Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Cheeky Monkey

  • Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Cheeky Monkey

    Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Cheeky Monkey

    I visited the Cheeky Monkey in Valletta last year and rather liked it, but they also have a second venue in Bugibba which I thought that we’d visit.

    There’s a pleasant view from the terrace at the rear of the bar, as well as plenty of seating inside.

    The craft beer selection is at least there, so that’s great, but much of it was out of stock and the staff member who served us returned to tell us that the drink I ordered wasn’t available. The bars pride themselves on their informality, but it all felt a bit scripted and forced, I’d have rather had a laid-back environment where the staff members wanted to engage and were proud of their beers.

    The Golden Bay from Lord Chambray, the brewer on Gozo. It’s OK, not exceptional, but it was refreshing and served at the appropriate temperature.

    An interesting concept, swings in the bar.

    I’ve never seen any bar advertise a beer sampler of lagers like this, and, to be honest, I hope I never do again. The bar advertises that they give customers the chance to “try the many kinds of high-end beers”.

    This bar was nowhere near as good as their other one in Valletta as the service was a little distance and I got the impression that the staff didn’t want to be there. The server asked if we wanted our change or were going to leave a tip of nearly 35%, but I decided that we’d have our change and didn’t mention the difficulty we’d had in actually getting the bill and paying. There’s a concept of cheekiness at the venue, hence the name, so it didn’t feel entirely out of place, but it sort of has to follow a similarly engaging service.

    The bar was all a bit dated in its style for my liking, but having written that, the reviews aren’t poor (indeed, they’re actually very good) so they must be doing something right. Given how much others like the bar, I suspect that if we’d had food and had a different server then the whole experience would have been much better.

  • Malta – South Eastern Region – Valletta – Cheeky Monkey

    A lot of restaurants and cafes in Valletta often have quite old-fashioned frontages, but Cheeky Monkey looks and feels modern. It’s well presented and their web-site is up-to-date, something which numerous restaurants in Malta don’t seem to concern themselves about.

    I visited on a rainy late afternoon in February, so it wasn’t a surprise that it wasn’t that busy. There was a friendly welcome from a staff member, not just a “hello”, but something that actually seemed authentic and personable. So, my first impressions were rather positive.

    Having craft beer is obviously a huge bonus for my enjoyment of a location, and although I’ve had this beer a few times, I like having it as an option. It’s the Fungus Rock dry stout from Lord Chambray Brewery on Gozo, one of the few local breweries. It doesn’t have the depth of flavour and afternotes that I’d ideally like, but it’s entirely acceptable. It transpired later on that I visited during happy hour, but the pub didn’t tell me that, which might have made my visit longer……

    The fish and chips, which was neatly presented and everything was at the appropriate temperature. Far too often restaurants put peas on with fish and they’re dry and tasteless, but these were excellent and despite being green, they had a depth of taste. The breading of the fish was even throughout and had a decent flavour, although the portion size was only adequate. The fish itself was again fine, although slightly uninteresting. The chips were though excellent again, crispy on the exterior and flurry on the interior, with the tartare sauce adding some extra flavour.

    It was all very acceptable and the prices weren’t unreasonable given the city centre location of Valletta. The service was above average throughout, always being attentive and polite. A staff member was going around with a tablet asking customers for feedback, something which I’m not sure works or not. I very much like the concept of it for picking up any issues, but they don’t seem to be doing anything directly with the data that they get. So if a customer isn’t entirely happy, I’m not sure if the pub is contacting them either immediately or after the event. If it isn’t (and they didn’t contact me), I’m not sure it’s a great idea, but the concept of immediate feedback is an interesting one which is very rarely done in this manner.

    But, everything was clean and organised, and I’d certainly go again, particularly as the staff were so friendly.