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36 RESTO OF THE WEEK FOOD The Harbour Club After being in bed for a week with tonsillitis, I joined some friends for lunch on Sunday af- ternoon at The Harbour Club. Having been generally healthy for the last 10 years or so I forgot how nice it is to just forget about all responsibilities for a few days and not feel guilt y about doing absolutely nothing. Nothing but get lost in a world of movies and with it being Oscar season and all, there were plent y of great choices. Having not seen another hu- man being nor heard the sound of my own voice I trundled off the Valletta to meet some friends, my head swimming in Holly wood. I arrived at The Harbour Club a little late – the movie I was watching that morn- ing was longer than I anticipated – on a day in February we use to make foreign friends jealous of island life: 23 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. I was really glad to have made the effort to get out of bed. Having not really participat- ed much in the decision about choice of restaurant, I knew nothing about the place. When I arrived I was pleasantly sur- prised. Right on the waterfront of Barriera Wharf, the gunpost has been spectacularly restored, with the bathrooms in a prett y gab- bana just outside. As the day was so perfectly sunny I sat at a table outside, with friends dressed in pastels and large sunglasses next to a table of international artsy t ypes sipping bourbon and ginger ales, jazz tunes wafting out of the well-hidden speakers. Even the waiting staff were well-dressed, polite, efficient and good look- ing. I felt like I was watching a movie. If the food was as good as the ambiance then this was defi- nitely going to be one my new fa- vourite restaurants! A few negronis on ice were in order in the blissful sunshine and we were served an interest- ing Parmesan pannacotta topped with poached pears. The menu is short, fresh and Mediterranean. Choice, fresh ingredients cooked using simple methods for a tast y and heart y meal. For starters the choice was soup, carpaccio, smoked salmon or pasta, with an interesting vegetarian dish of millefoglie of vegetables with a hazelnut pesto. We went for a selection of starters including home-cured smoked salmon and paniciotti filled with scallops and prawns served in ginger butter, fresh tomato and basil leaves. For mains there was a mix of lighter fish dishes and more heart y meat y ones. Seven spice, slow-cooked lamb shank on a bed of pureed turmeric potato was favourite on our table, as was in the entire restaurant as we grabbed the last three. Every dish is cooked to your liking, whether the salmon or the steak. Desserts were simple, with some interesting f lavour combi- nation – a blueberry and white chocolate cheesecake. When we were finished with lunch, we didn't feel like we were ready to go any where and asked to be taken on a tour of the rest of the restaurant. There are tables inside for when the weather is a little less cooperative and down- stairs a stage for jazz events to commence in March. We had a few more drinks from the bar upstairs which offers a great selection of whiskies and Belgian beers among the usual stuff. All in all it was a fantastic afternoon that would have ex- ceeded expectations if I had any to begin with. If the Academy Awards did restaurants, The Harbour Club would have definitely been one to put your money on next week. I will most definitely be back time and time again. Rachel Zammit Cutajar takes a look at a restaurant and brings a recipe, wine and delicacy of the week. Write to us with your comments on restaurants or submit your own recipes to rzammitcutajar@mediatoday.com.mt Charles Grech & Co. Ltd., Valley Road, B'Kara Tel: 2144 4400 Nipozzano Riserva 'Chianti Rufina' 2010 – Marchesi di Frescbaldi - (90 points – Robert Parker) Grapes: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Others (Malvasia nera, Colorino, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon) Chianti Rufina, Tuscany, Italy- A graceful Chi- anti that has precise and focused flavors of red cherries, tea, and spicy cedar. Medium-bodied with a crisp finish that has finely-integrated, dry tannins. Nipozzano Riserva greets the eye with a deep purplish red. The nose is remarkably rich and multi-faceted, showing cleanly-delineated aro- mas of sour cherry, raspberry, and dried plum, lifted in turn by spicier impressions of black pepper, vanilla, cocoa powder, and espresso bean. An almost-endless finish, with abundant aromatic fruit, completes a harmonious, well- balanced wine. Producer 's Notes: Nipozzano Riserva Chi- anti Rufina DOCG is one of the historic wines produced at the Castello di Nipozzano. This wine always retains its close relationship with the Castello di Nipozzano terroir. Nippozano Riserva appears with a deep red with garnet colour; aromas of black cherry/blackberry fruit with cedar, smoke and vanilla notes; extra dry, full bodied, with balanced fruit flavours, notes of smoke and tar, good acidity with a touch of spice, licorice and leather; long finish. Imported by Charles Grech & co. Ltd, Valley Road, B'Kara T: 2144 - 4400 As The Harbour Club has just opened they do not have fixed opening times just yet and open either for lunch or for dinner depending on the day, so calling ahead is advised. The Harbour Club 4/5, Barriera Wharf, Valletta Tel: 79222332 Facebook: The-Harbour-Club And the Academy Award goes to…