Valletta Restaurants – One Of The Best Places To Eat In Valletta For A Feast

When Paul and I were staying a few nights in Valletta at Casa Zoe apartment… we noticed that there were plenty of places to eat. Plus, there were a variety of cuisines on offer too.

Yet, on advice from some friends, they suggested that if we liked tasting menus… then a place to try was Legligin Valletta. But, one thing that made it unique compared to other restaurants we’d been to, was that there was no menu.

Thus, each dish was in the hands of the cooks at Legligin! Now, to us that was a little concerning in case we got a dish that would make us want to vomit. Yet, thankfully we like most ingredients and foods.

And, the dishes were traditional Maltese foods as well as Mediterranean dishes.

Plus, after the rave reviews… we thought we could trust the cooks at Legligin to make decent dishes.

So, we decided to do our own research as well about Legligin restaurant. And, after typing Legligin in a Google search… we discovered that it was actually Legligin Wine Bar.

Plus, we discovered that in Maltese, Legligin means glug! Now, that was sounding even better! No wonder they were known for having a large variety of wines, from more affordable to the fine wines.

Then, we read that they did matching wines with their tasting menu too. BONUS!

Yet, when we went to check out the venue and enquire, we had a little surprise.

So, we decided to disregard our concerns about not having a menu to choose from. And, when we were touring around Valletta sightseeing, we made a pitstop at Legligin…

The Location of Legligin Wine Bar

So, Legligin is on one of those quaint Valletta alleyways, called St Lucia’s Street. It’s between Old Bakery and Old Mint streets. And, Legligin restaurant stands out with its bold, deep red colored doors and framing.

We thought it may have been shut, because the doors looked closed and it seemed quiet. Yet, mind you that was at around 2:45pm when we went there.

But, once we peered inside the window and door, we saw some people dining in there. So, we opened the door and a lady came to greet us, who we assumed was the owner.

Unfortunately she didn’t have availability that night as the restaurant was full… but the next night was fine. So, we booked it in for dinner! Then, as we were enquiring, I was glancing at the table near the door… as they had several different wines in front of them.

Then, I asked her if we could do matching wines with our dinner, of which she responded with a, “No, sorry.” What the? I then asked it in a different way, just in case my Aussie accent wasn’t clear.

Yet, we got the same response. And, she added that they wouldn’t do the matching wines at dinner because it was too busy. So, the staff wouldn’t have time to serve customers and do the different wines for each course. Oh, bummer!

Even so, we still agreed to go as we were dying to try their tasting menu. So, at lunch times they may be able to do the matching wines. Going there during non-peak season and times… may give you a better chance of having the matching wines with your meals.

So, the next night… we were about to discover if Legligin Wine Bar would be one of the best restaurants in Valletta.

Inside Legligin Valletta

So, our booking at Legligin restaurant was for 7:30pm. And, when we arrived there were only a couple of tables occupied at the time. Yet, we were sure it’d get busier as the time got later.

Yet, having had many degustation type meals before, we thought we’d need a few hours to enjoy it.

So, we hardly ate all day… so as to save room for what we hoped would be a delicious Maltese meal.

Then, after walking in, we had a choice of a few tables. That was interesting to us as we thought that they would’ve already allocated a table for us. Yet, in some ways that was great… because as the early birds, we could choose whichever table took our fancy.

As we sat down, we noticed that the restaurant was dimly lit. And, we liked how the restaurant was in the traditional, Maltese cave style with the exposed bricks.

So, we felt that the atmosphere was a relaxed… homely and comfy environment for a spectacular dining fare.

And, being a wine bar combined restaurant, there was a small display of some of the wines in a bar service area…

Plus, we liked the sign that was behind our table about life and wine…

In regards to the dining areas, there was one section near the entrance. Then, there was another dining section to the right of the entrance. So, we chose to sit in the area where the entrance was, near the wine fridge and entrance to the kitchen.

And even though the staff were constantly wandering past us, between the dining area and kitchen… we hardly noticed it. That’s because we were too busy stuffing our bellies full of wine and food, amongst conversation.

The Legligin Valletta Food Feast Begins…

So, being in Legligin Wine Bar meant that we had to have some wine to go with our dishes. While we couldn’t have matching wines, we went with a hearty local red wine.

So, we’d been having wines from Marsovin Winery, which have mainly been excellent. Thus, after having a look at their extensive wine list, we did end up choosing a Marsovin red. And, it was smooth, robust and delicious!

Now remember, there is no Lelgligin restaurant menu to choose the tasting dishes. So, we were eager to see what would be our first course! Yet, before that, one of the staff brought out a big basket of Maltese bread with olive oil…

Oh, and the smell was divine. We love fresh baked bread, and the Maltese bread loaves are divine. So, after dunking a piece of fresh bread in thick, rich olive oil… we had to have more.

