7 restaurants in Malta you don't want to miss

Today we present 7 restaurants in Malta that you don't want to miss. Before travelling to Malta, we were told that "Malta is not a country you go to for the food". After tasting locally produced delicacies directly from the farmers and finding really good restaurants, we changed our minds. Join us for 7 great restaurants in Malta! And a little bonus at the end when it comes to street food.

Table of contents

Restaurants in Malta

There are plenty of restaurants in Malta and its sister island. Gozo. Most serve decent food, but if you want to make sure you have a good restaurant experience, you may need to check out where to go beforehand. Here are some tips for good restaurants in Malta.

1. the Fortina Terrace Restaurant in Sliema

On The Fortina Terrace restaurant in Sliema you have a great view of the water and the capital city of Valletta on the other side. In addition, you get really good food! We chose a mussel soup for starters and for the main course we ordered a local fish (rock fish) served in packages.

Restauranger på Malta - Peter med din förrätt, en musselsoppa — Peter with his starter, a mussel soup.

Förrätten som vår guide valde: ett slags fiskkakor som var supergoda (ja, vi provade!) — The starter chosen by our guide: a kind of fish cake that was super tasty (yes, we tried it!).

2. Cent'Anni restaurant in the village of Gharghur

The restaurant Cent'Anni is located in the alleys of the cosy village of Ghargur. The restaurant consists of several small rooms and the feeling is genuine, such as it is when you end up outside the tourist trails. It was also good and hefty portions.

For starters we chose a delicious vegetable soup and for the main course I (Helena) had a ravioli with mushrooms and truffles and Peter a risotto. To finish, we tried the traditional Maltese dessert kannoli - a hot pastry filled with ricotta.

Förrättssoppa på restaurang Cent'Anni i Gharghur — Starter soup at Cent'Anni restaurant in Gharghur

Restauranger på Malta - Efterrätt på Cent'Anni — Kannoli - a traditional Maltese dessert

3. the Palazzo Preca in Valletta

Restaurant Palazzo Preca, in the centre of Valletta, is decorated with a more luxurious feel. Our meal was also excellent and of a more luxurious nature. Before dinner we were served a small fried rice ball that was black inside (coloured with squid ink) and super tasty. For starters we chose creamy vegetable soup and mussels respectively and for the main course we tried the local fish lampuka.

Restauranger på Malta - Kings Own Band club restaurant i Valletta — One of the best restaurants in Malta: Palazzo Preca in Valletta.

Före maten fick vi en lite friterad boll med svart risfyllning - färgat med bläckfiskbläck — Before the meal we had a little fried ball with a black rice filling - coloured with squid ink.

4. Diar il-Bniet Restaurant in the village of Dingli

Another cosy little city restaurant! When you enter the Diar Il-Bniet i thingy you are greeted by a small shop filled with jars and bottles of locally produced delicacies: olive oil, honey, marmalade, pickled fruits, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Here we chose to eat Malta's national dish: rabbit. Really good and tender meat, served with root vegetables and greens.

Restauranger på Malta - Restaurang i Dingli, Malta — Locally produced wine and pickled fruits in the restaurant's shop.

Kanin - nationalrätt i Malta — Rabbit with root vegetables and vegetables

5. Kartell Restaurant in Marsalforn on Gozo

The top image in this post shows what it looks like on Kartell restaurant, located in Marsalforn, Gozo. Awesome view then! Here we chose spaghetti with mussels which was super tasty. We also looked at the traditional dish "spaghetti with rabbit sauce", but since we ate rabbit the day before, we skipped testing. However, we finished with a scoop of really good chocolate ice cream.

Restauranger på Malta - Spaghetti med musslor — Spaghetti with mussels at the Kartell restaurant in Marsalforn

6. chophouse restaurant in Sliema

Chophouse restaurant has the reputation of being Malta's best meat restaurant, so if you like meat, this is definitely the place to go. Peter went for the rib eye and I (Helena) ordered the duck. For this we got several different side dishes, such as potato wedges, grilled vegetables and parmesan salad. Yum!

Restauranger på Malta - anka på Chophousei Sliema — Really good duck at the Chophouse restaurant in Malta

7. Rogantino's Restaurant in Landrijiet

Rogantio's restaurant is not even in a small village, but in the middle of the countryside, in a 17th century hunting lodge. You'd think no one would find their way here, but on the contrary - a lot of people seem to find their way here, probably because of the restaurant's good reputation. You can drive here from, say, Rabat or Mdina. Here I (Helena) started with a very good carrot/pumpkin soup and Peter ordered mussels. Then it was giant shrimp and duck respectively.

Restauranger på Malta - I baren på Rogantino's restaurant — In the bar of Rogantino's restaurant

Jätteräkor — Giant prawns in a creamy sauce

Bonus: street food

What if you don't want to eat so much fancy food all the time, but just want something small and simple? Well, there's plenty to choose from. If you just want a little "snack" on the way, you can walk past any bakery and buy pastizzi - pastries filled with ricotta or some kind of peas (if I understand correctly), which are very popular. If you're a bit hungrier, you can try Maltese bread with tuna, olives and capers. Really good!

