We’re currently experiencing the invasion of the resto-body snatchers: eateries and watering-holes around the island are slowly being gutted and transformed into a (sometimes very successful) variant of the lounge-cum-fancy dining joint, mimicking the slick affairs found in big cities. This phenomenon can be comforting (“ah, they have the salmon en croute I like), yet oddly unsettling (“have we been here before? No? Really?) Here, the experience of eating is often accompanied with a side of flair and fuss, designed to make your meal memorable, but often resulting in same-ness. After all, if everyone is doing it, what’s the big deal? And, how many portions of tomato consommé can you really eat?
Not so at our very own boċċi clubs. Dotted all around the island, these sometimes-humble outlets serve basic Maltese fare at cheap prices, with a healthy helping of wine delved out in a large tumbler, topped up with half a bottle of 7Up, and lashings of good-older-man conversation about days gone by. If you want full immersion into the traditional way of life, this is it. And – if you’re lucky – you’ll even get to watch a session of the eponymous game!
Xghajra Boċċi Club by Joe Grech / Facebook
Drive through Kalkara, past the juncture taking you to the Malta Film Studios, and turn into a slip of a road, past a cemetery and suburban homes, humping over a turn-and-you’ll-miss-it roundabout, and you’ll get to a wide street leading up to the unassuming St Peter’s Xhajra Bocci Club.
It’s easy to miss this place (keep your eyes peeled!), though the tell-tale sign is the green pitch saddled beside it, but it’s not easy to miss the line of locals sipping their multi-daily guzzle of wine, and crackling through their tuna ftira, as you walk in. In my view, this is the classic dish here – served with thick fried chips. It’s a carb overload but a perfect treat, especially when your stomach is howling for more!
Towns across the island boast their own bocci clubs: San Gwann, Kalkara, St Paul’s Bay and even Nadur in Gozo, and while the food varies from place to place (as does the ftira bic-chips), the basic foundations of these clubs remain the same: the stirring of a traditional sport with local drink and leave-your-diet-at-home grub. Ravioli? They’ve got it. Rabbit? Sometimes. But what you won’t find here are your tray-baked sea bass fillets with a pistachio crust, or veal escalopes, served with a rucola and parmesan salad.
For the most part, at any rate. And for something a little different, Lija Bocci Club is a rare thing. Having served for years as the background of many a youth, it has kept to its heart-felt roots but added a splash of newer trends. This is perfectly epitomised by its grounds – a busy tennis court, favoured by players living in one of the inland towns of Balzan, Attard or Lija itself, sits along the bocci version. Enthusiasts have been coming here for years, walking off the courts and heading straight to the bar. Today, you can just go for the food!