The 25 best restaurants in Malta
In the last decade Malta has morphed from a nation still culinarily compromised by the legacy of British colonial cooking to a truly gourmet Mediterranean destination. It received its first Michelin stars in 2020,and now has six Michelin-starred restaurants – all of them serving primarily modern Mediterranean cuisine. Many more restaurants are named and praised in the Malta Michelin Guide. You can still get a great full English breakfast, or even a butty and beer if you insist, but you can also eat extremely well (without Michelin stars) for far less than in the UK.
So why not avail yourself of the region’s best with perfectly cooked fish fresh from the surrounding sea cooked with just-off-the-bush capers and local white wine, or fresh lobster ravioli and sumptuous steak followed by ricotta cassata, gooey hot chocolate pudding or homemade fig ice cream. The Maltese love their food, so the country is full of excellent restaurants, patronised by locals and visitors alike. Portions are often large, and nobody here wants to rush through a meal, so allow a bit of time, relax, and enjoy.
Below you'll find our most mouth-watering suggestions for where to eat around the island. We also have guides helping you plan a weekend in Valletta, the best places to stay, how to fill your time on the island (and what you can do for free), plus the best beaches and bars.
Find a restaurant by area
Valletta
Rampila
The food is fine, but come first for the romantic, historic setting meets modern Mediterranean food in this one-of-a-kind restaurant tucked between – and within – the bastion walls of Valletta. Out on the terrace (heated in winter) sixteenth-century fortifications support and enwrap you, while ahead are views of floodlit City Gate, the 450-year-old entrance to the capital of Malta. Inside, white-clothed tables are ranged along an atmospherically-lit original Knights’-period tunnel. The food is traditional Mediterranean with a contemporary twist, attractively presented. The fresh fish is usually good, and the apple and cinnamon pastry pudding a favourite. And if you fancy a little break between courses, drop into the ‘Traditions and Crafts of Malta Exhibition’, a side-room relic of previous ownership definitely not to be taken seriously. In good weather, book a table on the edge of the terrace.
Contact: rampila.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Legligin
The perfect place to discover Maltese food as Mama used to make it, along with good wines, and a cosy, friendly atmosphere. In the cellar of an historic Valletta house, this restaurant is run by chef/owner Chris who serves up a delicious ‘Maltese Meze’. Beginning with tasters of traditional starters such as arjoli (made from sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives and anchovies), local goats' cheese and homemade ravioli, it moves on to slow-cooked hotpots, fish and Maltese sausage. Round off with Chris’s own chocolates and a wonderfully citrusy limoncello, and it’s hard to beat. Have time and be hungry!
Contact: 00 356 21221699, 00 356 79932985; facebook.com/Legligin/
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Rubino
An unassuming Dickensian shopfront leads to this smart but relaxed Valletta favourite, with white tablecloths and walls decorated with wine bottles and bottled vegetables. The blackboard menu of excellent traditional Maltese, Sicilian and Mediterranean dishes changes daily. There is always a mix of meat and fish, and usually a rabbit dish (much loved by locals). The slow-cooked lamb is melts in the mouth, and don’t miss Rubino’s rightly famous Sicilian cassata – made with ricotta cheese, not too sweet and utterly delectable. Service is efficient, knowledgeable and friendly. Awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand (for ‘good quality and good value food’) since 2020, this is a place to return to again and again.
Contact: rubinomalta.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Trabuxu Bistro
In summer book a table out on the street, in winter stay warm in the colourful interior hung with changing contemporary art (for sale). Either way, enjoy skilfully-cooked and beautifully presented Mediterranean food. The menu changes with the season and meals are freshly cooked in the kitchen downstairs. If they're on, the carpaccio of octopus is particularly delicate and the fresh tuna salad delicious. The restaurant is run by the same people who own Trabuxu Wine Bar just around the corner, so the wine list is also extensive and well chosen.
Contact: trabuxu.com.mt
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Trattoria da Pippo
Hidden away in a cosy cellar just off Valletta's main street, Trattoria da Pippo is a much loved Valletta lunch spot popular with the capital's movers and shakers. In a relaxed atmosphere, da Pippo serves large portions of traditional pasta, fresh fish and Italian/Sicilian dishes that will keep you stocked up for the rest of the day. A great place to have lunch if you are planning on a light or late supper.
