Inside Zebbug’s New Greek-Italian Restaurant: A Tasting Menu Review
When I first wrote about Magna Grecia opening in Zebbug, I had fairly high expectations. Katja Levato, the woman behind Yiamas and Mykonos by Yiamas, was bringing her Greek heritage and Calabrian roots together under one roof. On paper, it sounded promising.
Having now eaten my way through the eight-course Odyssey tasting menu, I can confirm that my expectations were considerably less ambitious than the kitchen’s. And I had high expectations to begin with.
With just ten tables, Magna Grecia feels wonderfully intimate. Traditional Maltese stone walls, patterned floor tiles, warm lighting and framed black-and-white photography give the dining room plenty of character. The small outdoor balcony, overlooking the surrounding streets and old Maltese façades, is particularly charming.
There’s something rather lovely about finding this level of cooking in the middle of Zebbug. Away from the usual concentration of restaurants in Sliema, St Julian’s and Valletta, the location gives Magna Grecia a personality of its own.
And the Greek-Italian concept goes considerably further than simply putting dishes from two countries on the same menu. Ingredients, flavours and cooking techniques cross borders within the dishes themselves, drawing on both culinary traditions rather than keeping them politely separated.
At €95 per person, Odyssey takes you from Greece to southern Italy, with a few unexpected detours along the way. It’s ambitious cooking, certainly, but without the ceremony that sometimes makes tasting menus feel like an examination you forgot to revise for.
Chef’s Amuse-Bouche
The evening began with a small, carefully constructed amuse-bouche, served in a miniature black pan. A golden crust, delicate greens and a translucent citrus garnish made for an intriguing introduction. A little opening statement from the kitchen, with considerably more thought behind it than its size suggested.
Octopus Carpaccio
Now, this was clever. Octopus carpaccio isn’t exactly a rarity on Mediterranean menus, but presenting it as a beautifully formed sphere is another matter. Thin pieces of octopus wrapped around themselves, crowned with ribbons of vegetables and sitting on a bed of fresh rocket.
The flavours were clean and fresh, with the potatoes, Kalamata olives and capers providing those familiar Mediterranean notes. What impressed me most was the restraint. For something so visually elaborate, the octopus remained the point of the exercise. A familiar dish given a rather impressive architectural education.
Cold-Smoked Beef Tartare
Next came the cold-smoked beef tartare, presented beneath a glass cloche filled with smoke. A little theatre, which I’m perfectly happy to entertain when the food justifies the performance.
The hand-cut beef was beautifully presented, topped with vegetables, herbs, a delicate crisp and salt-cured egg yolk, with mustard sauce arranged in concentric circles around the plate.
There was something wonderfully deliberate about it. The smoke added another dimension to the beef, while the accompaniments introduced texture and contrast. Rich, savoury and visually striking without becoming unnecessarily complicated.
Black Tagliatelle with Red Mullet
This was my standout. Handmade squid-ink tagliatelle, red mullet, tomatoes, zucchini, mint cream and roasted pine nuts. An ingredient list that could easily have become rather crowded, but instead produced one of the most memorable dishes of the evening.
The dark ribbons of pasta, coated in that green-tinged sauce, made a rather dramatic backdrop for the red mullet. What I particularly enjoyed was the combination of seafood and mint, which gave the dish an unexpected freshness against the richness of the pasta.
Citrus & Herb Granita
A citrus and herb granita followed, providing a refreshing interval before the main course.
After the richness of the tartare and pasta, the change of pace was welcome. A little palate reset before the meat arrived.
Lamb Chops or Beef Fillet
For the main course, there’s a choice between lamb chops and beef fillet.
I went for the lamb, served as two beautifully browned, miniature chops with saffron mashed potatoes, grilled radicchio and garlic-marinated zucchini.
The alternative is a 200g sous-vide beef fillet with garlic-sautéed potatoes, spinach and a house-made BBQ-flavoured jus.
Tiramisu and Baklava
The tiramisu and baklava combines coffee-soaked genoise, mascarpone cream and baklava elements. We actually shared a full-sized à la carte portion between two rather than the smaller tasting-menu serving.
It’s an interesting reinterpretation of two desserts with very distinct personalities. Coffee, cream and the familiar richness of tiramisu meet the textures and sweetness associated with baklava.
Cannolo Elleno
A crisp cannolo shell filled with ricotta and pistachio, accompanied by chocolate, sweet feta and orange marmalade.
The combination of ricotta, pistachio and sweet feta brings the Greek-Italian concept back into focus for the final course. A fitting conclusion to a menu that has spent the evening crossing culinary borders.
A Few Thoughts Beyond the Plate
Something I found interesting about Odyssey was the progression of portions. Many tasting menus I’ve experienced maintain fairly consistent sizes throughout, whereas here the earlier courses felt more substantial, with smaller servings as the evening progressed.
It’s an observation rather than a criticism, and certainly didn’t leave me hungry. Quite the opposite. Eight courses later, I was contemplating whether Zebbug offered a reasonably priced removal service to transport me home.
At €95, I genuinely think the menu represents excellent value for the quality, creativity and amount of food involved.
Magna Grecia was already an opening I had been looking forward to. What I hadn’t anticipated was quite how much it would exceed my expectations.
Turns out Greece and Italy weren’t competing after all. They were just waiting for a table in Zebbug.
Magna Grecia
10 Scioritino Square
Zebbug
Website
