28. December 2010: Restaurant il-Barri

Real hearty Maltese dishes – and very rich in taste. The Maltese Special Mix is a platter for big eaters offering Maltese rabbit stew, horse stew and quail (EUR 15.40).

The starter – offered by the restaurant – is typically Maltese and tasty. It’s typical Maltese crackers, Maltese goat cheese (extremely strong in taste), and some kind of paste which can be perfectly combined with the goat cheese as well as with the crackers.

The main dish was extremely tasty. My favorite being the horse stew as the meat was tender and the sauce was really rich. Also, the rabbit was pretty good but really annoying to eat as the bones are so small that it’s a never-ending fight to get to the meat with some pieces. Last but not least, the quail was interesting to eat. It was a whole bird, opened half way, which was difficult to handle but tasted tender once you got to the meat. What must be said thought that the two other meats tasted way richer than the quail.

The Maltese Special Mix is definitely a great experience. It’s really tasty, rich and hearty and you will sure have enough if you manage to eat the whole plate (perfect reason to cancel dinner).

A really – for me funny – interesting tradition seems to be to eat peanuts for “digestion”. Funny and interesting – and apparently not too bad an idea.

The waiters are extremely friendly and helpful. When you order something you get it within a really reasonable amount of time. The only little flaw is that sometimes they keep ignoring the customers – not on purpose I attest them – which gets really annoying.
The restaurant’s atmosphere is really nice. Although the outside is not appealing at first sight, the inner design is really nice. It’s kept very modern and therefore appealing.

Also, the prices are really good. Food platters for two, water, wine and coffe accounting for a total of not even 40 EUR. Just great!
Mgarr (the little town where the il-Barri is located) is a bit off the main roads but it’s definitely worth going there as everything is close to each other in Malta and secondly because the dishes are great, the service friendly, the atmosphere okay and the prices just ridiculous for what you get!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant il-Barri

Church Square

Mgarr (Malta)

Tel.: +356 21 57 32 35

Fax: +356 21 57 40 54

Homepage: http://www.il-barri.com.mt

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.