Contact: 00 356 79474474; facebook.com/dapippovalletta
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Guzé
In one of Valletta’s oldest houses said to have belonged to the city’s sixteenth-century Maltese architect (Girolamo Cassar), you'll find Guzé. This intimate restaurant serves consistently excellent food in an elegant but relaxed limestone-and-white-linen interior. Equally good are their perfectly cooked fresh fish dishes and the large value-for-money fillet steak. The carpaccio of sea bass and panatone are both (in their very different ways) subtly delicious and the hot chocolate pudding will pull any chocolate lover back for more.
Contact: guzevalletta.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
ION The Harbour
With the best views in Malta, I’d come here just for the uninterrupted 180-degree panorama of the famous Grand Harbour, but given that this restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2021 within six months of opening, you might want to come for the food as well – at a price. On the roof of the Iniala Hotel, ION Harbour serves Mediterranean and international cuisine with a touch of the British and multiple twists. Its wine pairings, introduced in detail by its enthusiastic and knowledgeable young Danish sommelier, are equally exquisite, varied and interesting.
Having been led for a while by British chef Alex Dilling (ex of London’s two-starred The Greenhouse, the kitchen is now under the auspices of another British star chef Simon Rogan (of three-starred L’Enclume). Rogan combines a dediation to local ingredients with technical experimental cuisine. You won’t be bored, service is impeccable – and there’s that view.
Contact: iontheharbour.com
Price: £££ (and some)
Booking: Essential
Ta’ Nenu
A traditional Valletta bakery converted into a family pizzeria, Ta’ Nenu is the place to eat ftira, Malta’s traditional pizza, especially if you are travelling with children. Ftira tend to be thick crust with toppings including local specialities such as capers, Gozitan cheese, olives, and sometimes fish, meat and/or potato. Italian pizza is also available, as are a few non-pizza traditional Maltese dishes (though they are a bit more expensive). The entrance is across a glass floor looking down on the original baking ovens and a tableau of the bakery as it was perhaps a hundred years ago.
Contact: nenuthebaker.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £
Under Grain
In a vaulted Valletta cellar, the traditional limestone now adorned with smart modern décor in black, grey and white, Under Grain’s tailoring theme (derived from the building’s history) extends to niches of sewing scenes, the menu on a wooden hanger, and large linen napkins with button holes to fasten to your own top-button bib-style. There is however nothing cloth-like about the food – which gained a Michelin star in 2020 which it still has in its button hole.
The ‘snacks’ that start the tasting menu are so beautiful it seems criminal to eat them – but given how delicious they are (especially the mini-burrata with intense oyster mushroom and veal sauce) even more criminal not to. Textures complement tastes, as in the foamy citrusy Acquarello risotto, and the menu imaginatively merges local and international influences in both food and wine, all well described by knowledgeable serving staff.
If Michelin menus are a bit beyond your budget (or time), in the same building and overseen by the same team are casual dining Grain Street (still with a Michelin Bib Gourmand for quality and value) and Over Grain, a seasonal seafood restaurant up on the roof.
Contact: grain.mt/under-grain
Price: £££
Booking: Essential
Café Jubilee
In need of swift sustenance between sights? Café Jubilee will almost certainly fit the bill. The décor is fun: old newspapers cover the walls along with advertising posters at rakish angles. On the ceiling is an upside-down table and chairs offering a different perspective (no alcohol required, though it is available). Café Jubilee is open all hours and serves three meals a day as well as snacks and drinks; it is restaurant, café and bar, offering everything from a croissant to homemade Mediterranean pastas, coffee to cocktails. A place to cool down in summer or warm up in winter – it is almost whatever you want it to be.
Contact: cafejubilee.com
Reservations: Not necessary
Prices: £
Noni
Gaining one of Malta’s first Michelin stars in 2020 (confirmed each year since), unassuming-looking Noni in a simple cellar on Valletta’s main street, is a foodie destination par excellence. Classic local and regional dishes are reinvented with a twist drawn from Malta’s international history as well as a modern culinary imagination, as for instance in the delicious Mediterranean-British mélange, ‘Rump of lamb, crispy shepherd’s pie, burnt aubergine puree, lamb jus’. Service is effective and unfussy. For local (Malta and London-trained) chef, Jonathan Brincat (nickname ‘Noni’), the food is the thing.
Contact: noni.com.mt
Price: £££
Booking: Essential
Is-Suq Tal-Belt
Valletta’s Victorian covered market has been converted by contemporary architects into a buzzing food hall with a bar in the centre and outlets for all kinds of food around the edges. Grab your grub from any one of the kiosks and settle down at congenial communal tables. The choosing is almost as much fun as the eating, with everything from Turkish kebabs to Spanish tapas, Neapolitan pizza to Filipino street food, as well as burger and chips and Maltese specialities.
