Mediterranean cuisine restaurants Malta

Opened in May 2015, everyone is now familiar with this family-run restaurant expertly run by Matthew and Daniella and their chef Kenneth, a fish specialist. The fried calamari with tartar sauce is a killer starter and leaves just enough room to enjoy a wide selection of dishes. The shrimp pasta is very good, accompanied by seasonal vegetables. This is a small restaurant despite its terrace overlooking the port, so it's best to book in summer.

This small neighbourhood bar with blue blinds has taken its place at the beginning of San Pawl Street: a restaurant area with stone walls, a grocery store with counter and a corner terrace uniting the two. We admit that we prefer the terrace to taste one of their specialities, pizzas, Maltese sausage, chicken, mozzarella and onions... Whatever it is, its size is quite impressive and you will have no trouble sharing it with at least two people. Also on the menu are equally hearty salads, Maltese sandwiches (ftiras), focaccias (a mixture of salads and pizza pieces) or delicatessen or cheese dishes. In the restaurant as in the shop, the place claims a very precise sourcing of the products, guaranteed of Maltese origin. To taste or buy, a whole selection of wines. An address that will become a must in Rabat.

A romantic garden among palm trees and flowers, a map focuses on Italy and Sicily: affordable prices. On the menu: day and vegetarian dishes, pasta, meat (white chicken pizzaiolo or beef roulade with cheese, mortadella and omelet), fresh fish, seafood, tiramisu and house ice.

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.

This reference in the restaurant's name is also reflected on the walls, which feature the stick figures discovered in the Ggantija temple. The rest of the decor is resolutely modern. The cuisine mixes Maltese basics with more international references such as ceviche or pisto de la mancha. You can enjoy homemade tagliatelle or a gozitan salad. It's fresh, well presented, but a little expensive.

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.

Lovers of Maltese cuisine will be delighted. Nenu the Artisan Baker now has a second restaurant since the end of 2019, located in Mgarr, behind the church, with a rooftop. On the menu, you will of course be served the best traditional local dishes ranging from fried rabbit(fenek) to Maltese ftira, sheep's cheese ravioli, snails(bebbux), horse meat stews or the bar with date fritters. You will also appreciate their Maltese breads baked in a wood-fired oven.

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.

This is an address away from the seafront, yet inevitable if you go through Marsaxlokk. It was opened in the 1990 s by Jon Jon who always serves his guests with the same passion. Sublimated by a green terrace amidst trees and candles, the intimacy is at this chic restaurant. On the menu, wide choice of food but many very good proposals that gourmets will appreciate. To note, a park dedicated to children is attached to the restaurant and will allow them to play.

Small family-run restaurant with a limited card, a guarantee of the seasonality of its products. The service is very attentive and the food above all hope in view of the multiplication of restaurants around. Gabbiano is separate, both by its isolated geographical location of others and with absolute calm as well as the quality of its cuisine therefore. The ballet of the waves crushing on the rocks at your feet with the set of light (at night) put in place by the bosses is worth the detour alone. If the fresh fish caught on the same day around the Maltese coast remains the specialty of the house, Gozo cheese ravioli is rotating and the date is serpent with a vanilla ice and its caramel coulis, cracking!

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.

A minimalist decor that skirts the surrounding aesthetic rather than the omnipresence of fast foods but it will not be the only pleasure. Even finesse on the kitchen side, contemporary, varied and carefully presented. On the menu, seafood, fresh fish, carpaccios and meat or lovely grilled shrimp salad, accompanied by fish. Keep room for the burned cream served with a Prato biscuit, made by the chef. Necessary passage during a stay in Buggiba.