General Review Details:

• Reviewed Restaurant: Medina
• Review Date: Wednesday 18th February 2009
• Current Weather: Rainy Cold Evening (10 Degrees)

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Piccante Restaurants Web Awards:

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The Piccante Ratings:

Restaurant Ratings:

Restaurant Ambience: 9/10

Restaurant Hygiene & Layout: 10/10

Restrooms Hygiene & Layout: 9/10

Overall Service: 10/10

Value For Money: 7/10

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Food Ratings:

Timing & Followup: 9/10

Presentation: 9/10

Food Taste: 9/10

Menu Variety: 8/10

Wine List Variety: 7/10

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Overall Piccante Rating

9/10

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In-Depth Review:

Getting There:

Finding Medina was not a problem at all. Simply follow the graphical directions pinpointed by our Piccante Tracker and this will lead you directly to its doorsteps.  The Medina restaurant is located in one of the many pituresque alleys that cover most of the old capital city of Malta, Mdina, which is a medieval town situated in the center of the island. Also considering the fact that Mdina is commonly called the Silent City by natives and visitors alike, the restaurant’s location compliments its ambience and style right from the very start.

(The Streets Of Mdina)
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(The Medina Street)

(The Medina Street)

.(Medina’s Old Fashioned Logo)
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The Restaurant:

When entering this restaurant one can immediately notice the old style which complements the surrounding area of Mdina. On a very cold night, it was also noticed that the temperature inside this restaurant was very comfortable, with real fire places complementing the heating system and increase in the cosiness of the entire place.

The walls are kept to their original medieval style, and the original arched ceilings complement the ambience of the place. The bar area of this restaurant is very relaxing, with comfortable sofas available to have an aperitif or a drink before you pass on to the restaurant area for the meal.

In the restaurant area, the tables are very well set. Everyone would have enough leg room and some privacy. The light in the restaurant is not very intense and complements the entire set up of a medieval building. Also, candles are put on every table. Moreover, very relaxing music is played in the background.

WiFi Connection: Although it is not directly advertised (intentionally), Medina does offer a password secured Wi-Fi Connection which is available on request. This can prove to be quite ideal in situations where you need to read or answer an urgent e-mail or in the case of any other business related matters.

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

Once we entered the restaurant, we were offered a table in the bar area were we could enjoy an aperitif. Here, we were given the menu where we could do our selection. The friendly staff took our order and we continued to enjoy our drink in the relaxing atmosphere of the bar area. Once we finished our drink, a waiter led us to our table. Here we found a bottle of water and a bottle of wine (obviously still closed), which we ordered previously, already on the table. The waiter poured some water and opened some wine for us. Actually, the waiters take care of re-filling your glasses throughout the whole service. The coats and jackets were taken by a waiter to put in a cloak room.

Fresh warm bread was offered to us and after some time the starter was served. As soon as we finished our starter, the empty plate was almost removed immediately. Once more, bread was offered and after some more time the main course was served. When we finished our main course, the empty plates were taken and a waiter gently cleaned up our table from any bread pieces that might have fallen on the table. We were given a separate dessert menu, from were we chose a dessert. After a cup of coffee we were ready to leave. A waiter went to bring our coats back.

Overall the service at The Medina is exceptionally excellent. The very friendly, professional and polite staff do their best to make sure your visit to this beautiful restaurant is more then worthwhile.

(Our Selected Table)
.(The Warm And Comforting Fireplace)
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The Food:

Menu: The menu is quite an interesting one at Medina. To start with, we enjoyed the simple yet original way that the course classification were listed. Instead of the usual “Starters” “Main Course” & “Desserts” listings, Medina’s Menu lists these dishes as; To Commence, To Enhance, To Continue, To Conclude.

This informative menu, presented in a nice old handwriting-style font consists of around 11 different starters to choose form, 4 of which are marked as suitable for vegetarians.  Moving on to the next pages one can also note an interesting selection of 4 Maltese Starters and 4 Maltese Main Course Dishes, which are listed in their traditional Maltese Names. One can also opt to go for a freshly caught line fish which can be visually selected from the available fish display and cooked at your liking!

The To Continue main course dishes are also very interesting and include an excellent degree of variety together with simple yet fine and exquisite recipes.  The available dishes range from; Fish, Crustaceans, Game & Poultry, The Maltese Traditionally Cooked Rabbit (which is listed under the Maltese Menu) together with a good selection of red meats such as Lamb and Venison. Overall there was no indication as to whether any of the main course dishes are suitable for vegetarians.

