Maltese cuisine

One of the island's specialities is rabbit (fenek), and small savoury pastries known as pastizzi are also ubiquitous. The Maltese celebratory meal is fenkata, a feast of rabbit, marinated overnight in wine and bay leaves.

The first course is usually spaghetti in rabbit sauce, followed by the rabbit meat stewed or fried (with or without gravy). Look out for specialist fenkata restaurants, especially in Mgarr Malta.

Good, distinctly Maltese cuisine is hard to find but does exist. Malta however has many historic links with other countries, and many other influences can be seen in Maltese cuisine.  The food eaten draws its influences from Italy, northern Africa and Britain. Most restaurants in resort areas like Sliema cater largely to English tourists, offering pub grub like meat and three veg or bangers and mash, and you have to go a little out of the way to find 'real' Maltese food.

True Maltese food is quite humble in nature, and rather fish and vegetable based -- the kind of food that would have been available to a poor farmer, fisherman or mason. Thus one would find staples likeAljotta - A fish soup containing garlic, herbs and tomatoes that is often served with rice. Brodu - A broth containing meat (beef or chicken usually) and vegetables, and served with pasta. Kusksu - A thick soup made from chicken stock, and containing broad beans, pasta beads (known as "kusksu"), onions, tomato paste and garlic. - Minestra - A thick vegetable soup, particularly popular in Winter, and usually eaten with crusty Maltese bread known as "hobza".Soppa ta' l-armla - Literally translated, "soppa ta' l-armla" means "widow's soup", the dish supposedly having gots its name because neighbors donated it poor widows living in their communities. Soppa ta' l-armla is a thinner version of minestra (vegetable soup), but with the addition of fresh gbejniet (small, round cheeses, made from sheep's milk) which melt in the soup, and raw eggs added at the end to coagulate the soup.  Bigilla - A traditional bean dip made from mashed dried broad beans with seasonings and optionally chili.  Kapunata - The Maltese version of ratatouille. Served hot or cold, and even used as a pizza topping.  Pudina ta' l-Hobz - Bread pudding made from stale bread, soaked in water over night, and milk, cocoa, sugar, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes liqueurs, are then added.  Qaghaq ta' l-Ghasel - A light pastry ring made with honey or treacle. Originally eaten at Christmas, but now popular all year round.

Pastry dishes include amongst others, Mqarrun il-Forn - Baked macaroni with bolognese sauce and egg. Bacon and peas are added in some versions of the recipe, and the dish is usually topped with a layer of grated cheese or bescamella (white sauce).  Timpana - A pastry covered version of Mqarrun il-Forn (baked macaroni). A small amount of ground (minced) beef, and sometimes hard-boiled eggs, are added, then then the whole thing is encased in a pastry crust.  Ross il-Forn - Baked rice. This dish is similar to Mqarrun il-Forn, but with rice instead of macaroni (water is added before cooking), and the addition of curry. 

Ravjul - The Maltese version of ravioli, filled with ricotta and parsley (and sometimes spinach), or with minced meat. The dish is covered with a tomato sauce and topped with cheese.Then there's arjoli which is a julienne of vegetables, spiced up and oiled, and to which are added butter beans, a puree made from broadbeans and herbs called bigilla, and whatever other delicacies are available, like Maltese sausage (a confection of spicy minced pork,coriander seeds and parsley, wrapped in stomach lining) or ġbejniet (simple cheeselets made from goats'or sheep milk and rennet, served either fresh, dried or peppered). Maltese sausage is incredibly versatile and delicious. It can be eaten raw (the pork is salted despite appearances), dried or roasted. A good plan is to try it as part of a maltese platter, increasingly available in tourist restaurants.

Towards the end of summer one can have her or his fill of fried lampuki (dolphin fish) in tomato and caper sauce. One must also try to have a bite of ħobż biż-żejt, which is leavened Maltese bread, cut into thick chunks, or else baked unleavened (ftira, from the Arabic root for flat), and served drenched in oil. The bread is then spread with a thick layer of strong tomato paste, and topped (or filled) with olives tuna, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and the optional arjoli (which in its simpler form is called ġardiniera).

Tipping the best Restaurant (from own experience)

VICTORIA, GOZO
It Tmun in Victoria, Gozo, which we found in the Lonely Planet Guidebook. We were the only customers in the restaurant due to the low season/end of Jan. The food was spectacular, service was also very courteous. We got the steak with pepper sauce, linguine with lobster sauce, and for dessert (the best part), the most heavenly chocolate chilli cheesecake ever! This was one of the best meals we’ve had! Everything cooked to perfection, including the side plate of veggies and potatoes that are usually so bland in other restaurants. Highly recommend this restaurant. It is closed on Thursdays.

XAGHRA, GOZO
A friend and local in Xaghra both suggested that we eat lunch at ‘Gesthers’ which is near the village square beside a snack bar place. It is inexpensive and has really good local food! We had a vegetable soup and a delicious local fish called Awrat. We only saw locals coming in and out of the place so know it was a good find!

Le Val D’Or in XLENDI, GOZO.
Food here was nice however wouldn’t suggest coming out of your way to come here. The owners are very friendly and personable and don’t rush you out. We ordered the grilled king prawns and the duck with honey and lemon. The owner also gave us some complimentary bruschetta as a starter which was yummy. Both mains were good.

