Have you ever tasted a wine so beautifully balanced, or looked at such an impressive arrangement of food on a plate that made you think, ‘this is a work of art’? 

Well, it is this very feeling that the exceptional team at Fernandõ Gastrotheque strives to achieve. And, if their recently awarded Michelin star is anything to go by – making them one of only six restaurants to receive the honour in Malta – they’re succeeding.

But it’s not just the food and wine that takes centre stage at this Sliema restaurant, but the experience as a whole. Its beautiful sleek interiors set the scene for what owners Nicholai, Andre and Janika describe as a “wine theatre” – a concept that is reflected on its very walls, through its impressive Faces of Wine exhibition.

But first, a little back story.

It was Nicholai, Andre and Janika’s father, Fernando Grech, who started the family business in 1984. At the time, the focus was very different, but as the new generation took over, their speciality became wines and spirits. 

“The idea to name the restaurant Fernando after him was firstly a thank you for all the doors he opened up to us, but also to bless the place with his magic,” says Nicholai. “He was a person that started from zero and made it, to the extent that we always had all we needed. Being a totally new line of business for us, we wished the business would succeed as he had. We also wanted the place to not only be a restaurant, but to represent what we, as a family, believe in.”

And the tribute to their father doesn’t stop there. His portrait was among the first to feature in the restaurant’s Faces of Wine exhibition.

Revealing how the unique concept came about, Nicholai explains that the idea stemmed from the siblings’ wish to decorate the walls of the restaurant a little differently, featuring portraits of people associated with food and wine. This led them to local artist, Joanne Falzon. 

“When I first had the idea for the Faces of Wine exhibition, I was thinking of using a form of art that would be different – caricatures. I came across some of Joanne’s work online and I was impressed. I loved how precise it was, but what struck me most were the eyes – most of her portraits have piercing eyes. I explained the project to her and she embraced it immediately. The rest is history,” Nicholai says.

The result is a steadily growing collection of portraits that grace the walls of Fernandõ Gastrotheque, numbering 50 portraits so far.

Some of the people featured need no introduction, like famous wine writer Robert Parker, while others could be lesser known but have a personal link with the family, so the portraits themselves represent the idea behind which Fernando was created: as a wine theatre, where the stage is given to everyone with potential to shine. 

As an added special touch, some of the portraits in the exhibition have also been signed by the people featured – among these is the portrait of the late Pio Boffa, who visited the restaurant a few days after the launch of the exhibition and has sadly since passed away.

Another particular element is that some are in black and white, while others are in colour – specifically, those featuring women. This is no coincidence. “When selecting who will make it into the first run, I noticed that women were not as well represented when compared to their male counterparts, so the idea was for the women to stand out,” says Nicholai, explaining that women’s place in the wine industry is particularly important, as the female palate is more sensitive, leading many wine-makers to enlist women to help finalise their wines. 

“Like in every other industry, women always had it harder to progress, so I believe their resilience should be commended. In the first run of the exhibition, there were also few male portraits, such as that of my father, which were created in colour. Eventually, we decided that only the women’s portraits would be in colour,” he smiles.

Have you visited Fernandõ Gastrotheque yet? How many of the portraits in their Faces of Wine exhibition can you recognise?