Pet’s Plates

Diar Il-Bniet
Dingli

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

It was a wet, miserable day. But inside Diar il-Bniet it was pure Christmas.

This quaint restaurant and farm shop on the outskirts of Dingli is flying the flag for Malta.Their varied, seasonal menu contains some lovely, wintry dishes. This is the place to go to for timpana, aljotta, kusksu bil-ful and soppa tal-armla topped with fresh ġbejniet and a poached egg. This is the home of Maltese cuisine. And merriment.

We started off lunch with the ftira mħawwra l-antika and some pulpetti tal-pastard. The fresh, crusty ftira was filled with some tasty Maltese sausage, pickled onions and fresh sheep cheese. It was lovely. The pan-fried cauliflower fritters with canned tuna were delicious, served with a side of creamy, garlicky spinach. Yum.

For mains I had ordered the stuffat tal-braġioli taċ-ċanga and was presented with two large meat parcels. These slow-cooked, thin slices of beef wrapped around a traditional stuffing of mincemeat, boiled eggs, garlic, onion and herbs were mediocre. Although the stuffing was extremely flavourful, the meat was, unfortunately, rather tough.

These were certainly not the best beef olives I’ve ever eaten but on the whole, the stew was tasty and well bodied and I enjoyed my meal well enough. The laħam imtektek fuq il-fwar was nicely done, comprising steamed layers of beef that were fragrant with fresh parsley and garlic. The braised pork shanks and cheeks with lemon and rosemary constituted a very rural style dish. The pork was excellent. Tender and juicy, it literally fell off the bone. A generous serving made for a very filling meal.

The fenek moqli was the best dish of the day! The home-grown rabbit had been fried in oil, wine and garlic and was absolutely divine. The combination of ingredients provided maximum umami flavour. All main course dishes were served with baked potatoes and roast vegetables.

There is soul in these dishes. Everything about our meal had been comforting. And comfort food has the power to transport us. Everything about this sort of food – its aroma, its taste and texture –always connects to us emotionally and, with one bite, instantly sets us on a path that leads straight home. And this is exactly what you will encounter at Diar il-Bniet – a home away from home.

These slow-cooked meals are what I love best about Maltese winters. This is good, genuine food, cooked without any frills, with no pomp or ceremony. Only the heartiest meals are served at Diar il-Bniet. They are feeders here and the proportion of portions is important. Their food will sit on the stomach – but happily so. It is the sort of food that comes hand in hand with an obligatory siesta.

It is personal food that is served at Diar il-Bniet and here they are doing their utmost to keep it relevant

There is something special going on at Diar il-Bniet. Never before have I come across such a warm, homely atmosphere in a restaurant. The ambience was just about the cosiest I have ever experienced inside a Maltese establishment. The restaurant seemed to be filled with regulars and there was a wonderful sense of familiarity.

This little place was kitted out for the festive season but, wiping away all the gorgeous Christmas decorations, the place remains charming, rustic and very Maltese. The interior of this converted village house is beautiful. The pristine, open kitchen allowed one to follow every stage of the food preparation.

It was impressive to watch the lone chef juggle the pressures of a jam-packed restaurant with such apparent ease. The staff also deserve special mention. The maitre d’ was marvellous, extremely accommodating and the nicest guy.

The restaurant is small and so too are the tables. Things can get tricky when the restaurant is packed solid. The staff were unperturbed, remaining efficient as ever and doing their utmost to keep everyone happy. We ended our lunch with some lovely mince pies and some traditional ħelwa tat-tork. It was quite excellent, sweet and crumbly. We left the restaurant feeling satisfied and in high spirits. In fact, I can’t wait to get myself there again.

The philosophy employed at Diar il-Bniet is a simple one with the most honourable of intentions at its heart. Endorsing the global movement of Farm-to-Table, they believe that food should travel the shortest mileage possible in order to get from farm to fork. This of course ensures that food is always at its absolute freshest.

Furthermore, dishes are governed by the seasons, each based on the seasonality of ingredients. This re-establishes and reinforces the understanding between man and nature, between the food served ready on a plate and its source.

The greater part of the ingredients used are sourced directly from the Diar il-Bniet fields in Dingli that have been tended by the same family for generations. In this way, the Diar il-Bniet estate oversees and manages the entire process – from farm, to restaurant table and farm shop. Other ingredients are sourced from trusted local suppliers, from the butcher to the baker.

The gorgeous farm shop in the front room offers all manner of preserves and pickles – salted tuna, ġbejniet, organically-grown olives, jams and sundried fruit.

You’ll also find house wine made from indigenous Ġellawża or Girgentina grapes grown on the estate’s vineyards. Being Christmas time, the shelves were stacked with even more goodies than usual. The likes of mulled wine fudge, mince pies and chocolate lollies filled every available nook and cranny.

At Diar il-Bniet authenticity is delivered with every meal. They make use of carefully-selected organic, Maltese produce in order to showcase much loved traditional Maltese dishes.

With time we are increasingly losing our connection to food and this place serves as a reminder. It is also keeping our culinary traditions alive and thus brings us back to our roots. It is personal food that is served at Diar il-Bniet and here they are doing their utmost to keep it relevant. We need more places like this.

Flame those puddings one last time. I wish you all the best for the year ahead!

You can send e-mails about this column to petsplates@gmail.com.