General Review Details:

• Reviewed Restaurant: Le Bistro
• Review Date: Tuesday 10th March 2009
• Current Weather: Clear Calm Evening (11 Degrees)

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Piccante Restaurants Web Awards:

The Piccante Ratings:

Restaurant Ratings:

Restaurant Ambience: 9/10

Restaurant Hygiene & Layout: 9/10

Restrooms Hygiene & Layout: 7/10

Overall Service: 9/10

Value For Money: 9/10

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Food Ratings:

Timing & Followup: 9/10

Presentation: 8/10

Food Taste: 9/10

Menu Variety: 8/10

Wine List Variety: 6/10

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Overall Piccante Rating

9/10

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In-Depth Review:

Getting There:

Le Bistro is one of the restaurants situated inside the premises of the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort. Entering the grounds of Radisson which is located at St. Julian’s, simply follow the directional signs which will lead you to a secondary entrance a little further down. Parking space is available just a few meters away (free of charge) from this secondary entrance; although it is a bit limited with regards to capacity. However if you do not mind a few minutes of walking, there should be plenty of parking space available just outside the Radisson grounds. The restaurant itself is within a few steps inside this secondary entrance, just next to the reception desk.

(Le Bistro Open 24 Hrs Daily)
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(The Entrance)

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The Restaurant:

Le Bistro is a restaurant which when you enter, you notice the elegance and class immediately. Dark wood is used for almost everything, tables, chairs and restaurant furniture. A wooden structure stands by the wall and it is home to many different types of bottles (wine bottles, whiskey bottles and others) which are used as a decoration.

Moreover, paintings are also present which contribute more to the elegance of this restaurant. From the restaurant, one can also enjoy the views of the nearby sea. Apart from the main area, the restaurant has two other areas, upstairs and the terrace. The terrace is obviously used in summer, weather permitting.

Tables are very well set. Enough space is left between tables so that everyone would have enough leg room and some privacy. On every table one could find candles and a bottle of wine as decoration.

The temperature inside the restaurant was quite warm and soft music is played in the background to add up to a very relaxing atmosphere.

WiFi Connection: Multiple Points were available however we did not manage to connect to any of them, possibly due to low reception on our mobile device.

(Inside The Restaurant)
.(Inside The Restaurant)
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(Inside The Restaurant)
.(Inside The Restaurant)
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The Service:

Once in the restaurant we were welcomed by a waiter with Gary on his name tag and we were and given a table. Menus were served and a bottle of water was ordered and served immediately. After giving us some time, another waitress took our order. The wine was served immediately and as an appetizer, some bread and galletti with a bruschetta mix. Throughout the whole service, Gary took care of refilling the water and wine glasses. Sometime later the starter was served.

After the starter was finished, the empty plates were removed immediately. After some time, the main courses were served. When we finished our main course, the empty plates were taken and Gary gently cleaned up our table from any bread pieces that might have fallen on the table. We were given a separate dessert menu, from where we chose a dessert.

Overall the service at Le Bistro was exceptional. Gary made sure that we had everything in order throughout all the service, always with a smile.

(Our Selected Table)
.(The View Available From Our Table)
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The Food:

Menu: The menu at Le Bistro is divided in two; the menu served between 23:00 – 07:00 and the menu served between 11:00 – 23:00.   The restaurant itself is open 24 Hours; however there was no indication as to which menu accounts for missing gap between 07:00 – 11:00.

The very presentable and neat menus have also some interesting facts such the introduction of the marking (H) which indicates that the dish is a Healthy Choice. Another interesting fact is that the menus are filled with some small, yet enjoyable to read, phrases related to Gastronomy such as “Food is the most primitive form of comfort” and “I consider the discovery of a dish which sustains our appetite and prolong our pleasures as a far more interesting event that the discovery of a star.” The rest of phrases are left (not spoiled by us) for you to enjoy…

Starting with menu served between 11:30 -23:00, one can find a nice selection of 9 starters, out of which 2 are marked as suitable for vegetarians and 4 dishes are marked as a Healthy Option. There is also a very good selection of pasta & risotto, divided into 2 risotto dishes, 7 fresh pasta dishes and 3 pasta dishes. 6 of these dishes are also marked as suitable for vegetarians, however none as a Healthy choice.  The above dishes can be taken both as starters or either as a main course dish.

Moving further into the this menu, one can find a variety of dishes from 4 tossed salads (3 Vegetarian / 2 Healthy Choice), 5 dishes From The Ocean (2 Healthy Choice), 10 Grills with a choice of 3 different sauces to compliment the dish, 3 Platters To Share (1 Vegetarian) and 8 Wraps & Fillers (2 Vegetarian & Healthy Choice Dishes), out of which one can find the Traditional Maltese Ftira and Le Bistro 100% Beef Burger.

Coming up to menu served between 23:00 – 07:00 (Late Night Menu), this is more of a stripped down menu offering a selection of lighter dishes as one might expect.  The selection consists of 3 starter dishes (1 Vegetarian / 1 Healthy Choice), 2 Platters To Share (1 Vegetarian), 3 Pasta & Risotti (2 Vegetarian), 2 Tossed Salads (1 Healthy Choice), 2 Fillers, 3 Mains (one of which consists of a seafood dish . Fillets Of Sea Bream, and marked as a Healthy Choice) and finally for the early morning, a selection of 2 Breakfasts to kick start the day.

The small (in size not in choice) dessert menu offers a choice 8 Sweet Endings and 2 Signature Desserts complimented by some After Dinner Drinks including 3 Ports, 4 Sherries and 7 Cognacs, Armagnac & Brandies.

