Under Grain was our second and last Michelin-starred experience in Valletta, and we ate here on the last night of our trip. Originally, I had booked at Grain Street, since we already had a Michelin star under our belt and we didn’t want to spend a ton of money. Grain Street has a Michelin “bib gourmand” which means it is excellent food for the value. While we were in Valletta, I received a phone call stating that somehow the reservation got messed up (even though it was confirmed multiple times) and there was no longer space at Grain Street, but they had space for us at Under Grain. They offered us a complimentary glass of Champagne for our trouble. How could we say no?

Under Grain was situated in the lower level of a building which is a five-star hotel in Valletta (The Rosselli, AX hotel) , located on very busy Merchants Street. When we arrived, we were asked to wait in the lobby of the hotel and then we were escorted down via elevator to the lower level. Much like Noni, where we had eaten the night before, Under Grain also had high vaulted ceilings with sweeping limestone brick arches, making for a very luxe atmosphere. Unlike Noni, however, there were no tablecloths or other linens or rugs to soften the space, so everything seemed very hard and cold. The restaurant was dimly lit, but not so dark that you couldn’t read the menu or see the food.

The service was extremely excellent, and probably the best we had in Malta. There was a primary sommelier who described the wines to us with detail and excitement. We also had several folks serving and clearing the table, as well as a primary server captain who explained what all the dishes were. The manager also came by to thank us for dining with them, and to make sure everything was going well.

The food was all excellent, although somewhat less memorable. This is partially because we did not get a menu to take home with us to remind us of the delicious courses that we ate there, which is usually typical for a Michelin-starred restaurant. Unfortunately, because I don’t have the menu (nor did I write everything down), I can’t tell you what each of the dishes we had were, but I’ll do my best.

We started with a grouping of finger foods which they call “Snacks”, which seems to be becoming more and more typical at every fancy restaurant we go to. This has been a trend for a very long time, and I do kind of enjoy the little one bite treats to start off an evening. I wish I did remember what they all were because we gobbled them up in record time!

The two highlight courses for me was the mussels three ways course and the pasta course. I, personally, love mussels, and they are easily my favorite shellfish to eat. This course came with a crisp bread made out of, if I recall correctly, dehydrated mussels. There was also a cute little plate of smoked mussels covered with a passionfruit gelee. For the main part of this course were mussels in this incredible creamy sauce. I have never had mussels like this and it was a revelation. I loved this course and it was easily the most memorable one for me.

My other favorite course was the sopressini pasta with roasted shiitake mushrooms, pickled mushrooms and black garlic parmesan foam. The pasta itself was incredibly fresh and slightly al dente but not too crunchy. Mushrooms are my fave, and so the different flavors of roasted and pickled mushrooms was fun. The photo is tinted red from the red wine that they served with this course.

Below are a few photos of some of the other courses we had at Under Grain, including the ultra-delicate milk-fed veal.

For dessert, I did not love the chocolate mousse with granola, but I did love the petit fours that followed. Jellies, fresh figs, and super-soft madeleine cookies are way more up my alley than fancy chocolate.

Overall, we enjoyed Under Grain very much, though the experience left a bit to be desired. I think the wine pairings could use a little work, in spite of the enthusiastic service, as I was not motivated to write down or take a picture of any of the wines we had. Some of the pairings were not great at all, and I remember leaving some of the wine on the table, which is rare for me. I also thought that the vibe of the restaurant was a bit cold as I mentioned before, especially with the lack of table linens. While there were cool historic fashion design elements displayed on the walls, they were so high up that they did not add the element of warmth that I think they were supposed to.

It is tough to not compare one Michelin starred restaurant to another, especially when you go one night right after the other, and they cost exactly the same amount (200 Euro per person including the wine pairings) but we agreed that while there wasn’t anything terribly wrong with Under Grain, we significantly preferred Noni where we ate the night before (and you can read more about, here!). We thought the atmosphere, wine pairings and food were all better there than at Under Grain. However, we thought that the service at Under Grain was the best. The experience made me wish that we were able to eat at Grain Street instead, the original plan, which might have been the better value and easier to not compare to the night before.