The weekend brought us to Medasia Lounge, as we craved for some good sushi. We checked different places but their menu seemed to be the most vegetarian-friendly, as they offer a variety of “light nibbles from sushi to classic dishes drawn from Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Mediterranean cuisines”.
It’s located on the Strand in Sliema and easy to find, so if you choose the outside terrace area, you’ll have a great view over the harbour. When we entered the restaurant on that Friday evening, I was happy I made a reservation as it seemed quite popular. We were guided through a bar and lounge area where I noticed a DJ, which I thought was a very cool idea. He played just the perfect music for this place, chilling house which set you in the right mood.
After we were showed our table, we looked around a bit. Everything was clean but held in some darker colours, the light was dimmed as well. Behind us was the bar where one barkeeper was responsible for each normal drinks and cocktails. I was wondering if that would be enough staff for a Friday evening and probably was right.
The service was excellent all the time – with a few exceptions – and all seemed professional. As the evening wore late, the more guests wanted drinks and cocktails of course and so our cocktail orders were forgotten 2 times and we had to remind them.
As we had a friend with us who used to work in a sushi restaurant himself, the place had a strict checker that night.
We ordered edamame as a starter for all, I added a wakame seaweed salad and summer rolls filled among others with tofu and seaweed with a sweet chilli sauce. Plus 6 pieces of avocado & cucumber maki.
I found everything delicious. We were just a bit disappointed about the sizes of the dishes. Usually you get a big bowl of edamame, but we were advised to get 2, because they were only served in tiny mini bowls.
However, the seaweed salad was one of the best I have ever eaten. The seasoning was amazing and I would definitely order it again next time. The summer rolls I was so heavily looking forward to, were not very special on the other hand. I prefer my self-made ones from home – they were also really small and I only got 2 pieces. Wouldn’t recommend. But the maki again – very tasty and fresh.
My friend had the same maki and a house special, the vegan crystal strand maki which contained asparagus, cucumber, spring onion, mushrooms, bean-sprouts, butter lettuce, mint & tofu served with sweet chilli sauce. She told me it was an interesting combination, but quite delightful.
Our friend, not a vegetarian, had the mediterranean prawns and california maki. The maki was good, but not special he explained to us, as every good sushi restaurant makes tasty maki. But he found the prawns excellent and enjoyed them pretty much.
We all agreed that the quality of food at this place was amazing, we got full and would come back another time. Regarding and comparing sizes and prices of the dishes, we just couldn’t afford it too often, next time would preferably be for more special occasions or just little snacks.
By the way, the place has a great cocktail card, too and we tried a few. Most were presented in a special way, so I’d recommend you to try at least one. As the evening proceeded, the music got so loud at some point that we had a hard time talking and we felt like we had to scream at each other – If anyone sees the logic in that, please tell me. It was a bit annoying and made us feel it was time to leave.
Maybe next time we should reserve a place in the separate dining area. The better place in case you want a more quiet evening, I guess.
Medasia: 90 THE STRAND, SLIEMA – SLM1022