To Conclude, and that is how it is listed on the menu, Medina offers a range of around 7 different Desserts to choose from.

Wine List: Very well varied wine list is available at this restaurant. Wines on the wine list come from all over the world including: Maltese, French, Italian, Spanish, Australian, South African, North American, Chilean, Argentinean, Uruguayan, New Zealand’s, Portuguese, Lebanese and Israeli. Obviously, the wines available come from different types such as Red, White, Rose, Dessert Wine, Sparkling and Champagne and also Port. If one is searching for a typical region, he could find it in this wine list, because, wines from the major regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piemonte and many others are all present in this list. The prices are very reasonable, obviously varying with the quality of the wine you choose. Our choice was a Maltese Melqart.

Our Selection: To Commence our selected Starters consisted of A Trio Of Oak Smoked Salmon Marinated Blue Fin Tuna And Carpaccio Of Octopus Complemented With A Green Lime Sorbet, Raisins And Caper Dressing and the most interesting for David, the Tortellacci Pomodori Stuffed Smoked Chicken And Cured Ham Farci Completed With Porcini Cream. The smoked salmon was a delicious plate to start with. The trio of salmon, octopus and tuna combine very well for a delicious start to your meal. The three types of food were very tender and pleasurable to eat. Some dried fruit and a sorbet were also served with this dish, which complemented well the tastes offered by the smoked salmon, octopus and tuna. Coming up next the Tortellacci was a highly interesting choice for David, and considering that he is so fond of this dish, his expectations were sky high! Nevertheless the dish at Medina managed to surpass these expectations right away.  The massive tortellini, filled with such delightful and fresh ingredients accompanied with the excellent Porcini sauce, gave David an unexpected twist of taste. Although being accustomed to this Pasta dish, the Tortellacci at Medina was definitely a surprisingly new and delightful experience, which gave the right touch to start off such a wonderful meal.

To Continue the Main Course selected included Grilled Gambos Prawn Cushioned On A Cauliflower And Cumin Puree Complemented With A Sea Urchin Emulsion together with Fillet Of Venison Crusted In Cracked Pepper Served With Pumpkin Puree, Roast Cippollini And Radishes, Raisins Infused. The prawns were perfectly cooked. The crust is removed, leaving only the tail. This removes the hassle of removing it yourself. The sea urchin sauce served with the prawns was as delicious as the prawns themselves. Vegetables were served with this dish and they were not overcooked, leaving some crispness and conserving the original taste. The Fillet Of Venison was also another interesting dish offered at Medina.  The taste of the meat and the way it was cooked was simply amazing and apart from that this dish may be a new experience to many out there.  The sauce served, (with that great taste of pepper combined with the sweet taste that the raisins left), was the perfect choice to immerse the Fillet Of Venison into. Finally The Pumpkin Puree served on the side created a good taste contrast between the salty and sweet aspects of this dish. The Roast Potatoes served with both dishes, were very well presented, great to taste and an excellent contour to both meals.

To Conclude such an excellent meal we ordered Vanilla And Strawberry Creme Burlee Accompanied With Bitter Almond Biscotti together with Caramel And Chocolate Chip “Panna Cotta” Served With Yogurt Ripple Ice-Cream  And Minestrone Of Red Fruit accompanied by our tasty selection of The Medina & Jamaican Coffee.

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. Timing was also impressive (and by this we really mean impressive) on all of the dishes and the overall flow of the meals was just perfect. The food served combined with the atmosphere adds up to a very cosy, warm and relaxing evening.

(Tortellacci)
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(Panna Cotta”)
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(Oak Smoked Salmon)
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(Oak Smoked Salmon)
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(Fillet Of Venison)
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(Fillet Of Venison)
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(Grilled Gambos Prawn)
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(Grilled Gambos Prawn)
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(Creme Burlee)
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(Caramel And Chocolate Chip “Panna Cotta”)
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The Bill:

Total: 80.25 Euros (Two Persons)

The average prices of the Main Course dishes at Medina varies at around 18~20 Euros per dish. The traditional Maltese dishes are slightly less expensive then the rest of main course dishes and a service charge of 1 Euros is charged per person. Considering the price range of Medina, however combined with the amazing High Class Service and the excellent food quality, it is more then justified!

Our Overall Opinion:

Such a restaurant is surely ideal for people who are looking for a high class restaurant and it should especially be on your top list if you are looking to spend a romantic night with candle lights, soft background music and the warm comforting sound of the firelogs crackling. Surely, when you visit this restaurant, you would be looking forward to your next visit to The Medina.

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