Maltesiskt bröd med tonfisk, oliver, kapris och ost — As well as restaurants, Malta has plenty of street food and simple hangouts. Here: Maltese bread with tuna, olives, capers and cheese.

READ MORE: 5 things to see and do in Valletta
READ MORE: Two good hotels in Malta in two different price ranges

food and drink in restaurants in malta

Maltese cuisine takes its influences primarily from the neighbouring island of Sicily, and develops it into its own style. We have been to several restaurants in Malta and they do it very well. The Maltese have been invaded by most countries in history, and they have picked the berries from all the best. They really know the importance of local produce and how it should taste. The bread is vital and the good olive oil that they pour on a plate and dip the bread in, with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

MALTA'S NATIONAL DISH

We start with the national dish, which is rabbit. The rabbit is cooked for several hours like a real goulash soup, or a lamb stew. The rabbit stew is called Stuffattal-Fenek and we had it with root vegetables, but many people also serve it in a rich sauce of sweet tomatoes, red wine and garlic. Maybe spaghetti with rabbit sauce? We recommend the family-run restaurant Diar Il-Bniet in the village of Dingli, where they also raise their own rabbits. Here you will also find their own marmalades, sun-dried tomatoes, the best olive oil and much more.

Local FOOD in restaurants IN MALTA

Several dishes to try while in Malta are mussel soup, Rock fish, Risotto, Fried rice balls with squid ink, local fish Lampuka, fish soup Aljotta with garlic,
If you get the chance, try their delicious goat cheese which they make every morning in Gozo and deliver fresh around Malta. We visited and actually milked a goat at farmer Rikkardu of Ta' Rikardu and bought the amazing sheep cheese gbejniet.
If you want the best and most tender pork we've tasted in a long time, look up Ta'Philip restaurant.
There is great street food that you just pick up on the go. Try Pastizzi with ricotta or pea butter. What's also everywhere is a Maltese bread with olives, asparagus and tuna.
Desserts are always popular and this is where both Sicilians and Arabs come in. We start with Kannoli which is a traditional Maltese dessert with ricotta, yummy! Maybe an Arabic Imqaret which is a diamond-shaped pastry with soft dates.

beer and wine in restaurants in malta

The Maltese have three beers of their own. A light one called Cisk, a darker one with the cool name Farson's blue Label. the last one is because the English left the island with a beer with hops from the British Hopleaf lager.
They make their own wine on the island and they do it well. Meridiana Wine Estate makes both red and white wines of quality, which are served in most restaurants. Emmanuel Delicata Winemaker has lots of awards and why not go for a tasting.
Lastly, there's Marsovin, which has that great premium wine that is always on hand everywhere, and always tastes great.
With food, wine and beer prices at two-thirds of those in Sweden, it's nice to eat and drink cheaper.

19 October 2016 6:00

Malta

exotic food, fish & shellfish, restaurants

Helena

Administrator

23 Comments

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Mr Steve says:

Wow, so many exciting things. I haven't had breakfast yet.
It is only in these contexts that Zlatan is a "chicken".

19 October 2016 - 7:19

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Lennart says:

Wow, so much deliciousness!

19 October 2016 - 7:21

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Britt-Marie says:

Lots of goodies and also beautifully photographed!

19 October 2016 - 7:50

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Jenn - forever abroad says:

Mmmmm! Haha, getting hungry even though I just had breakfast. And thanks for all the Malta inspiration <3

19 October 2016 - 7:57

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Ama de casa says:

Wow, what a lot of goodies! But that "Spaghetti with mussels" looked more like "Mussels with ONE spaghetti". Not that I mind - I love mussels 😀.

19 October 2016 - 9:58

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Ditte says:

My food memories from Malta are gone, but my food memories from Gozo are still there. But on the other hand, one forgets.
Thank you for your great tips but delicious pictures. I can imagine that you were also recommended different restaurants and dishes on the spot and that is a clear advantage compared to if you have to try yourself (Then you often find bpde tops and those more towards the bottom in the restaurant path).
Shellfish are favoured here, and there seemed to be a lot of them in the dishes, but the rabbit can hop on.

19 October 2016 - 10:25

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Goatfish says:

Oh, so much food and good food 😀.
Luckily I'm going to a lunch meeting soon, because the pictures made me so hungry 😉.
Wednesday hugs ♥

19 October 2016 - 11:50

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Across the board says:

Mmm there were many good things. We found an Indian restaurant when we were there that had very good food but do not remember what it was called. Otherwise, the fast food was a safe card for lunch 🙂.

19 October 2016 - 12:00

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Susjos says:

Wow, so many good things to choose from! Fortina sounds familiar?
Even we have found an Italian restaurant in Sliema when we were there, but do not remember what it was called. Chophouse looks super good, must be tried, although the prices were a little more expensive ... but then it certainly tastes very good too!

19 October 2016 - 12:29

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Comment by post author

admin says:

Steve, haha, that's probably it 😉.

Britt-Marie, glad you like the pictures!

Jenn, you're welcome, and it goes on a bit more 😉.

Ama de casa, haha, there was actually lots of spaghetti, but it was hiding 😉.

