Pet’s Plates

Drift Meze/Cafe
Ibraġġ Road,
Ta’ L-Ibraġġ, Swieqi.
Tel: 2713 8540

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

Greece is at the very heart of Mediterranean cuisine. It is, in fact, considered to be the birthplace of Mediterranean food as we know it today.

In spite of this, it is a cuisine that is, alas, often underrated. The history of Greece is one of extraordinary colour. And so, too, is its cuisine, which is healthy, yet nonetheless appetising, making use of the natural flavour and qualities of fresh ingredients picked from both land and sea.

It is a cuisine that is flavoursome and vibrant, upheld by wholesome core ingredients that haven’t changed since Ancient Greece; the olives and their oil, the fruit and vegetables, the cheeses made from goat and sheep’s milk, and, of course, a plenitude of fish, shellfish and meat. Greek dishes are dishes to be eaten and celebrated and I was desperately craving some.

Sadly, I won’t be heading to Greece this summer, but it was easy enough to get to Ta’ l-Ibragg. The owners of Drift are the people who brought us the restaurant Bouzouki in Spinola Bay, a perennially popular place that enjoyed a great reputation. They have now opened this cafe right by the Ibraġġ parish church. I couldn’t wait to eat there and, yes, my expectations were high.

As we entered I immediately felt at ease. The interior is bright, modern and comfortable with a veranda running along the length of the place where you can sit and watch the world go by in this ever-busy corner of Swieqi.

You can drop by at Drift for a bagel or ftira, or a coffee and a morning croissant. But I quickly flipped past the breakfast menu section, itching for all things Greek.

The Greek menu has been kept wonderfully simple and concise. The most complicated main course dish is the Moussaka. The rest is a combination of grilled meats or fish, kefthetes (or meatballs), salads, grilled hullumi, saganaki (fried feta cheese) and dips. This is classic Greek cooking at its simplest, but it nonetheless made for a beautiful spread. It is just the sort of relaxed fare you would find in a Greek taverna.

A true melange of fresh produce and a love of good cooking, all resulting in a distinctly Eastern Mediterranean flavour

The chefs have picked traditional, hot favourites that are fast and easy to prepare. There’s never need for complex recipes when fresh ingredients are at hand. Drift’s selection of small dishes and appetizers encouraged the meze style of eating that can be found all over Greece. It is a glorious way to savour food and speaks to hospitality.

Our table shared everything that came our way. We mixed choices from the starter and main course sections and asked that all dishes be served together. The staff had been extremely charming from the moment we stepped inside and were very happy to comply.

We first attacked our trio of traditional Greek dips. Aubergine is a staple food in Greek cuisine and we ate the Melintzanasalata or aubergine dip with relish. The smoky aubergine had been beaten to a creamy pulp and, with the addition of garlic and olive oil, had been rendered even more delicious. It would have been the best accompaniment to the beef kebab that I had forgotten to order!

The hummus, comprising chickpea and sesame, was rich and smooth. The smoked cod roe of the taramsalata dip had a lovely saltiness from the cured fish. Instead of the more expensive white version, pink fish roe had been used and it had imparted a gorgeous colour. As tradition calls for, all dips were accompanied by some warm, crusty bread. On to the Dolmathes. I have written previously of the acute pleasure that these stuffed vine leaves can bring when executed well, naturally. The vine leaves were succulent and filled with rice. Herbs had been used judiciously and not excessively and these lovely, little things were mouth-wateringly good!

The very generous fish platter consisted of deep fried calamari rings coated in a delightfully light, crisp, golden batter; tender grilled squid; fried octopus that was a tad too garlicky; and perfectly grilled red prawns served whole in their shells. A lovely creamy yoghurt dipping sauce accompanied the platter.

The food was divine! So divine, in fact, that I grew increasingly frustrated with my cutlery that only allowed me to delicately pick at things. I promptly discarded my fork and knife and shamelessly ate with my hands. It was a joy to savour every morsel in this manner. The primal, sensual connection to the food seemed to make it taste even better.

When it was time for dessert, I could not resist the temptation that is baklava – a traditional Greek sweet shared also by Balkan and Arab countries. This sweet pastry can be truly magnificent. There is the crispness and fairy lightness of flaky filo pastry, sandwiching a lush, moist centre of sweet honey or syrup and crushed nuts.

To my mind, Baklava is possibly one of the heavenliest of desserts and the slice I received at Drift definitely did it justice. I am dying to return in order to purchase an entire tray. We ended the meal with some milky iced coffee frappe, another heavenly Greek invention that can be found and drunk in virtually any Greek cafe. If you are a coffee lover, nothing quite beats a frappe in the summer heat.

My one complaint at Drift was only as regards the service which was sluggishly slow at times, even though the place was not busy in the slightest when we were there. I had enjoyed our lunch enormously.

It had been a true melange of fresh produce and a love of good cooking, all resulting in a distinctly Eastern Mediterranean flavour. It was cooking that had been kept simple enough but which was lovely nevertheless. The Greek menu at Drift is limited but you have to remember that this is a cafe style place. I hadn’t disliked one item.

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