Contact: issuqtalbelt.com
Reservations: Walk-in only
Prices: £-££
Harbour Club
In a Knights-period warehouse on the banks of the famous Grand Harbourand on a terrace overlooking it (especially attractive after dark), Harbour Club manages that trio of success: great food, friendly service and an attractive atmosphere. And it even adds a fourth: the Malta Michelin guide commended it on its sustainable practices (as well as its food) including growing some of its own herbs and vegetables. On white linen-covered tables, smart waiting staff serve beautifully prepared and presented seasonal Mediterranean food including fresh seafood (such as tuna tartare with watermelon, avocado and sesame), meat (lamb with carrots, fermented fennel and goats cheese) as well as a few vegetarian dishes. Each dish is named for a Valletta street and with it comes a postcard with the history of the relevant road (or alley).
Contact: theharbourclubmalta.com
Price: ££-£££
Booking: Essential
Caffe Cordina
Grand dame of Valletta cafés, Caffe Cordina sits in the heart of Valletta's pedestrianised centre, between the Grand Master’s Palace and St John’s Co-Cathedral. Here Valletta meets, greets and watches the world go by over coffee, ice cream, a bowl of pasta, glass of wine or a pastizz (Malta's traditional snack – a pasty filled with local cheese or peas). Most people come here more for the company and ambience than the food. Sit outside under the gaze of Queen Victoria, or in the spacious interior (heated or air-conditioned) feels like a Viennese coffee house and has a display of Cordina's handmade sweets and pastries. Cordina also sells Maltese specialities packed for travel both in the café and online.
Contact: caffecordina.com
Reservations: Walk-in (or sit outside)
Prices: £
59 Republic
Though named for its previous location, 59 Republic now sits in a plumb spot at the heart of the capital, directly opposite the Grand Master’s Palace. Book a table outside (heated in winter) metres from intermittent dancing fountains, historic limestone facades (floodlit at night) and people-watching opportunities galore, or inside in an elegant cosy-or-cool vaulted cellar. Food is perhaps a little over-priced, but the scallops in a creamy prawn sauce are delectable and the Foie Gras Rocher extraordinary. Yes, it is foie gras in chocolate – and bizarrely, it works. Not sure about the décor in the ladies loos – a vast visage of a man - but eating out on the terrace is just perfectly Valletta.
Contact: fiftyninerepublic.com
Price: £££
Booking: Essential/usually necessary
Mdina
Trattoria AD 1530
A Mdina go-to for everything from a long leisurely lunch to a quick pizza or Maltese platter, a chatty coffee or family ice cream to a romantic dinner. Umbrella-shaded tables sit out in the quiet square behind Mdina's cathedral. The interior is warm and welcoming, with a wine cellar and checked tablecloth feel. Named for the date the Knights of Malta arrived in these islands, Trattoria AD 1530 is the casual dining little sister of the Michelin-starred de Mondion restaurant in the neighbouring Xara Palace hotel. Food is fresh, well cooked and plentiful, and includes good salads, homemade pastas, and vegetarian options. Families are very welcome, with high chairs provided.
Contact: xarapalace.com.mt
Reservations: Necessary (except in low season)
Prices: £-££
de Mondion
This Michelin-starred haute cuisine restaurant is a place for a special treat. Stiff white tablecloths and waiters in full bib and tucker add to the fine-dining ambience at the top of the boutique five-star Xara Palace hotel. The food is intricate without being fussy, French with a Mediterranean/Maltese angle, and majors on meat. In summer, book one of the few tables ranged along the narrow terrace for panoramic views across the island. On summer weekends, you may even get a free firework display from one of the nation's many festas.
Contact: demondion.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: £££ (and some)
Bacchus
A large, long established restaurant within the fortifications of Mdina. Two vaulted stone chambers, originally built as gunpowder stores in the mid-17th century, now provide the atmospheric setting for this Mediterranean restaurant. Main dishes are well prepared and artistically presented, or you can just drop by for a bowl of pasta. Families are welcome, as are groups, and there is a small grassy area on the bastion walls (though without a view) for al fresco dining in summer. If you miss a mealtime, Bacchus serves some food all day.
