Peppino’s has good views across the bay at St. Julian’s and at first glance has good reviews on Trip Advisor. Sadly that’s pretty much where it ends and I wouldn’t recommend eating there.

We arrived for a late lunch and took a table inside. It looked like a good local Italian.

I don’t want to be rude about the red wine in Malta as I’m sure it’s just a local preference, but it has a sherry taste similar to when you leave a bottle open for several days – okay I know sounds rude, but there it is. We made a point of ordering non-Maltese wine when there.

So we ordered a glass of Italian Merlot (€5), 750ml bottle of water (€3.50) and a local Cisk beer (€4 a pint). I was planning to have a glass of wine after the beer, but one small sip made me realise that it was just a local red.

For lunch we had ‘Linguini Fruitti di Mare’ (€14.98) and Chicken Risotto with Mushrooms (€9.98).

The seafood was fine, but the pasta was under-cooked – and yes we know what al dente is supposed be.

I didn’t expect any cheese added to the risotto but it had a quite a lot. The chicken was in processed square cubes. It was a truly forgettable dish.

The waiter asked about another glass of wine. I asked if there was any non-Maltese wine available by the glass. He said, “Yes, what you have already”. The conversation continued and he returned with a taste of another ‘fantastic’ Italian wine – even worse. I skipped the wine and looking back I wish I’d asked to see the bottle.

It was clear that this wasn’t an Italian-owned, nor run- restaurant. And that’s fine as I’ve eaten some amazing Italian meals in Balkan restaurants – sadly this wasn’t one of them and I can’t recommend this place.

I rechecked Trip Advisor because I couldn’t understand how it had so many positive reviews. I can see now that the reviews are minimum length and from people who have only written one review.

So it looks like Peppino’s reviews are as authentic as their Italian wine!

Peppino’s Restaurant
65 St George’s Road, St Julian’s, Malta

Phone: +356 2137 3200

https://m.facebook.com/peppinos.malta