Mediterranean cuisine restaurants Valette

If we had to choose just one, it would certainly be Guzé Bistrot. Located in an alleyway away from the hustle and bustle of Strait Street, this small family-run restaurant, taken over by the father in the dining room and the son in the kitchen in 2010, is set between rough stone walls and exposed wooden beams supporting the cellar, which is dug out below street level. The charm is instantaneous. The charm is enhanced by the limited number of covers, 20 maximum. You'll appreciate all the more the small gestures of the attentive staff, and the tapenade offered by the chef as an appetizer.
All around you, on the shelves, a host of marine objects echo the call of the sea on your plate. Every day, the fish caught in the nets will end up under your greedy forks. At the time of our survey, the fillet of grouper finely paired with a carrot mousse and baked golden potatoes was the highlight of the evening. The white vermentino wine, straight from Gozo, also played a part. The uncluttered menu also includes classics such as rabbit stew and marinated octopus. You won't find better in Valletta. Don't forget to make a reservation, it's so popular.

It goes without saying that the superb decor is the first pleasure of the restaurant installed since 2019 in the Muza's premises. Inside room with windows overlooking one of the museum rooms or entrance patio that houses a few tables, in front of the well. So much so that the place has become a must for selfies or photos, very kindly taken by the servers. The menu is based on a few suggestions such as black risotto with goat cheese, spaghetti with seafood, but also a very beautiful burger or a poached fish fillet, with a neat presentation whose visual must recall one of the museum's paintings, illustrating the menu. The dishes are extremely copious. Unless you're hungry like a wolf, don't hesitate to choose the "starter" format, the volume of which could already be split in two. A light classical music in the background completes the picture. Staff attentive to ensuring that the service runs smoothly.

Here is a furiously anti-vegan proposal that will delight rebellious souls. Opened in 2017, this grill is a temple of meat. No menu, we go to the back of the room where the different pieces are presented both behind a window and explained on a blackboard, at the back. The opportunity to review your knowledge of beef, mutton and pork, the different pieces served, and their names in English. You choose your "starters", rather delicatessen, but also grilled, and your "hands" (main courses), the price being indicated for 100 g. Serve with your choice of grilled vegetables or potatoes. And the order is made by the minute. At your table, you will be brought everything on a hot plate. The meats are of the highest quality and served with a good peppery sauce. For desserts, we will present you with a selection, regularly renewed. For our part, we really enjoyed the panna cotta with red fruits. A real treat. And as the grill says at the entrance: Becoming a vegetarian is a big missed steak. Notice to amateurs.

We stop there first for its beautiful location, facing the sea and the tamarisk trees that border it. This café-bistro, in the shape of a kiosk with a terrace, also has the advantage of offering pizzas that have the reputation of being the best in Sliema, with a choice of ten varieties, including one vegetarian. You can also try their Maltese soups, which are very good, focaccias, an equivalent of fougasse, and very nice burgers if you are in a more carnivorous mood. It is also a very nice place to have breakfast. Unbeatable value for money.

An interesting address. The restaurant is located just a stone's throw from the Grand Masters Palace. Under elegant vaults, you can enjoy huge pasta or risottos dishes accompanied by sometimes original sauces (at Amaretto, Pernod, fresh vegetables, etc.). The dish of tortellinis scatolati surrounded by a delicious crust is particularly rich. Huge and varied pizzas are also on the menu.

If you had to choose just one on the long seafront promenade, this would be it. A restaurant with a terrace overlooking Saint-Laurent Church and the Malta Maritime Museum on the other side of the shore. The view at sunset is breathtaking. Take a pizza from the à la carte menu, you won't be disappointed... Surprised, on the other hand, you may well be, particularly by the spicy dough, which looks more like a clafoutis than a fine Italian dish. But by the taste too, and the gourmet filling for a lower price. You get what you pay for. If you're lucky, the cannons of Valletta will punctuate every bite as you watch in amazement.

A good Italian house where it's better to book the day before. Lots of atmosphere and an opportunity to rub shoulders with the Maltese. Grilled fish and some wonderfully prepared local dishes, all accompanied by chardonnay or transalpine wines. No menu but a market cuisine composed according to the arrival of fish and starters in a showcase. The dishes are all excellent (rabbit and lobster ravioli in particular), the fish is very fresh and the antipasti varied. Keep a place for the chocolate pie on a biscuit crumble base.

Open since February 2016, this pizzeria (owned by the same Roman family as the trattoria of the same name) is a pure success story. The room looks like a wine cellar with an open kitchen where you can admire the pizza maker in action. This is the best pizza in Malta, without a doubt. Fine dough, fresh products, golden crust.

Smart tip: if you're looking for an experience of your own, take the pizza to go (preparation time 5-10 min maximum) and then head for the Hasting gardens next door. And there you can enjoy your meal with the Three Cities lit up under an omnipresent moon.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated and housed in the King's Own Band Club, a band that received royal assent from Edward VII in 1903. The menu features traditional Maltese dishes (fried goat cheese, fish soup) as well as freshly caught fish and seafood (octopus, tuna, sea bass, swordfish). And for dessert, you can opt for imqaret. Lovers of open-air terraces should go there in the evening. Excellent welcome.

