5 Great Malta Eats

Maltese cuisine is a true melting pot, influenced by its proximity to Italy and North Africa, and long list of rulers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, and Arabs, French and British. We were lucky enough to visit a friend based in Malta, who took us to all the best spots, from cafe’s and bakeries ( Fre{n}sh in St. Julians is amazing) to international hotspots and traditional Maltese restaurants. If you are planning a trip, here are my recommendations for 5 Malta eats you won’t want to miss.

5. Maltese Appetizers

The best introduction to Maltese cuisine is an assortment of appetizers, like the platter we had at popular Maltese bistro Ta’Kris, in Sliema.

You will find classic Mediterranean staples with a unique twist: bold garlicky sausage, two varieties of the local Gbejna cheese, Bigilla bean paste, capers, olives, sun dried tomatoes, Ajoli tuna and anchovy dip, local tomato paste, and marinated broad beans. There is something special about the Ftira, the local bread. It has a great chewy texture and nice hint of salt. The perfect accompaniment is a glass of Maltese wine. At every restaurant we tried, the staff prided themselves on picking the perfect selection for our meal.

4. Seafood

It probably goes without saying that a Mediterranean island is going to have great seafood. We had impressively tender octopus sautéed with garlic, calamari, and great seafood pasta. Seafood is particularly good with a crisp Maltese wine and table with a view. I recommend finding a place in Marsaxlokk.

3. Rabbit

Rabbit is a popular indigent in Maltese cuisine; the national dish is Fenek, a rabbit stew. The Order of St. John banned the local population from hunting rabbits, and according to Maltese folklore it became a popular ingredient as an act of resistance.

2. Ftira

In addition to being the local bread, Ftira is used to describe the bread with toppings or in sandwich form. The excellent sandwich usually involves a drizzling with olive oil and rubbing with fresh cut tomatoes and salt and pepper. You can get your choice of filling, but we tried the typical version with tuna, capers, olives, and onion. I was first introduced to the sandwich as Air Malta’s in-flight snack on the flight from Rome, but the mass produced prepackaged version was definitely not as good as the one we had on the ground.

Ftira sandwiches are prefect with a Cisk Lemon – a canned shandy. Cisk is the local lager, produced in Malta since 1928.

1. Pastizzi

A pastizzi is a flaky savory pastry that is usually filled with ricotta or mushy peas.  The appearance reminds me of the Italian sfogliatella pastry, and I can’t help but associate mushy peas with British cuisine.  The name also sounds similar to the British Cornish Pasty.  As much as I asked around, I was unable to get one clear story on the origins of the snack.

Regardless of the origins, they are delicious.  I recommend trying both the ricotta and the pea version.  They are very rich, so you may want to share an order if you are with a group.  I speak from personal experience when I suggest asking for a knife, it gets pretty messy when you attempt to cut them with a teaspoon.