New York Bistro
Qui-Si-Sana seafront, Sliema
Tel: 2788 0023
Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
It is my humble opinion that Malta is going through a sort of culinary revolution. Or perhaps I should say evolution. More and more international cuisine is becoming readily available with new restaurants opening their doors or food trucks adorning our streets.
I grew up in a country where choices were limited. Ninety per cent of all catering establishments were happy little trattorias or hole in the wall take-away joints, where bright orange MSG coated Chinese food was as exotic as things got. The other 10 per cent were finer ‘fancier’ restaurants like Christopher’s or Rubino’s. The mantra here was always that quantity was more important than quality.
These days, things are very different. I see more thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas than the ftira-style crust with heaped toppings. In my tenure as a Times reviewer, I’ve eaten at Japanese, Latin, Sicilian and Indian restaurants, large varied buffets, international franchises and fine dining restaurants with molecular influences. We have come a long way.
When it comes to burgers however, New York Best set the trend. They were the first proper fast casual eatery, introducing fresh ingredients to a simple concept and doing it right. Pink burgers from great fresh beef, butter brioches (although the late great Anthony Bourdain would have turned his nose up at that one) and a respect for food that comes from a clear passion for it.
Fat Louie’s was yet again a first of its kind. A proper smokehouse that embraced the fat-is-flavour school of thought that I myself am a staunch believer in. Here, the Diaconos got to stretch their creative boundaries a little and the results were clearly positive. These boys knew food.
Over the years however, competition became rife and the market oversaturated. And once again, our roots reared their ugly heads. Their competitors started making bigger burgers, stuffed to the rafters; quantity and quality with ever increasing price tags. The foreclosure of the burger joints was inevitable, and while I thank them for their contribution to the culinary movement here, I will guiltily admit that I will not particularly miss them.
I was glad to see though that they revamped their Qui-si-Sana property into New York Bistro. I was instantly intrigued, and after a quick cursory glance at their menu I knew I wanted to eat here.
We made our reservation in a timely fashion and were seen to our seats very quickly. Truth be told I had made my mind up long before we were shown the menus. When I get a craving, I get it hard. My partner, however, required a little more time, which gave me the opportunity to take in my surroundings.
The place was mostly unchanged, but quite frankly, very little really needed changing. The industrial modern feel still worked, and if I’m not mistaken, having only been to the old place once before, I sensed some darker tones and a few new works of art on the wall. They took their old identity and upscaled it slightly. This is still NYB, but it has matured.
The orders were rushed to the kitchen, and after a few minutes, some fresh “bread” was brought out. I use the quotation marks loosely here, it was closer to fresh baked pizza crust sourdough, and I am not complaining. I could have stuffed my face with that and their surprisingly light olive oil all night.
Our starters made their way to our table and we made quick work of them. We started with the Three Cheese Fondue out of fear it would set into a solid lump before too long. The mixture of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan worked well. Sharp, nutty and gooey are all great qualities with crusty bread. This was not a fondue though. It sadly did set a little quickly and we were left with chucks of melted cheese (woe is us). We still enjoyed the dish overall, but it did not deliver on expectations.
You’ve seen the scores. This was the only major criticism I had here.
This is still NYB, but it has matured
The calamari fritti were perfect. The crisp coating held up to a generous squeeze of lemon, the squid itself was tender and the tartar sauce hit all the right acid notes. The portion was just right to leave me satisfied yet still wanting more.
I’m going to move onto the Korean chicken wings now and I have a lot to say about these. These are quite possibly the best damned wings I have ever eaten in my entire life. The meat was crisp on the outside and juicy to the bite. But that glaze. Boys, if you’re reading this, bottle that sauce and sell it. That sauce is money. It is everything that is right in food. It had heat, sweetness, saltiness and a kick of fresh acid from what tasted like lime zest. That is straight out of a David Chang fantasy. I would not have been surprised had those wings hit my table at Momofuku and I will be returning frequently just for plates of them.
After licking the bones dry like some sort of street mutt, I had started to regret ordering any main course other than “more wings”. In fact, I had ordered an extremely run-of-the-mill main course, fuelled by nostalgia and curiosity. They say a good chef is one who can make simple food extraordinary. How do you make Tortellini alla Panna restaurant quality? Taste New York Best Bistro’s and that is how.
The tortellini were nice and al dente, but the real winner is in the parmesan cream sauce. This dish is incredibly rich, and every bite is a treat to the palate. I will say that towards the very end it may have been a touch too heavy; sometimes a smaller portion can be favourable. Again, I will admit to pretty much licking my plate clean, but gluttony is a hubris of mine fuelled by good food like this.
The last thing we ate was a flank steak with salsa verde and fries. The fries were great, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I’m guessing they were triple cooked, a trademark of Fat Louie’s, and so worth the extra work and care. The steak was cooked to precise specifications with a beautiful grill finish that elevates a cut like flank steak to its highest potential. As is tradition, we ordered one dish too many.
A side of whole roasted mushrooms also topped with salsa verde was placed between our plates, and let me tell you, that is one huge side dish. They were perfection. Mushrooms are, after all, the meat of the vegetable world in my eyes and they were juicy and earthy and everything mushrooms should be. The salsa verde was lost on them, and quite frankly, I don’t feel like it was even necessary in the first place.
We left no room for dessert. I would normally consider that a failure on my part, but the food was so good at this point that I felt nothing but elation. The bill was perfectly reasonable and I happily paid it with no qualms whatsoever.
This is a great place to dine. I think the New York Best journey was long but they have finally found their feet and settled into doing what they do best right here. I very much look forward to seeing what this place has to offer in the future. As long as they keep those wings on the menu.
Those wings.