We were eating light and so shared as an appetizer the first item on the imaginative menu: a Maltese Goat-cheese "parcel", the parcel being crisp flaky filo pastry, with an extra zing from a fig jam. It was a warm day but there are big umbrellas (though ours was a bit mildewed) and always a breeze. We were first in and promptly served by our friendly waitress. Stone everywhere, ramparts, fantastic view. From the terrace, you're looking back to the City Gate bridge and down below to the lovely stone-lined gardens where the old car park used to be. To get down to the vaults - the only draw-back - is down very steep stone stairs, but then of course, they were built for soldiers, not diners, since this was all originally a Cavalier fortification. It's the last building at the top of the hill and you HAVE to enter it via the vaulted stone cellar which is both the restaurant's beautiful indoor space and the tunnel that leads to the outdoor terrace. The easy way to get there is to enter the gates, walk past the first block, go left passing the small street market on Ordnance Street and then take the first left up the hill: much easier than toiling up the hundred steps immediately inside the gate. Finally, with the warmer weather, we got around to lunching there. As you're entering by the City Gates bridge, you look left and up, and it's tucked away high in a corner. But nothing appeared, which of course was partly my fault for not being explicit but it then felt slightly galling that the only time two waiters came close to our table at the same time was to bring a birthday cake to the next table!! I suspect the issues relating to poor service may well be related to the Covid crisis for which I can have some sympathy but in the eight days we were in Valletta we never had such bad service elsewhere, which of course was even more disappointing considering the standard of the restaurant and the special occasion.We'd first spotted Rampila when we had family staying with us. I had made it clear beforehand that it was my wife’s birthday, so considering the standard of the restaurant, I was sort of hoping that there would at least be a small candle/tiny cake on the evening. It was certainly not the fault of the waitress because she was clearly overworked, but this was not really acceptable for such a high standard restaurant. Nothing really improved until towards the end of the meal when more waiting staff seem to appear. I failed miserably to catch the attention of the harassed waitress for what seemed like an age. We were promptly seated and offered water which came immediately, but we then sat like stuffed dummies for about 20 minutes waiting for someone to offer us an aperitif and give us menus to peruse. But the service was truly dreadful, and especially in the first half of the evening. The ambience and location of the restaurant are excellent, and we have to admit the food was good. I had chosen this restaurant carefully for my wife’s birthday, partly because of the good reviews, and partly because the comments on-line from the General Manager always seemed professional and sensible. By some distance this was the biggest disappointment of our holiday.
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