Noni restaurant in Valletta was rated top overall restaurant at the Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants Awards Ceremony, which was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands, last Monday, December 6.

After the unprecedented break in 2020 the awards once again celebrated the outstanding achievement of Malta and Gozo’s top survey-rated restaurants as voted by diners who participated in the online Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey. 

The survey results were revealed by Lisa Grech, managing director of the Definitive(ly) Good Guide Co., on Monday and were presented by Johann Buttigieg, CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, Adrian Cachia from Global Payments, Derek Vassallo and Giuliana Isolani from Nestlé (Malta) and Mark Ciantar of Continental Purchasing, on behalf of Schonwald, Germany, who supplied the commemorative award plates for the occasion. 

This year’s Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey conducted in September returned a high number of responses, with 2,023 participants who dined out on average one to two times a week, equivalent to a total of 157,794 dining experiences in a year. The latest edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo, which was launched during the event, sees 31 new restaurants listed in the guide. One can also find them on the portal www.restaurantsmalta. com.

The top 40 award-winning restaurants were taken from the highest-rated restaurants, taking into account their overall rating, the number of people rating, comments and other data from the survey. 

The official commemorative plate presented to the top survey-rated 40 restaurants and the 2022 guide.

The restaurants that won award plates (in order from the most highly rated) were: Noni; Tarragon Restaurant; Don Royale; The Golden Fork; The Chef’s Table; Beppe’s Restaurant; Root 81; Ta’ Tona; Galea’s Kitchen; Ristorante La Vela; Susurrus; Ta’ Marija; The Lord Nelson Restaurant; Under Grain; Caviar & Bull; Barbajean; Port 21; Rubino; Palazzo Preca Restaurant; Al Sale; The de Mondion Restaurant; Il-Kartell Restaurant; Hammett’s Mestizo; Meraki Wine & Dine; Zeri’s; Suruchi Indian Restaurant; La Vida; Il-Ħnejja; Rendez-vous; AcquaBlu; The Chophouse Restaurant; Terrone; Rebekah’s Restaurant; Hammett’s Gastro Bar; Briju; Giuseppi’s Bar & Bistro; Ta’ Frenc Restaurant; ION The Harbour; Nan Yuan Cantonese Restaurant and Grotto Tavern.

Additional awards were handed out in different categories:

• Best food (sponsored by American Express): Noni;

• Best service (sponsored by Ozo Group): Noni;

• Best ambience (sponsored by Design Hub): Ristorante La Vela;

• Restaurant most dedicated to supporting local and best local wine list (sponsored by the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights): Country Terrace and Root 81 respectively;

• Best restaurant in Gozo (sponsored by The Ministry for Gozo): Beppe’s;

• Best chef award (sponsored by Pentole Agnelli represented exclusively by The Catering Centre): Edward Diacono of Rubino;

• Best business entertainment (sponsored by Spiteri Catering): Caviar & Bull;

• Best newcomer (sponsored by Horeca Magazine): Don Royale;

• Most children-friendly restaurant (sponsored by the Malta Baby & Kids Directory): Luzzu Restaurant;

• Best Maltese restaurant (sponsored by Malta Tourism Authority): Gululu;

• Most romantic restaurant: Barbajean.

The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants also handed out wine awards in association with Vini e Capricci by Abraham’s:

• The People’s Choice Wine List (taken from the results of the returned surveys):  Barbajean;

• Best overall wine list: Country Terrace;

• Best presented wine list: Barbajean;

• Best wine by the glass selection: Hammett’s Mestizo;

• Best fine wine list: Tarragon;

• Best short wine list: Barbajean;

• Best port wine list: Country Terrace.

The results of the restaurant survey can be found in the 2022 hard copy edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo, which is now available to purchase online at www.restaurantsmalta. com. It is also available at leading stationers and bookshops in Malta and Gozo.

The awards ceremony was sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority, Global Payments and Nestlé (Malta) representing Buondi.