Valletta was declared as a European Capital of Culture. Every Maltese knows that. What not everyone knows, is that here, we have come across one of the most luxury & rich veggie burgers on the whole island!
Our story starts way back 450 years in the past, at the turn of the 16th century, in the palace of the influential Capitano Giacomo de Robertis. De Robertis, who hailed from Bologna, Italy, was employed by the Knights of Malta. Across time, the Palace passed into the possession of some of the wealthiest Maltese families including the Testaferratas and the Marquis Cassar Desain. It was turned into the Hotel Castille in more modern times. This May, the cellars have been converted into The Beer Cave, a secretive underground bar, that hosts a vast selection of more than 120 craft beers! Just in case the secretive part has piqued your interest, this place is located in Castille square! This basement area used to house a traditional bakery, complete with a terracotta oven, an old mill driven by a donkey and the unmissable wine cellar full of valuable bottled grapes.
Like most old buildings in Valletta, the stones were dug out of the bottom of the basement, to create large wells. These walls, arches, and barrel-vaults have proved to be able to withstand sieges, areal bombings, and even earthquakes! While renovating the establishment five months ago, every effort has been made to ensure that The Beer Cave retains all the characteristics of the XVI century palace cellar that makes it such a historical, artistic and architectural gem. The modern bar structure is made from brass and oak, while the barrels you dine and drink on are props from the cult 1977 movie, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger! Estelle, manager & owner of The Beer Cave is an energetic and bubbly 20-year-old, which has been working in catering for five years, and she has left no stone unturned!
So why did we visit The Beer Cave? For the chilled pilsners, lagers and wheat beers? We are here because we heard rumours and praise on their veggie burger.
First rumour: This is a green burger. Being a veggie burger, we assume you can call this burger green… but the burger is actually green in colour! Chef Marco has fine-tuned his own family recipe to create the bun and has it baked to specification by a local baker. This bun even has a mix of coloured seeds on top, to make it even more unique.
Second rumour: Just like many veggie burgers we have come across, this one has no name! It’s just called veggie burger! We think that this is very unjust, so we are re-baptising this burger as the Asparagus burger!
The burger itself is made of very few components. The patty is a mash of chickpeas, marrow, carrots, spring onions, grated breadcrumbs, and asparagus. Asparagus, often considered as an aristocrat of the plant kingdom, is one of the main ingredients. It commands higher prices than most other vegetables, as a lot of patience and hard work goes into the growing of this unusual perennial crop. On a gram per gram basis, the raw materials used here, are the most expensive we’ve seen in the local veggie burgers scene.
During preparation, salt and pepper are added to the patty, together with a sizzle of olive oil, and it is grilled until it crusts. The consistency of the patty is granular with mushy bits. The taste of asparagus works well with the other vegetables in the mix and is very present with an earthy and fresh flavour. It has no bitter or sour tones, as the plant was rightly picked in it’s prime and hasn’t been overcooked at all. A lot of thought has gone into the blending of the vegetables, and Chef Marco has done a stellar job here. Marco manages the whole kitchen on his own two hands. He hails from Alto Adige in Trentino, a region of Northern Italy, surrounded by mountains. He has been living in Malta for 18 years, and can speak Maltese too! During his years in Malta, Marco worked in a number of popular restaurants and hotels, before landing at The Beer Cave, where he has devised many Italian flavoured entrées and main dishes.
There is no sauce in this burger, just the green bun, the asparagus patty, 2 slices of tomatoes and ruccola. The bread to vegetable ratio tends to favour the bread part. One fix we came up with as an afterthought, would be to ask for a double patty version! Would you dare do that?!
No burger is complete without fries, and Marco has managed to captivate our attention with his special super crispy fries! He won’t budge and reveal the secret moves that push these chips to the top 5 hit list of the crunchiest fries ever! We presume it’s a unique brand of potatoes he gets from some Italian supplier, and the specific temperature he sets the deep fryers. He won’t tell, so if you love crispy fries, you need to experience these in person!
