One80
Triq il-Wied ta’ Ruman,
Mellieħa

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

Save me a place because I’m coming back! I was standing on the terrace at one80, aperitif in hand, menu on lap, and already I was enjoying myself. This restaurant’s location is stunning; happily situated on the Mellieħa hillside, affording diners a sweeping 180 degree view over Mellieħa. It is a view that takes you from the top of the hill where the parish church dominates the skyline, down through the valley and onto the bay, before trailing off into the sea. It is unquestionably a beautiful spot.

One80 opened its doors about a year ago and has been enjoying stellar success. I could already see why. All around me, diners’ reactions to the food being served were more than encouraging. The menu offers genuine Mediterranean cuisine. Elegant twists to familiar dishes and the use of locally sourced ingredients make for a refreshing selection of food.

The establishment also proposes a wide variety of wines that work in harmony with the menu. We sat inside for the first part of our meal, enjoying the restaurant’s spacious, well laid out interior. Everything about this stylish restaurant oozes ease and comfort, whether you’re sitting at the bar or enjoying cocktails and a platter in the lounge area.

We started off with the home-made Arancini - the Sicilian street food favourite that dates back to Arab domination. We enjoyed two kinds, both nicely executed. The crunchy seafood arancini served with a zingy tartar sauce were ridiculously tasty. The ragù arancini were bursting with oozy deliciousness and were accompanied by a fragrant herb-based salsa verde. The fritto misto, comprising golden crisp tendrils of octopus, calamari and prawns served with a pickled cucumber and tartar sauce, was delicious but dangerously moreish.

This lunch was going to be good. It had to be. The paccheri dish of braised lamb belly ragù was utterly divine; rich and complex and crowned with a crumbling of fresh ricotta. Having been slow cooked in Chianti Classico, this fatty, flavourful cut of meat was unctuous and meltingly tender. The tube-shaped pasta paired beautifully with the meaty, sa­voury sauce, acting as the perfect vessel.

In the past, paccheri also served as the perfect vessel to smuggle garlic. Indeed, of all the commodities traded around a pre-Napoleonic Europe, the Prussians craved garlic, particularly southern Italian garlic. Their insipid, lacklustre variety of garlic was no match for the large, pungent Italian variety grown under a hot Mediterranean sun.

In a bid to protect local garlic farmers, 17th century Prussia banned the importation of Italian garlic. Though momentarily safe from the scourge of garlic breath, the Prussian aristocracy was en­raged. Equally enraged were poor southern Italian garlic farmers.

Elegant twists to familiar dishes and the use of locally sourced ingredients make for a refreshing selection of food

The solution lay in pasta. Ingenious pasta makers created a pasta shaped specifically to hide a handful of garlic cloves in its cavity. In this way the pacchero was born and garlic could be successfully smuggled across the Alps into Prussia.

Few types of pasta, if any, can boast of such a fascinating origin. The homemade rabbit raviolacci tossed in a thick porcini and thyme jus, provided several mouthfuls (portions are generous) of hearty, gamey fabulousness. The superior quality of the pasta and the flavour combinations made for a delectable first course dish. The porcini contributed earthiness and body to the sauce; the thyme, a herbal note.

You won’t find farm-bred fish at one80. Cooked al cartoccio on the chef’s recommendation, the fresh­ly caught Ċippullazz (Scorpion fish) was gorgeous, with a delicate fla­vour that was pleasing to the palate. It was served with a capo­nata and a bowl of chunky chips and made for a satisfying main course dish.

Served medium-rare in unfailing pink glory, the duck breast was succulently tender and perfectly seasoned. The other components on the plate � the duck leg croquettes and the velvety smooth sweet potato puree � were delightful, providing contrasting textures and well-balanced flavour that complemented the meat beautifully. A drizzle of red wine and pickled beetroot jus completed the dish.

I refused to leave one80 before having sampled a dessert. The pistachio and olive oil cake served with some wonderful pistachio ice cream was sinfully good. The cake was light with beautiful texture and a moist crumb.

I adore butter and I love baking with it, but I have found olive oil to be a worthy alternative. It can make the most exquisite cakes. This pistachio cake was a clear case in point. The lavender crème brulèe was also quite lovely. With a rich custard base and the crunchiest of hardened caramel toppings, it was, in every respect, a perfect crème brulèe. There was, however, none of the nuanced, delicately perfumed flavour one would expect from a cream infused with lavender. I wished to be transported to Provence and its fragrant lavender fields, but I remained firmly planted in Mellieħa.

Shameless gluttony had aboun­ded at our table, from the appetisers and hearty first course dishes, to the delicious dessert and complimentary limoncello we ended our meal with.

One80 offers strong cooking that eats well. Here they believe in food provenance, ingredient quality and seasonality. This level of excellence is also reflected in the service. The waiting staff were extremely attentive and accommodating without being imposing. They are courteous and professional in their work.

Well dressed and with impeccable manners, they aimed to please our every whim; whether we asked to order off the menu or wished to take our main course out onto the terrace on realising that the wind had died down.

At every stage of the meal, I felt at ease and pampered. I could have happily lazed on the terrace for hours before re-entering for dinner.

Prices here are not cheap; however, this restaurant does tick all the right boxes. I think they’re onto a winning formula. There is something special going on here.

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