Finally with regards to the menu, on each table there is small leaflet with regards to the 3 Steps To Culinary Heaven – Inspiration, surprise & delight event going on every month at every restaurant and bar at Radisson. Check our events sections for more information with regards to these events.

Wine List: In the wine list, one could find wines coming from Malta, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand, Lebanon, Chile and Australia. Obviously, the wines available come from different types such as Red, White, Rose, Sweet, Sparkling and Champagne. The wine list is split into categories which are: Somelier’s Recommendation, Wines by the Glass, Half Bottles, Light Bodied Wines, Medium Bodied Wines, Full Bodied Wines, Sweet Wines, Sparkling Wines and Champagnes. This is very helpful in order to find the desired wine in less time. The wines at Le Bistro are medium priced. Our selection was a Maltese Cheval Franc, Year 2007.

Our Selection: To start off our meals at Le Bistro Spaghetti Vongole and Porcini Tortellini (which is marked as a vegetarian dish) where ordered. The Spaghetti Vongole was delightful. Besides the many mussels that were present in the sauce, some shelled mussels were also present. The chef took care to prepare an excellent sauce to highlight the delicious taste of the seafood. The mussels were very well cooked to maintain their texture and also, the spaghetti were cooked al dente, which makes the dish more pleasurable to eat. As for the Porcini Tortellini the taste was nonetheless very good and it was interesting to see a Tortellini dish marked as suitable for vegetarians. The nuts mixed to the rich creamy sauce of the dish made an interesting taste and the pasta was once again perfectly cooked. One thing to David’s disappointment however, is that the tortellini actually resembled Ravioli rather than Tortellini. This of course did not affect the taste at all however “Tortellini is a variety of ring-shaped pasta” while “Ravioli  is a type of filled pasta composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough” which was the the case in this dish.

Just a few minutes after these delightful starters the ordered Main Course dishes where served. Our selection consisted of Fillet Steak 240G (With Port And Mushroom Sauce) and Involtini Of Veal (With Pink Peppercorn Sauce). The fillet of beef was even more delicious then the starter well prepared with regards to the requested degree of cooking (Ordered Medium Rare: Click Here To See Possible Degrees Of Cooking Of Beef Fillet). The taste of the tender beef mixed up with the excellent port and mushroom sauce add up to a very special dish. The other dish ordered,the Involtini Of Veal was also an excellent meat dish (chosen from the Grill Section of the menu)! Involtini are thin slices of meat or fish which are stuffed and rolled, in this case, tender veal meat which was very well prepared and stuffed with tasty Parma Ham together with delicious and simply wonderful Provolone mixed with a Lemon and Sage gravy. and This dishes where accompanied by roast potatoes and vegetables. The vegetables were not overcooked, leaving some crispness and conserving the original taste.

To Finalize our excellent meal, a Traditional Pecan Pie with Butterscotch Ice-Cream And Raspberry Sauce and Apple Symphony (selected from the Today’s Special section on the dessert menu) where served. The Apple Symphony was a very good way to finish off an excellent dinner. The warm crusted apple combined very well with Calvados sorbet and the Mini Beignet, while the glass of Medina Vermentino served with this dessert (free of charge) is an appropriate choice of wine to complement it.  The Traditional Pecan Pie on the other hand was quite a surprise to us! Considered as specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine we did not expect to see such a dessert on Le Bistro’s Menu so we decided to go for it. The taste was simply remarkable and delectable. It was perfectly prepared and well complimented by a trail of rich, well presented Raspberry sauce that made all the difference in taste, and two scoops of the delicious Butterscotch ice-cream. This is definitely a must try-out dessert!

Our Food Experience: Overall the food served to us was excellent, both in taste and selection of ingredients as well as in the presentation itself (apart from the Tortellini shape mistake!). Timing was also excellent on all of the dishes and the overall flow of the food was just perfect. The food served combined with the atmosphere adds up to a very cosy, warm and relaxing evening.

(Porcini Tortellini)
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(Porcini Tortellini)
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(Spaghetti Vongole)
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(Spaghetti Vongole)
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(Fillet Steak 250G)
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(Fillet Steak 250G)
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(Involtini Of Veal)
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(Involtini Of Veal).
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(Traditional Pecan Pie with Butterscotch Ice-Cream And Raspberry Sauce).
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(Apple Symphony – Pastry Delight Of The Month)
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The Bill:

Total: Average 50.80 Euros (Two Persons)

With an average price of 12~15 Euros per dish, taking into consideration the first-class service offered, the excellent food and the vast selection available, the comfortable & stylish ambience of the restaurant (located inside the premises of a 5-Star Resort) , and furthermore if you consider the Early Bird Offer (20% Discount on food only when dining between 16:30 – 17:30 Hrs Monday To Saturday), which could have stripped down our total price to an astonishing 40.64 if our dining hours applied, Le Bistro is outstandingly a fantastic value for money restaurant.

Our Overall Opinion:

As already stated in the price review section, taking into consideration all the features that Le Bistro has to offer its clients it is an outstandingly a fantastic value for money restaurant.  Our dining experience was very good and the overall service was excellent and exceeded our expectations by far! The cuisine available offers a vast selection of dishes, targeting almost every taste while also taking into consideration both vegetarians and health wise clients.

The restaurant itself is quite classy and stylish, offering a good option to those looking to celebrate a small romantic occasion, go out on a business lunch or looking to celebrate an event with some guests. The nice open sea views that it offers will also look amazing on a sunrise or a sunset (whichever you can catch since Le Bistro is open 24 Hours) and maybe even enjoyable on a small thunderstorm.

Overall Le Bistro is an appealing restaurant with a lot of interesting features, and without doubt worth visiting at anytime you feel the need to satisfy your desire for some delicious food!

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