Yet, after a few pieces we both reminded each other to not have too much… as we would fill our bellies so much that we couldn’t fit in our degustation dishes. Thus, it was so challenging to stop ourselves from eating too much bread.

So, our first course was a mushroom soup. And, when it came to our table it smelt so fragrant. It was so yummy that we could’ve licked the bowl clean.

But rather than waste the small amount left in the bowl… we got a piece of bread and soaked the rest up. Any excuse to have more bread! But, was that going to be a mistake we were going to regret?

Then, after our soup were a mezze of olives, dips, cheese, jam and caponata. So, to go with these, what else would we have but bread… OMG!

Strike 2 in the bread department, our bad!

The Legligin Wine Bar Feast Continues…

Now, we don’t want to spoil the surprise for you and let you know exactly every dish we had. Yet, in saying that, they do mix up the menu, so if we did go another night we may get different dishes.

Even so, after the mezze the waiter had brought our 4 more small plates of food. And, what helped give the dishes more oomph and amazing flavor… were the fresh herbs and ingredients they lathered on top or through the meals.

Then, after these flavorful dishes the waiter put a plate of moussaka in front of us…

And, it was a huge thumbs up for being so tasty. Then, by this stage we were getting full, and the Maltese bread was no longer seeming attractive to eat… LOL!

So, the service was generally efficient, with staff swiftly taking empty dishes away… as well as monitoring if we needed anything else. Thus, there were no complaints from us about the speed of service.

Yet, there was a waitress there who wasn’t exactly sure what a few of the dishes were.

So, she’d comment on the obvious… for example that it was a bean dish but she wasn’t sure what else was in it. And, rather than checking for us what was it, she was off to serve another table. So, small things like that could be improved.

Furthermore, if the same dishes would be served throughout the night to diners… we thought it wouldn’t be difficult for the waiters to understand what each dish was.

Plus, earlier in the night a waiter asked if we’d like more olive oil, which we accepted… He’d forgotten all about it, yet another staff member later attended to that.

So, just a couple of minor things, but it didn’t dampen our night though.

When Does The Legligin Valletta Tasting Menu Come To End?

So, by this stage we’d had 7 dishes, of which we count the mezze as 1 dish. And, as we were almost ready to be rolled home, this dish came out…

So, it was a mix of fruit with rucola and seasoning, which was scrumptious. Now, we weren’t sure if that was our dessert dish, considering there was some fruit. Thus, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Even then, we tried to fit in more red wine and were struggling. Then, as the waitress took our empty fruit plate, we thanked her for the feast.

Then, a little while later another waiter brought out another dish! OMG, are they kidding? So, Paul and I were eating this dish like we were in slow motion. It was incredibly tasty, but felt like it took us an hour to eat this dish!

OK, someone come rub my belly now… LOL.

And, just when we were ready to ask for the bill, the waitress brought out another dish! She said it was lasagna and that this was the last dish.

But, for a moment we weren’t sure if she was joking with us or not. That’s because normally for other tasting menus, we’d had a dessert for the final dish.

Yet, after overhearing her speak with a table behind us… it was definitely the last plate of food for the Legligin tasting menu.

And, as our six stomachs were completely full, we had to make room for the lasagna, which took us to flavortown.

Yet, we couldn’t eat all of it… unless we were to vomit on the table form overeating. So, we had to leave a bit of it behind.

Our Final Thoughts On The Legligin Wine Bar Tasting Menu

So, as you can see there was plenty of food as part of the Legligin tasting menu. And, after the last dish of the lasagna… the staff brought to our table 2 glasses of complimentary limoncello, which was delicious.

So, there was no dessert to end the meal. And, this could be bought separately if you had enough room. Even for me who is a major sweet tooth, I couldn’t fit dessert in… and that’s saying something!

Overall, we thought the entire night was fantastic and the food was great. And, even though we previously had hesitation about not knowing what the menu was… it turned out to be great. Yet, if you’re a picky eater then this food concept is not for you.

But, we did have our hearts set on matching wines. Yet, it seems it does happen but only at certain times and days. So, best to check with the owners if and when it’s possible.

And, make sure you go to Legligin Wine Bar with an empty stomach, and don’t each too much bread!

So, the price per person for a dinner tasting menu is a ridiculously crazy cheap 30 Euros.

Plus, if you want a lunch time feast it’s 20 Euros per person, yet we believe it has a couple less dishes.

Even so, we would have to say that Legligin is one of the best places to eat in Valletta. And, we’d definitely come back again when in Valletta. So, we recommend you give it a go.

Plus, if you want ideas about things to do in Valletta, check out our blog HERE.

Have you been to Legligin for their tasting menu? And, which dish did you think was the best one?

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Note: All of our reviews and comments are our opinions and no-one else’s. Even if we receive complimentary goods or services we share our opinions honestly.