What to try
Maltese cooking is rustic and generous, shaped by Sicily, North Africa and the British years. Here are the things worth trying.
Savoury
Pastizzi, flaky, diamond-shaped pastries filled with either irkotta (ricotta) or piżelli (mushy peas). Eaten standing up, at any hour, for small change. Rabat is famous for them, ask us where to go and we'll point you around the corner.
Ftira, a ring of Maltese sourdough, split and filled with tuna, capers, olives, tomato, onion and olive oil. The national sandwich, and a proper lunch. UNESCO-listed, no less.
Fenek (rabbit), the national dish, taken seriously. Usually slow-stewed in wine and garlic (stuffat tal-fenek) or fried. If you eat one Maltese thing, make it this.
Bragioli, beef olives: thin slices of beef rolled around bacon, egg and breadcrumbs, then braised.
Lampuki, dorado, in season roughly August to December, and something of an event when it arrives. Best in torta tal-lampuki, a pie with spinach, olives and cauliflower.
Aljotta, a garlicky, lemony fish soup with rice. Simple and very good.
Bigilla, a broad bean dip with garlic and herbs, served with galletti water biscuits. The default accompaniment to a cold beer.
Ġbejniet, small sheep's-milk cheeselets, served fresh, sun-dried or rolled in cracked black pepper. Look for them on any platt Malti (Maltese platter).
Kapunata, the Maltese cousin of caponata: aubergine, tomato, capers and olives.
Dessert, and what to pour
Sweet
Imqaret, deep-fried date-filled pastry diamonds, best eaten hot from a street cart.
Kannoli, crisp shells filled with sweetened ricotta.
Ħelwa tat-Tork, a crumbly sesame-and-almond sweet, sold by the slab.
Figolli, almond-filled biscuits, shaped and iced, appearing everywhere at Easter.
To drink
Kinnie, a bittersweet soft drink made from bitter oranges and wormwood. It divides people. Try it once.
Cisk, the local lager. Blue Label and the excellent small-batch Maltese craft beers are worth seeking out too.
Maltese wine, better than you might expect. Look for the indigenous grapes Ġellewża (red) and Girgentina (white), and the established houses Marsovin and Delicata.
Bajtra, a prickly-pear liqueur, usually offered at the end of a meal.
Where to eat
We don't have arrangements with any restaurant and we don't take commissions. These are simply the places nearby that our guests come back and tell us about. Most are a short walk from the house; a few are a short drive.
Please book ahead
Especially for dinner in Mdina, and especially in summer. If you'd like us to make a reservation for you, just ask, it's often easier by phone in Maltese.
The Medina Restaurant
Triq is-Salib Imqaddes, Mdina · +356 2145 0587
Set in a Norman house with a courtyard garden.
de Mondion
Triq San Pawl, Mdina · +356 2145 0560
Rooftop dining on the bastions, with the whole island laid out below. The special-occasion choice.
Bacchus
Triq Inguanez, Mdina · +356 2145 4981
Housed in vaulted 17th-century magazine chambers built into the walls.
Fontanella Tea Garden
Mdina
The famous one, cake and coffee on the bastion wall, with a view that goes on for miles. Come mid-afternoon. Expect company.
Palazzo Castelletti
62 Triq San Pawl, Rabat · +356 9910 9911
A restored palazzo with courtyard and cellar dining.
Step 15
22 Telgħa tas-Saqqajja, Mdina · +356 2145 5799
Scala Restaurant
26 Telgħa tas-Saqqajja, Rabat · +356 9914 0297
Root 81
22A Telgħa tas-Saqqajja, Rabat · +356 7949 2083
Grotto Tavern
Mistral il-Parroċċa, Rabat · +356 7945 3258
Atmospheric, built into the rock beneath the town.
Da Luigi
Triq Ġilormu Dingli, Rabat · +356 9925 1976
Family-run Italian and Mediterranean, a stone's throw from Mdina's main gate.
Marilù's
66, 67, 68 Pjazza San Nikola, Siġġiewi · +356 7773 6002
Contemporary Maltese cooking in Siġġiewi, known for gourmet pastizzi and a rooftop terrace. A short drive from the house.
Ta' Marija
67 Constitution Street, Mosta · +356 2143 4444
A classic for authentic Maltese cooking, open since 1964. A short drive from the house.
Diar il-Bniet
121 Triq il-Kbira, Dingli · +356 2762 0727
Farm-to-table Maltese cooking in Dingli, with produce from their own fields. A short drive from the house.