Writer: Helena Bergström
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.
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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.
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 atmosphere is genuine, just like it is when you find yourself away from the tourist trails. The food was also delicious 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Bonus: street food
What if you don't want to eat so fancy all the time, but just pick something small and simple? Yes, of course there are plenty to choose from. If you just want a little "snack" on the road, you can stop by any bakery and buy pastizzi – pastries filled with ricotta or a kind of peas (if I understand correctly), which are very popular.
If you're a little hungrier, you can try Maltese bread with tuna, olives and capers. Really delicious!
Quick guide: the restaurants in the article
- Best for a romantic dinner: Palazzo Preca – elegant setting and really good food in the middle of Valletta
- For those who want to eat local & authentically: Diar il-Bniet – Maltese ingredients and classic dishes in the countryside
- For the meat lover: The Chophouse – well-known steakhouse with views of Valletta
- Off the beaten track: Cent'Anni – cozy village restaurant with generous portions
Good to know
- Price level: €€–€€€ (most expensive in Valletta and Sliema)
- Book a table: Recommended in the evening, especially during high season
- Test locally: rabbit (Malta's national dish), lampuka (seasonal fish), fresh pasta
- Best time: dinner at sunset – many restaurants have fantastic views
- Note: The restaurant scene is changing quickly – double check opening hours before visiting
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Maltese food – 16 dishes to try in Malta
English (UK) 
Svenska
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
Lennart says:
Wow, so much deliciousness!
19 October 2016 - 7:21
Britt-Marie says:
Lots of goodies and also beautifully photographed!
19 October 2016 - 7:50
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
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
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
Geddfish 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
Kors och Tvärs 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
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
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
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
Lena i 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
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
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
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
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
Ruth i 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
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
Annie - lättlagat vegokäk says:
I got so desperately hungry for truffles now <3
19 October 2016 - 23:30
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
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
Husbilen 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
Christine - 29° says:
Ohhhh what a lovely post! So much good! 🙂
21 October 2016 - 8:35