Ryan's | Honest pub food
Though Ryan's pub is best known for a great drinking atmosphere, taking the time to get there early for a meal is well worth it.
Rachel Zammit Cutajar
Looking for a good night out of too many shots and bad decisions? Ryan’s Pub in St Julian’s is probably a good bet. Maltese party-goers are a pretty fickle bunch, invading one trendy spot with their dancing shoes and tequila cravings and giving it all up in favour of the next new spot that opens it doors. Against all odds, Ryan’s has remained a popular spot for more years that I care to remember. So much so that their Facebook page displays a message welcoming you ‘home’.
When you walk through the doors into the smoky haze, where you can feel the vibrations of the sound system on your skin and someone by the bar immediately offers you a shot of something green, the last thing you could possibly imagine is that this establishment serves food! But that it does. During the quieter hours of lunch time.
It seems somewhat strange to walk into Ryan’s and lean over the bar to get a drink without getting drenched with a strange concoction of spilled drinks. But such is the way of a more civilized afternoon at the pub!
When Ryan’s started serving food I was more than a little sceptical. Food can’t be their number one priority so why should it be any good? Over the last few years I’ve heard their praises being sung by many regular diners and the time had come to give it a try.
If you’re looking for a fancy, shmancy spot to impress a chick, this may not be your best bet – unless said chick is really into burgers. However if you get there expecting good, honest pub food you certainly won’t be disappointed.
Gourmet burgers have been gaining popularity over the last year or so and Ryan’s burgers certainly don’t fall short. Boring old toppings of cheese and an egg used to be the best you could find a few years back, today however combinations are endless. And at Ryan’s the toppings are top notch. Tired of boring old cheese? Why not substitute that with a melting piece of brie, complementing the rich beefy flavours. Brie needs to be served with something sweet, so this burger comes with a sweet onion marmalade that balances the burger perfectly.
Even better than their burgers, are their ribs. I must admit to a little food envy when the waiter laid a hefty rack of ribs down in front of the person sitting next to me… so much so that a few of us sitting around a table thought it might be a good idea to order and extra rack to share. And what a good idea that was! Served on a large wooden board and glistening in the sunshine we devoured every morsel of meat that slipped easily off the bones.
An after-lunch drink on a weekend almost always ends up at Ryan’s so if you’re already there then there’s no need to move. Dessert was a jug of something green, which though sounded pretty awful to start out with (all the whites, mixed with Blue Curacao and pineapple juice), by the second or third shot they start to go down pretty well until we move closer to the bar and day fades to night.
Coming home from lunch at Ryan’s well after midnight seems to deliver the verdict of a good afternoon/evening. Just be sure to allocate plenty of recovery time the following day.
Ryan’s is open daily for lunch between 11:00 and 16:00.
Ryan’s Pub
Triq Wied l-Ghomor,
St Julian’s
Tel: 27312906
Facebook: RyansMalta