C Seven in XLENDI, GOZO
Food here was lovely, and the café latte was very very good. They prepare all the food fresh so it takes a while for some dishes, however the wait is worth it. We ordered the fennel and orange salad which was nice, the pepperoncini pasta which had such simple flavours but was delicious and cooked just right, and the pizza which was very fresh, hot, and what we were craving. Highly recommend this place. Décor is very nice, and the owners are very efficient and courteous. Relaxing music playing in the background if this is important to you. ☺

Ta Frenc……thought we’d try the top rated restaurant of the island. They’re only open from Fri to Sun for lunch and dinner during Winter.
We were the only ones in the restaurant which added to the appeal of it. It’s set in a gorgeous renovated farmhouse with lovely little details. Staff is very professional which is true of most Maltese restaurants we’ve been to. The food was delicious from beginning to end. They served hot homemade bread with amazing olive oil and Gozo sea salt. Meals were based on local produce. Lots of meat and vegetarian options. The tortellini was divine, soup was incredible, and both of our mains were amazing. It is pricy however they have a reasonable 4-course market menu for €28. We preferred It Tmun for desserts though and still dream about their chocolate chilli cheesecake. ☺ However we had a lovely night out at Ta Frenc and would recommend it for a one-time splash-out experience.

Ta Kris in SLIEMA, MALTA. It’s on a little alley off a main road. We had a lovely dinner here! You should make reservations if you can, as we went early and they only had 2 tables available. It’s a rustic atmosphere and the staff is very good. The food was delicious! We ordered the pasta with marrow and a creamy oregano sauce…….amazing! And we had a grilled local fish called Aurat which was also very nice. The chocolate mousse for dessert was so-so. On a second meal to Ta Kris, we ordered the steak with pepper sauce which was cooked perfectly for us. :)

Mathew’s Bar and Restaurant, Marsaxlokk, MALTA
The seafood in Marsaxlokk looked amazingly fresh so we were really looking forward to lunchtime. We ordered the King Prawns with garlic, lemon, and parsley on rice, and it came with loads of extra sides such as potatoes, vegetables, salad, and French fries. The food here was delicious. Their fresh orange juice was also so sweet. The prices here were much better than the other restaurant menus we saw. We had a yummy lunch.

BOUZOUKI, Malta
We heard good reviews about this Greek inspired restaurant Bouzouki, however it was unfortunately closed either due to it being a weekend or the low season! Next time.

Mdina, MALTA
-Fontanella Tea Gardens
There are also very nice views of Malta nearby Fontanella Tea Gardens where we had some delicious cakes, mocha, and fresh orange juice. This was a highlight of our trip to Mdina.

We also had a ftira sandwich at the Old Priory Café and that was an average snack.

BACCHUS in Mdina, Malta
the menu looked really interesting to us, and there was an interesting history behind the buildings. First was Bacchus which was an old gunpowder magazine of sorts. We decided to have a couple of appetizers here. We ordered a sole with orange and green peppercorn sauce, a lobster ravioli type dish with ginger sauce, and a ‘porcini mushroom cappuccino’, basically a fancy name for soup. We were expecting these dishes to be very tasty and flavourful, however, everything except for the mushroom cappuccino was bland. And they charge an extra 18% VAT tax as well as a €1 per person cover charge. We weren’t aware about the tax which was a bit annoying. The food was nothing special and we wouldn’t go back. You are allowed however to enter the restaurant and take a look around if you like.

Mdina Restaurant, MDINA, MALTA
Mdina Restaurant had nice reviews on Trip Advisor. So we decided to have a couple of starters here as well. This is supposed to be a top-notch restaurant. It is very pretty inside with nice architectural and design details, as well as a warm ambiance. However, our food had come cold to the table and it was very below average. E.G. the parmesan crisps with our risotto were mushy and the gnocchi with mushrooms was bland. The waiter did not seem happy to heat our food and the service was very hurried. This restaurant also charges an extra 18% VAT tax which we were unaware of. We have not encountered this earlier in the cafes in Mdina or any other restaurants in Gozo and Malta.

Caffe Cordina, VALLETTA, MALTA
Had lunch at the much talked-about Caffe Cordina. The décor is over-the-top as others have said, however, the food is very average tasting and priced.

Suggest a Restaurant

The local beer is called Cisk (pronounced "Chisk") and, for a premium lager (4.2% by volume), it is very reasonably priced by UK standards. It has a uniquely sweeter taste than most European lagers and is well worth trying. Other local beers, produced by the same company which brews Cisk, are Blue Label Ale, Hopleaf, 1565, Lacto ("milk stout") and Shandy (a light soft-drink type beer). Since late 2006 a new beer produced by a different company was released onto the markey with the name "Caqnu". A lot of beers are also imported from other countires or brewed under license in Malta, such as Carlsberg, SKOL, Bavaria, Guinness, Murphy's stout and ale, Kilkenny, John Smith's, Budweiser, Becks, Heineken, Lowenbrau, Efes, and many more.

Malta has two indigenous grape varieties, Girgentina and Gellewza, although most Maltese wine is made from various imported vines. Maltese wines are generally of a good quality, Marsovin and Delicata being prominent examples, and inexpensive, as little as 60-95ct per bottle. There are also many amateurs who make wine in their free time and sometimes this can be found in local shops and restaurants, especially in the Mgarr and Siggiewi area.

The main Maltese night life district is Paceville (pronounced "patch-a-vil"), just west of St. Julian's. Young Maltese come from all over the island to let their hair down, hence it gets very busy here, especially on weekends (also somewhat on wednesdays, for midweek drinking sessions). Almost all the bars and clubs have free entry so you can wander from venue to venue until you find something that suits you. The bustling atmosphere, cheap drinks and lack of cover charges makes Paceville well worth a visit.

Interestingly it does not rain much on Malta and almost all of the drinking water is obtained from the sea via large desalination plants on the west of the island or from the underground aquifer. Since water is scarce you will find that swimming pools are usually filled with salt water.

Suggest a Wine Bar.