Tarragon wins Best Overall Restaurant in Malta
A Chef on his Travels
November 16, 2019
First Michelin Star Awards in Malta
February 27, 2020
The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants Awards Ceremony was held at The Grand Hotel Excelsior on Monday 9th December 2019.
The ceremony celebrated the outstanding achievement of Malta & Gozo’s top survey rated restaurants as voted by diners out who participated in the Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey online at www.restaurantsmalta.com. Based on popular vote, only 150 restaurants make it to be included in the special 20th Anniversary edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo and its official portal www.restaurantsmalta.com. Congratulations go to the team at Tarragon who were rated Top Overall restaurant for 2020! It is the 3rd time that Tarragon has been rated Top Overall, apart from the 2020 edition they were presented with this award in 2014 and 2018.
The results were revealed by Lisa Grech Managing Director of the Definitive(ly) Good Guide Co and presented by Hon Clint Camilleri, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries & Animal Rights, Mr Adrian Cachia from Global Payments, Mr Derek Vassallo from Nestle (Malta) and Mr Mark Ciantar of Continental Purchasing on behalf of Villeroy & Boch who supplied the beautiful commemorative award plates for the occasion. This year’s Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey conducted in September 2019 returned a high number of responses, with 3,109 participants who dined out on average one to two times a week, equivalent to a total of 242, 502 dining experiences in a year! This year sees 24 new restaurants in the The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo and its portal www.restaurantsmalta.com which was also launched on the evening.
The Top 40 Award winning restaurants were taken from the highest rated restaurants taking into account their overal rating, the number of people rating comments and other data from the survey. Restaurants to win award plates in order from most highly rated included:
- Tarragon
- Dinner in the Sky
- Patricks
- Caviar & Bull
- Ristorante La Vela
- Meraki
- Susurrus
- Palazzo Preca
- La Buona Trattoria del Nonno
- Phoenix
- The Chef's Table
- Taro at the Villa
- The Lord Nelson
- Beppe's
- Tosca
- Giuseppe's
- Grotto Tavern
- de Mondion
- Trattoria AD 1530
- Madliena Lodge
- Rubino
- Root 81
- King's Own Band Club Bar And Restaurant
- Capistrano
- Suruchi
- Café Phoenicia
- Patakka
- Surf 'n Turf
- Hammett's Macina
- Districtfive
- Hammett's Gastro Bar
- Il-Kartell
- Dimitri Valletta
- Bacchus
- Zeri's
- Nori's
- China House
- Ta' Marija
- Country Terrace
- La Capanna
Additional Awards in different categories were made:
- Best Food (sponsored by American Express) - Tarragon
- Best Service (sponsored by C& H Bartoli) – Dinner in the Sky Malta
- Best Ambience (sponsored by Design Hub) – Patrick’s
- Best Maltese Food (sponsored by Offbeat Malta Food Trails) - Tal-Familja
- Restaurant Most Dedicated to Supporting Local (sponsored by The Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights) – Country Terrace
- The Best Chef Award (sponsored by Pentole Agnelli represented exclusively by The Catering Centre) – Robert Cassar, Root 81
- Best Business Entertainment (sponsored by Rummo) – Caviar & Bull
- Best Newcomer (sponsored by Churchill represented exclusively by The Catering Centre) – Meraki
- Best Value for Money – Tal-Familja
- Most Children-Friendly (sponsored by the Malta Baby & Kids Directory) – iPlace
- And in memory of Colin Best – co-founder of the Restaurant Guide. - The Colin Best Award for the Most Consistently Outstanding Restaurant in Malta & Gozo for 2017/2018 – Phoenix
- The Maria Muscat Award for Top Woman in the Restaurant Industry – Michelle Muscat, La Vela
- Restaurant most mentioned in survey - IPlace
The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in association with Riedel, The Wine Glass Company Wine Awards were as follows:
- The People’s Choice Wine List (taken from the results of the returned surveys) - Tarragon
- The Riedel Wine Experience of the Year – Ristorante La Vela
- Wine List of the Year – Palazzo Preca
- Commended Wine Lists were: Patrick’s, Tarragon, Country Terrace, Hammett’s Macina
- The Best Maltese Wine List (sponsored by The Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights) – Ristorante La Vela
The results of the Restaurant Survey can be found in the 2020 special 20th Anniversary edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo and is now available to purchase online for Eur8 at www.restaurantsmalta.com which will also entitle you to the Guide online and a free hard copy in the post. It is also available at leading stationers and bookshops in Malta & Gozo.
