COMPETITION: You Can Win A Lunch For Two At This St. Paul’s Bay Restaurant
The family-run La Buona Trattoria del Nonno, an Italian-cuisine restaurant tucked away in the shadow of an old palazzo along the edge of St. Paul’s Bay, is giving away a free lunch for two! Lovin Malta got the chance to try out their new lunchtime menu and check out the amazing grounds. The whole place has a homely and traditionally – from the hanging houseplants and to the old and twisting trees just beyond the outdoor dining area.
It’s run by an actual Nonno
We were shown around the massive ground of La Buona Trattoria del Nonno right on our arrival. Its founder is none other than the Nonno himself, Ben Muscat, who explained that the present-day Trattoria is the result of four separate expansions. He originally pictured the restaurant as a traditional Trattoria, a simple and cosy one-room restaurant that could serve as a welcome retreat to the hungry tourist or local.
Today, the Trattoria has grown into the sprawl of the palazzo grounds to meet a growing customer demand. Mr. Muscat has taken on the role of Nonno seriously, and has become something of a St. Paul’s celebrity, checking in on clientele, overseeing the runnings of the kitchen and ensuring his family runs the place in shipshape fashion.
The hospitality gene has certainly come through, with grandsons Jake and Kane religiously helping out at the restaurant. Jake now takes care of management, while Kane, a hospitality student in the UK, handles house service and customer care.
The drinks look like works of art
At our tables, situated in a large conservatory just by the palazzo, we were greeted to a selection of the Trattoria’s brand new cocktails. Strawberry-twenty-four-hour-infused gin and tonic, negroni garnished with crisp roses and rosemary, and a freshly-muddled mojito were just some of the beautifully-presented drinks brought for a taste test.
Locally-grown food forms the base of all their dishes
In the buildup towards La Buona Trattoria’s coveted main course, we were brought platters to share, featuring all of the restaurant’s favourites – freshly-prepared Caprese salad, homemade-pasta alla norma, a selection of mussels, home-grown mushrooms tossed in garlic and oil, and wood-oven baked fresh flatbread.
Interestingly, La Buona Trattoria is embracing the move towards local sourcing, growing their own herbs and edible flowers, even going so far as to press their own olive oil, make sun-dried tomatoes, spice locally-sourced ġbejniet, and also produce their own limoncello!
If there’s one dish to try, it has to be the spare ribs
For our main course, we were treated to a massive rack of La Buona Trattoria’s signature spare ribs, complete with our own branded napkins around our necks, to tuck into the hefty servings, before ending the meal with some refreshing digestifs including a tantalising espresso martini.
Fancy trying out the new menu?
La Buona Trattoria del Nonno is giving away a free lunch for two, simply get tagging in the comments section to be in with the chance to win! Click here to check out the menu right now.