a steak. The menu has a few salads, a page of platters, a couple of ways with pasta, and an interesting mix of burgers. They also take their chips seriously enough to dedicate a little section to a bunch of different ways to fry spuds. Care has been taken throughout to include healthy dishes and interesting vegetarian options. Then there are even more menus, with speciality teas and coffees. Someone’s really put a lot of thought into the food and drink.

This steered me quite quickly in the direction of the burgers. I wasn’t in the mood for pasta and wasn’t quite sold on the idea of having a salad when I knew I’d be envious of what others were eating. I couldn’t decide on which burger to go for and finally, after some egging on by the brother, decided on the sliders. Four pygmy burgers instead of one, all representing a different variation on the theme.

We also agreed to share one of the platters to start with and, after much deliberation, settled on the Lebanese edition. Then it was time to pore over the drink menus, mainly perusing the beer cards. We settled on a Belgian IPA that I’d tried before and loved. The ladies were more enamoured by the cocktail menu. It was the wine menu that felt neglected that night.

Our starter was served quite quickly and our fears about having too little to go around were quickly shown to have been unfounded. The bounty in front of us included freshly fried falafel, a little pot of baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, lamb koftas, pitta bread, and salad. I’ll start with the tabbouleh because it stole the show with a hint of citrus, a heady olive oil and plenty of fresh parsley. Made in the Lebanese way, it also included bulgar wheat to hold it all together.

I’m quite picky with baba ghanoush and like it when the aubergine has been grilled so that I can taste the charring. This has been dealt with more gracefully, so the garlic was more pronounced but, even if not my favourite approach, it worked perfectly with the toasted pitta. I’d do away with the lamb koftas because they did no favours to the dish.

When we finally sat back and sipped our beers, our hostess asked whether she could clear the little we’d left and whether she should ask the kitchen to start our next course. This gives away much of the character of Bongo Nyah. If we’d wished to sit for a while, sip our beers and, perhaps, try out a board game, we were welcome to. You’re basically invited to hang out and take things at your own pace. And being allowed to take your own pace is what really helps you to relax.

The sliders were all they’d promised to be and a little more. A foursome of little burgers sat atop a slender slab of slate. I attacked them from left to right, going from one with blue cheese to bacon, to a sweet Cajun, and finishing off with Jamaican. Each one was a tiny treat, with a perfectly textured beef patty and a rather broad spectrum of flavours going from sour to sweet to spicy and ripe and then all the way back. In the name of this column I got to taste the bean burger in a brown bread bun as well as the standard beef burger, and there was no dip in standard here.

We paid €20 each for more than our fill of good food and a couple of rounds of drinks and it felt like excellent value. Bongo Nyah had treated us very kindly on all levels and hadn’t really dented our wallets in the process.

Instead it provided an unassuming backdrop to a lovely evening that ended with four people walking out with big smiles on their faces. And I suppose this is a meaningful yardstick by which one ought to rate any eatery.

It feels like someone had sat down one day and picked apart what it felt like for them to relax. They wanted a space where they felt at home, a place that was totally devoid of pretences and a simple choice of comforting and tasty food. Add a good selection of tipple, tasteful music and excellent teas and coffees for good measure. They then set about creating Bongo Nyah to this formula, and I think it really works.

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