An explosion of flavours at this restaurant in Naxxar
Marrying flavours from the Mediterranean with those from different cultures, the restaurant at The Village Boutique Hotel and Spa, provides diners something they are not expecting
Philippa Zammit
Wednesday evenings call for relaxation, sipping on cocktails and indulging in a delicious meal with the girls, ideally somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Malta streets. Cause let’s face it, who’s in the mood for noise and chaos after a hard day’s work? Definitely not me.
I was delighted to hear that our favourite boutique hotel - where we’ve treated ourselves to countless of spa days - is also operating its very own restaurant. Considering that its extremely centrally located in an quiet alley in the heart of Naxxar and offers an extensive menu of fusion cuisine, I thought our weekly meet-up was the ideal occasion to tick this restaurant off my list.
As soon as we set foot inside this boutique hotel, we were instantly greeted with warmth and hospitality. The décor is a comforting mixture of old vs new; modern furniture and vibrant pops of colours mixed with the traditional features of the old building and some precious antiques.
As we made our way to the restaurant, the lovely aromas coming from the kitchen promised a fantastic meal ahead. But what caught my eye first was the state-of-the-art bar stocked down to a T, which lured us in to ordering a cocktail too many by the end of the evening.
Head chef Bjorn Sacco’s love of food is evident in the sumptuous dishes he prepares using the best local ingredients. Bjorn has always been into catering and after studying in France at the Paul Bocuse Culinary School, he even went on to work in different restaurants around the world and later made his way back home to flaunt his knowledge and creativity over here.
For starters, we opted for the tuna tartare, which was made up of a layer of raw tuna chunks on another layer of chopped avocado, with chilli jam and mango gel to give it that Asian twist.
We also opted for a hearty plate of pasta to share. Juicy duck meat slow braised in a red wine jus and folded with perfectly cooked pappardelle pasta. An absolute treat to eat.
For mains we chose the pork belly and rib-eye steak to satisfy our carnivorous cravings. Chef Bjorn whipped out some magic with the crispy melt-in-your-mouth pork belly, paired with apple chutney and puree, herb oil and red wine jus. The rib-eye steak is a classic and great on its own, but the homemade truffle butter made it stand out... simply indulgent.
After all this deliciousness, we felt full to the brim and extremely sad there was absolutely no room for dessert. On the bright side, it will give us an even better reason to make our return next week.
Although we opted for pretty meaty options, I would very much like to return to try the vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu, which looked just as good as they sailed by to other tables.
The Village has a full a la carte menu of fusion cuisine that is served at lunch and dinner seven days a week, with an emphasis on fresh local produce, including meat and fish, and apart from their signature items, specials are also offered, with a great selection of dishes to tantalise the taste buds. Oh, and if you’re an early riser, you wouldn’t want to miss out on their daily buffet breakfast too!
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