Ditte, I got help finding restaurants and I definitely agree with you. When you choose at random, it is very difficult! But therefore hope to be able to contribute with some tips to others 😉 Can add that we also slipped into a few places at random, a sushi and a tapas place. Both were excellent, but not so special for Malta so we did not take them.

Geddfish, wishing you a nice and tasty lunch meeting!

Kors and Tvärs, they seemed to have a pretty good range of food from different countries (we had sushi and tapas) and I like that 🙂 .

Susjos, Fortina is a beachfront hotel in Sliema so you may have seen it when you were there. The restaurant was on the terrace.

19 October 2016 - 12:33

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anita wåg agrimanaki says:

Fun with Maltese food! Everyone knows about Greek, Spanish and Italian but how many people have tried Maltese food? I would love to try it.

19 October 2016 - 14:37

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Lena in Wales says:

Oh la la! What a lovely food report!
I think it's time to scrap old ideas that this or that country doesn't have good food. This is old "knowledge" and old rumours.
A lot has changed in food in recent years. The UK is a good example.
Take care!

19 October 2016 - 14:48

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Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:

Everything looks delicious! The nice pictures make the food look extra inviting.

I also remember Malta as a place with very good food but don't remember any restaurant names (this was in 2002).

I hope they have gluten-free now. I will have to learn this word in Maltese as well. 😉

19 October 2016 - 16:45

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BP says:

Here I'm definitely stuck on the mussels and rabbit - yummy! We ate rock fish in a package, but did not like it, as it was far too "soggy" for our taste.
But as you show, Malta "is" much more than pizza.

19 October 2016 - 18:40

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Matts Torebring says:

Now things are getting dangerous, one temptation worse than the next. Soon we can't just sit back and watch. We must do something.

19 October 2016 - 19:14

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Comment by post author

admin says:

Anita, just as with Malta's history, there are probably influences from many places when it comes to food, not least Italy! But some things are also specifically Maltese!

Lena in Wales, I think you have an important point there! After all, there is such a thing as development 😉.

Anna, it was delicious and I'm glad you like the pictures! Maltese is an interesting language, but English works just as well there (and you will soon be able to say "without gluten" in many languages? ;))

BP, really much more than pizza, although there are a lot of Italian influences. We didn't have any pizza, but we did have sushi and tapas 😉.

Matts, 😉

19 October 2016 - 20:17

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Ruth in Virginia says:

What divine restaurants.
Curious about the prices. Is it as expensive as in Sweden?
Do the Maltese themselves often go out to eat, or was it
Mostly tourists - if you can tell the difference, that is?

19 October 2016 - 22:21

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BP says:

Forgot to comment on the "football dishes" at the restaurant. To name a chicken dish after Zlatan is a bit - well, what should I say - he ain't no chicken if you say so. But here, Huguain and Rodriguez undeniably won the lottery when it comes to food:-))))))

19 October 2016 - 23:07

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Annie - easy vegan food says:

I got so desperately hungry for truffles now <3

19 October 2016 - 23:30

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Marina says:

What wonderful descriptions of the food you ate! There wasn't much of it that didn't make your mouth water a little... Wonderful tips to save for a possible future trip to Malta.

20 October 2016 - 3:57

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Comment by post author

admin says:

Ruth in Virginia, the prices in the restaurants were probably about the same as in Sweden, except that beer and wine were cheaper. Question number two is a little more difficult to answer. When we visited the city restaurants, I am pretty sure that there were many Maltese (some large family groups). But more around the tourist resorts it felt more like tourists perhaps.

BP, of course you have to comment on the football dishes! 🙂 Chicken did not feel most respectful, haha.

Annie, truffles are candy 🙂

Marina, it was really good in all places!

20 October 2016 - 6:32

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Motorhome Helge says:

Wow, it looks so good! The Spaniards are on the back foot here, or rather at the bottom of the list.

20 October 2016 - 7:12

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Christine - 29°. says:

Ohhhh what a lovely post! So much good! 🙂

21 October 2016 - 8:35

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7 restaurants in Malta you don't want to miss

Restaurants in Malta

1. the Fortina Terrace Restaurant in Sliema

2. Cent'Anni restaurant in the village of Gharghur

3. the Palazzo Preca in Valletta

4. Diar il-Bniet Restaurant in the village of Dingli

5. Kartell Restaurant in Marsalforn on Gozo

6. chophouse restaurant in Sliema

7. Rogantino's Restaurant in Landrijiet

Bonus: street food

food and drink in restaurants in malta

MALTA'S NATIONAL DISH

Local FOOD in restaurants IN MALTA

beer and wine in restaurants in malta

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23 Comments

Mr Steve says:

Lennart says:

Britt-Marie says:

Jenn - forever abroad says:

Ama de casa says:

Ditte says:

Goatfish says:

Across the board says:

Susjos says:

admin says:

anita wåg agrimanaki says:

Lena in Wales says:

Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:

BP says:

Matts Torebring says:

admin says:

Ruth in Virginia says:

BP says:

Annie - easy vegan food says:

Marina says:

admin says:

Motorhome Helge says:

Christine - 29°. says:

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