Our search for the tastiest vegetarian burger in town – that one burger-unicorn that can turn the most ardent beef-eating person into a lover of greens – takes us to Gzira seafront. Novi is an unassuming bar at first glance, but first impressions can be deceiving, as this place is a hideout, ebullient with home-made food. One year ago, we already stopped at this same door, but the sign on the front read Happy Pizza. We wonder what string of events brought such a change from pizza house to a burger joint, so we delve inside.
Here we find the man of the day, always-smiling Chris Vella. Chris was born in New York, from Maltese parents. He’s an engineer by profession, but when he moved to Malta 14 years back, he has worked in a myriad of trades, from being a mobile salesman to real estate work. Having acquired a fascination for good food from his father, Chris saw it fit to open Happy Pizza! The ups and downs of running a pizza delivery service made him turn around, and 1 year ago he resurrected the place as Novi, half bar, half express-food joint. Novi actually means New, and the old Happy Pizza premises were dismantled and rebuilt from scratch and by hand, by Chris himself, with his wife doing all the interior designing and planning. The animalistic paper sculptures on the walls roar back that this is a pet-friendly bar. If you’re out for a drink with friends, why should you leave your pet at home? According to Chris, you shouldn’t!
We came here because we heard that last July, Chris came up with a new burger concoction. It’s a visceral vegetable burger, made from grilled, raw vegetables, with halloumi at heart. Halloumi is a fresh, semi-firm cheese, traditionally prepared from sheep’s milk in Cyprus. So why should someone make a vegetable burger based on Halloumi? It’s because Halloumi is a soft curd-like cheese free of rennet and safe for vegetarians who do not eat rennet. Halloumi is firm, salty and a bit rubbery, and has a smooth texture. Halloumi is not meant to be eaten raw, so in this burger iteration, it’s grilled. Once cooked, the saltiness fades into a robust, savory bite with a creamy texture that’s a bit akin to a marshmallow! Just like marshmallows, once grilled, this cheese becomes crispy and savory on the outside, and sinfully melted on the inside! It won’t melt totally, but develops a crispy crust because the protein bonds are broken before forming into curds… which is the opposite of most cheeses!
Liga from Latvia is our chef of the day, and she churns out our burger in record speed time. On top of the two hefty blocks of grilled Halloumi cheese goes raw baby spinach, 2 slices of grilled eggplant, 2 pieces of roasted red peppers and raw onions. All is topped with morsels of walnuts and honey-mustard sauce. All the vegetables are sourced locally, making this one a made-in-Malta guaranteed burger! We’ve rarely seen more transparency than this one, when it comes to burger-making, as you can literally see the whole lot of vegetables it’s made of. The combination of Halloumi, vegetables, and nuts conjures superb flavors and texture. The sauce was a good choice because it is not overly sweet or overpowering, just mellow in taste. We miss some more overall crunch in this burger, maybe adding some carrot strings would help fill that void. We’re sure that this one will stir a fire in the tastebuds of not-a-few beef-eaters, who will be more than glad to devour this burger in a matter of bites!
Any burger, whether beefy or veggie, should be accompanied by a good portion of fries, and Novi spoils you for choice. We tried out the sweet potato and seasoned chips, which are both crinkly, golden and rightly-crisped, just as any Maltaburgers-approved fries should be! The portions are big-man US-sized, so Novi have a variety of dips to go with the fries. We tried the hot one, which is a chili and vinegar sauce, and the basil sauce. Add a lemon drink made in the US, and you have one beast of a veggie meal any gorilla would climb the Empire State building for!
Chris made the right choice when he dumped pizza making and started grilling burgers! We love his attitude and ideas for express-food with a homely taste. Come on Chris, dream up a new burger or four for the year to come!
