Risette Tasting Experience

It never quite gets old. The steeple and dome of St Paul’s Pro Cathedral, perfectly lit in the evening sky, the walk through Pjazza Independenza, that jacaranda taking centre stage, the antique ring at the doorbell of Casa Ellul, “we’ve come to see the lady of the house, we’re here for Risette”. A tribute to the Ellul lineage, Risette has embodied the figure of a robust yet elegant character portrayed through the craftsmanship of Chef Steve Scicluna. 

“Welcome back”, we always hear; and with delight we follow Sommelier Sabrina Rodríguez Dell'Orefice to our favourite seat; by the window with a view of the stained glass, gently lit by the faint light echoing as mass service ends at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We’re home. This feels familiar. 

Risette is an intimate space, and with tight spaces, it’s hard not to catch glimpses of other guests’ reactions — luckily here it’s all oohs and aahs. What my ears always perk up for though are comments like, “as the Chef wants”; ohhh, it makes me so happy when I hear this. You’re in for a treat. 

Chef Steve has grown into this elegant, refined and detail-oriented Chef whose creativity and playfulness are still intact. The amuse bouche, in any restaurant, is so important; and this is where I secretly judge levels of consistency, creativity and elevation. All I will say about the amuse bouche presentation on this night is that my two favourite components of these snacks have been given a facelift that nobody knew they needed. The overall aroma of this course is deep umami with a carry through Parmiggiano Reggiano utilization. Texturally: what a rollercoaster! 

It’s hard not to use up my word count on the amuse bouche alone. So I’ll leave you with the joy of discovering the opening scene of Risette, just make sure you say YES when the extra flat bread is offered, you’ll regret it otherwise. 🤤

The opening course on this season’s menu is one that will be dissected and analysed through The bajtra Catalogue Project, where every detail, from concept to sourcing, is presented as a form of culinary arts preservation. Catalogue sneak peak aside…  let’s talk about this dish. And what a dish! Three heroes, local prawn, local grapefruit and local chicken wings. Mad. And so delicious. 

It’s mad because the idea of a delicate prawn tartare with a graceful grapefruit foam and a light elderflower and jalapeňo oil contrasts so oddly with a stuffed and glazed chicken wing. But by golly does it work. 

We knew the course was coming, we’d seen it being made the week before, we’d eaten it the week before… and we also knew that on a Tasting Menu, the wing is generally omitted to keep diners light for the next courses. But for those who enjoy their food, Chef obliges with a wing. 

If you’re the type of reader who only reads reviews for the sour points, you can stop reading after this paragraph and move on, because this is the only critical point I have and it’s more of a judgement choice than a culinary edit.

The wing arrived after we ate half our tartare… but that got us thinking.

All rise for the king of the wing. Iftaħ StevzWingz, eh?

Isma Chef, that chicken wing needs to be a stand-alone. Delay the timing by just a little bit and surprise your guests with that wing. The wonders it did and the excitement it brought into the dining room made guests fully understand your playfulness — it also made everyone relax and ease into their evening, their fingers sticky from that delicious glaze. Let’s talk about this, I think we could have some fun. 

What I love most about Chef Steve’s cooking is probably his pasta. Always just thin enough, always filled just right with whatever seasonal produce, this time Jerusalem artichokes, and always almost too pretty to eat. They’re also almost always vegetarian and I love that. 

Not sure if this happens to everyone, but you know that feeling, almost a striking pain, that you get in your jaw when the umami is umami-ing. Right! … hmmm… maybe not? OK let’s explain simply… that ‘new’ flavour your mind is experiencing sends your salivary glands into overdrive, you get a shot of dopamine, your eyes widen (at least mine do) and you insatiably go in for the next taste. The Parmigiano foam instigated this fun wee party trick. Follow Sabrina’s pairings according to your tolerance level; we followed her lead with a 2023 Chablis that bounces its buttery notes off the focaccia crisp embellishing your dish.

For those who need to pace themselves, like me, build a relationship with your Sommelier, like Sabrina, they’ll find a variety or blend that pairs well from one course to the next, keeping your wits about you throughout the night. The seabass ‘en brioche’, that nutty butteriness from the thin slice of bread skin, complimented the MLF in the Chablis once again. 

The first time I ordered ‘curry’ with my ‘fish’-what even is that sentence-I was in Scotland… and I thought, ‘surprise, surprise… this nation can’t cook’. I stared down my plate, hoping it would just disappear, all the while my Scottish friends saying it’s braw… and I tasted it. I smashed it. The curry. The fish. The lot. The seabass ‘en brioche’ took me to Edinburgh and my soul was recharged. 

Chef Scicluna’s staple fish has once again been elevated with the vadouvan sauce he chose to accompany it with. Buttery, creamy and delicate, pairing with the fish gracefully to enhance its luscious interior texture and add some spice to the ‘skin’. A citrus gel for lightness and hispi cabbage for an earthy yet refreshing note. The cabbage was served colder than the rest of the plate; intentional or not… here it worked as a nice temperature contrast. Just a note to the kitchen. 

The main of the night is always pretty interesting at Risette. And this time it was the tax-xewk moment in this tax-xewk experience: Iberico pork presa with a caramelly-citrus sauce bigarade, a spiced apple marmalade with the fragrant notes of timut pepper that plays well with the floral bergamot and carrot mousse. 

Finding the pinpoint star element of this dish is complex. Everything works together so blissfully - albeit oddly… we’ve got to stay true to Chef’s out-of-the-box pairings. The quality of the pork; a shoulder cut; gives the dish a luxurious feeling from the get go. It cuts like beef, it’s tender and it’s served medium. It’s delicious and so so more-ish – even though you’re literally at the end of your savoury journey… you could still have more. 

The transition to sweet is also so intelligent here. Carrot and bergamot, sauce bigarade, apple marmalade seasoned with citrusy and floral timut pepper… all sweet elements that feature on the final main; that might I add is perfectly seasoned and a prime example of mastering balance. 

Moving on to sweet with a pre-dessert delivering on nutty, roasted and creamy with a touch of freshness through the bergamot sorbet and a closing petit four with hazelnut and yuzu notes… with an interim of friendliness.  

Because two desserts are better than one, and because Chef Steve wants us to try as much of his menu as possible, we humbly devoured the plum tart with honey vinegar and the perfect ending to a meal in the form of a peanut and chocolate mousse accompanied by a peanut cookie intended to be jovially dipped into the in-house peanut milk.  

The command of consistency at Risette is so satisfying. I hope you’ve noticed the attention to detail in the menu, the transition of elements and the build up of floral and citrus, nuttiness and butteriness; all working with the playfulness and creativity of menu development. Ma nafx, it just makes sense to me. Risette makes sense.