Contact: bacchus.com.mt
Reservations: Not usually necessary
Prices: ££
Bahia, Lija
Michelin-starred since 2021, Bahia now resides in an ultra-modern new setting atop the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard, opposite the President’s summer palace. Besides a la carte, the restaurant offers two tasting menus (five or eight courses, with or without drinks pairing). They are a sort of magical mystery tour around Malta’s villages – one menu entirely vegan. Dwejra on the coast of Gozo for instance is represented on both menus by ‘Cashew Nut & Chestnut Mushroom Mousse, Fermented King Oyster, Mushroom Crumble, Pickled Shimeji Mushrooms, Tapioca Pearls, Cep Oil, Rosemary Focaccia’ – delectable. And this is a Maltese restaurant with a Maltese chef so portions are not as tiny as on most tasting menus.
Contact: bahia.com.mt
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential
Slima, St Julian's and Paceville
Ta' Kris
This welcoming, family-run restaurant occupies a traditional Maltese bakery. The original oven is still here, and old-fashioned baking utensils decorate the warm orange walls. Ta' Kris means Chez Chris and chef/owner Chris serves up delicious traditional Maltese and Mediterranean food in a relaxed atmosphere. His 'Dad's Famous Bragioli' (sliced beef stuffed with minced beef and slowly cooked in red wine, tomato and herb sauce) is indeed famous. Book early: this place is popular with locals as well as visitors. It's not somewhere to go in a hurry, but I have always found the food – all cooked fresh – worth a little wait. Children are very welcome and high chairs provided.
Contact: takrisrestaurant.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Mellieha
Commando
This simple-looking family-run Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Mellieħa punches well above its weight, as recognized by the Michelin Guide with an award of one of its ‘Bib Gourmand’ for high quality food at good-value prices. Set in a 300-year-old house with a terrace looking onto the street, it is named for the British Royal Marines who were its customers back in the 1930s when the present chef-owner’s grandfather started the business. Today the food is a little more sophisticated - ‘Maltese sausage & goat's cheese risotto with roasted peppers and thyme oil’ for instance, or ‘Vegan artichoke & aubergine ravioli with sun-dried tomato & black olive ragout’, along with some fun (and tasty) sides like halloumi or zucchini fries.
Contact: commandorestaurant.com
Price: ££
Booking: Essential
Il-Mithna
Mithna means the mill, and Mellieha favourite restaurant is housed in a 17th-century stone windmill built by the Knights of Malta. The freshly cooked Maltese and Mediterranean food comes with extra culinary twists. Deep-fried breaded local goat’s cheese (gbejna), for instance, is served with honey, grilled ciabatta and fresh strawberry chutney. Il-Mithna also has an award-winning wine list. In suitable weather, book a table in the little courtyard outside.
Contact: mithna.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Mosta
Ta' Marija
This is the sort of over-the-top national restaurant you would normally expect to find full of tour groups, but it is as often packed with Maltese enjoying their own traditional cuisine. Families pile in for vast Sunday lunches and there are frequent Maltese Folk Music nights. Ta’ Maria has been run by the same family for more than 50 years, the food is 100 per cent Maltese, and the long menu includes all the local specialities from fish soup and fresh local cheese pasta to beef bragioli, and thick Maltese sausage. Everything comes in traditionally large portions too (just as the food-loving Maltese like it), so arrive hungry.
Contact: tamarija.com
Reservations: Essential
Prices: ££
Mgarr
Il-Barri
This local Maltese restaurant in the village of Mgarr (Mgarr Malta, not Mgarr Gozo) is rightly famous for its rabbit dishes and other Maltese home cooking. Not everyone is a fan of eating rabbit but here it is really flavourful and served in the traditional way with in-their-shell peanuts to follow. Il-Barri’s Maltese bigilla appetiser (a sort of butter bean hummus) is a favourite too. Check out the not-too-sweet homemade puds if you have room. Make time for more than a meal; beneath this restaurant hides a World War Two shelter. The restaurant’s owner was born here, spending his first weeks in the newborns' nursery in this 125m tunnel hand-cut into the rock.
Contact: il-barri.com.mt
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: £
Marsaxlokk
Tartarun
When the Maltese want to eat fresh fish, they head for Marsaxlokk – especially on a summer Sunday. This is the island's largest traditional fishing harbour, full of colourful wooden boats that still throw out the nets each day. There are plenty of restaurants cooking up the catch, and Tartarun (named after a particular Maltese fishing net) is the best of them – though not the cheapest. Come here for warming traditional Aljota (Maltese fish soup) and perfectly cooked fresh fish – simply grilled, with capers and white wine, or on a tangy green salsa. The only downside is little outside seating – so best in winter or when you need a hit of air-conditioning. Or anytime – if the food is your top priority.
Contact: tartarun.com
Reservations: Recommended
Prices: ££
How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller’s taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.