This is the latest restaurant to move into the prestigious Vederlin Hotel, a baroque-style palace built in 1650, in 2020. With since March 2022 a new chef, Tom Peters, recruited from a prestigious London restaurant. His ambition: a modern reinterpretation of classic dishes such as king crab, tuna tartar, celeriac pie with salt and a mushroom and truffle compote or pavlova for dessert. In the end, a pleasure for the eyes and the senses in one of the tables of Valletta not to be missed.

A superb view of the Grand Port, just this first element alone deserves a visit. But not only that. People also come here for the pleasure of savouring Mediterranean cuisine, with French inspiration. We confess a preference for asparagus on parmesan cream, caramelized onions and pistachios. For dessert, dark chocolate with truffles and a hint of coriander flavoured with candied pecan nuts is a must. You will appreciate the pretty presentation of the dishes as well as the soft background music or the beautiful wine list.

Nestled under the bastions of Valletta, along Marsamxett, here is an institution! Cockney started in 1932 with a small fishing shop and the fishermen, once the equipment bought came into the café from next door to play cards and have a coffee. This tradition has never left it, it is the place to enjoy fresh fish. But the pasta with mussels and clams also contributes to the reputation of this restaurant, all covered in wood. While waiting for the ferry to Sliema, this third generation family restaurant and its terrace overlooking Fort Manoel is highly recommended.

Located in the cellars of the luxurious Ax-Rosselli Hotel, this restaurant has just been awarded a Michelin star in 2019. It is headed by chef Victor Borg, who trained with Gordon Ramsey at the Aubergine Restaurant in London. He offers a selection of delicious dishes such as a sea bass tartar with whipped cream and oysters, rabbit confit with leek and black truffle fondue or roast Black Angus beef sirloin with smoked royal marrow. With a constant reference to the tailor's trade, from the menus to the dishes.

In the middle of Merchant Street, this small family restaurant is located in a nice old building, 300 years old. As far as the cuisine is concerned, priority is given to the great classics of traditional Maltese cuisine, such as rabbit served with a sauce combining cheese, aromatic herbs and wine, or lampuki, the must of Maltese fish, in season. You can also enjoy fresh pasta dishes stuffed with ricotta cheese or fish or the soups of the day. There is a small interior space to sit in, but it is the large terrace that attracts.

It was in March 2018 that this place, known to the inhabitants of Valletta, reopened, since the address used to house the Django's Jazz Club and well before the Xmun's Bakery and Confectionnery, which served meat and cakes there decades ago. Today, this place is reinvested by a young chef, Jonathan Brincat, who gave his nickname "Noni" to the restaurant and has come to it with his previous experiences in London, Australia but also in Malta since he worked under the supervision of a Michelin at the Waterbiscuit in St Julian. Hence his choice: to reinterpret Mediterranean and Maltese cuisine by adding a touch of classic French cuisine. Logically, all the products are local and well sourced, both the fish and the meat or herbs that accompany them, and the menu changes with the seasons. But randomly, you could try braised beef croquettes with cauliflower purée, fish tagine or sheep chops served with moussaka. Finally, a carrot cake with pistachio ice cream. Reputation is mandatory, it is advisable to book.

Beautiful old-fashioned décor and photos on the walls for this new restaurant with a burgundy façade, opened in May 2018. Here again, it is the chef's name that serves as the gateway to the city, since at its head is chef Aaron Degabriele, who works after more than twenty years of culinary experience in the city. On the menu, market cuisine, a judicious selection of specialities but also preparations on demand. As starters, Maltese specialities such as Gozitan ravioli, topped with Gozo cheese and simply toasted with garlic and tomato can be enjoyed. And continue to use the local metaphor by choosing the national dish, the rabbit, accompanied by tomatoes, fresh herbs and spices as well as a maternal ingredient, kept secret. The house also offers burgers, pasta and risottos. The whole thing looks great.

It will be difficult to forget its address, since that's what it says right off the bat. As far as location is concerned, it couldn't be better: right in the center of Valletta, a few steps from the Palace of the Grand Masters. And that's where, since 2017, it offers a high-end restaurant in a decor that is just as high-end. No flagship dish but a menu that changes every 8 weeks and gives priority to local and seasonal. In short, more of a culinary experience than a meal. The terrace of this multi-awarded restaurant is logically taken by storm.

If you enjoyed him when he was at Marsaxlokk, you'll be sure to follow him to his new space inside Fort Saint-Ange, where you'll be able to enjoy a meal on the terrace. He has kept the same culinary inspirations, combining Maltese and Southern Italian traditions. The menu, which changes daily, focuses on fish and seafood: risotto de la mer, grilled octopus or fish tartare. For dessert, you can choose between tiramisu and the specialty lemon tart.

A regular award-winner, this restaurant has now joined St Julian's, part of the Corinthia hotel group. It continues to specialize in seafood and fish, with options including red tuna, prawns and smoked octopus, as well as sharing platters of oysters and sturgeon caviar. Meat lovers are not forgotten, thanks to chicken with gorgonzola and grilled chops with herbs and mushrooms. Enjoy the sea view, with a sunroof in summer.