Malta has a distinctive food culture thanks to its mild climate, proximity to fresh seafood from the Mediterranean, and mix of cultural influences, including Greek, Italian, French, and British. Food is reasonably priced and, if you make some friends on the islands, you’ll quickly discover that any occasion is a pretext for feasting. To make the most of your meals, use this guide to essential Maltese foods and dishes to try, and where to find them.
Pastizzi
Pastizzi (pictured above) are the ultimate Maltese street food, served in every village and town in the country—typically for less than €1. Shaped like diamonds, the flaky pastries are traditionally filled with ricotta cheese but sometimes come stuffed with peas and spinach, tuna, rabbit, or, during Holy Week, spinach and anchovy.
Where to eat it: Crystal Palace
- Location: Rabat | Google Maps
Some say that Malta’s best pastizzi are found at Crystal Palace, an iconic pastizzeria that’s been a mainstay in Rabat for more than a century, but rest assured you’ll find delicious options almost everywhere. Just follow your nose and look for the lines.
Stuffatt tal-fenek (rabbit stew)
Every Maltese family has its own recipe for rabbit stew, but some of the best is served at Tal-Petut in Birgu.
Photo by Renata Apanaviciene/Shutterstock
Stuffatt tal-fenek, or rabbit stew, is considered the national dish of Malta, one that every proud Maltese person is fed practically from birth. Rabbits were introduced to Malta by the Phoenicians, but their popularity exploded during Roman times, as the Romans believed that eating baby rabbits made women more beautiful. They fell out of fashion during the Knights of Saint John era from 1530 to 1798, when the hunting of rabbits was banned, but became a favorite once again after they started to decimate farmers’ crops and hunting was reintroduced.
All of this means that, while in Malta, you have to try to attend a fenkata, an elaborate feast (particularly in the village of Mgarr) involving prolific amounts of rabbit. If you miss the chance, you at least have to eat Maltese rabbit stew. Every family has its own secret recipe, but most combine red wine, tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, onions, bay leaves, and, of course, rabbit.
Where to eat it: Tal-Petut
- Location: Birgu | Google Maps
The best place to sample stuffatt tal-fanek is in the home of someone’s nanna, but in a pinch, go to Tal-Petut, just outside Valletta in Birgu, where the dish features on the prix fixe menu.
Torta tal-lampuki (lampuki pie)
Lampuki pie is a mash-up of English, Arab, and Italian flavors.
Photo by Page Frederique/Shutterstock
Lampuki (mahi mahi) is Malta’s unofficial national fish, but you have to order it between August and December, when schools migrate nearby, to get it fresh. Local fishermen have been using the same method to catch lampuki since Roman times, weaving palm tree fronds into flat rafts, which they take out to sea along with their traditional fishing boats. When the fish cluster underneath the rafts to seek shade from the afternoon sun, the fishermen cast their nets, then sell their catch to local restaurants.
You can get lampuki several different ways, but instead of going with the most common preparation (pan-fried in tomato sauce with capers, olives, and lemon), opt for lampuki pie. The dish features a nice mix of Malta’s biggest cultural influences—English (savory pies are practically a religion in the United Kingdom), Arab (mint, lemon peel, and raisins), and Italian (tomatoes, capers, and olives)—all wrapped up in a flaky pastry crust.
Where to try it: Café Jubilie
- Location: Multiple locations
Try a torta tal-lampuki at the popular Café Jubilee, which has two locations on Malta and one on the sister island of Gozo. If you prefer your lampuki whole, not in a pie, head to Marsaxlokk, a village best known for its Sunday fish market. Unless you plan to cook back at your Airbnb, skip the market and instead join the locals who come here to enjoy a leisurely lunch at one of the wharf’s seafood-forward restaurants, such as fine-dining Tartarun and more casual Skuna—both of which do an excellent whole fish.
Hobza and ftira (Maltese bread)
Get your hobza in Qormi, a town in central Malta with nearly 50 bakeries.
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If you ask Maltese expats which food they miss the most, many will say a loaf of good, old-fashioned Maltese bread, either drizzled with olive oil, rubbed with tomatoes, or topped with olives. The traditional hobza is akin to a sourdough, with a dark-brown crust and springy dough that’s delightfully chewy.
Hobza’s cousin, the ftira, is a flatter and softer bread, shaped like a ring. It’s often topped with sardines, tuna, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, capers, or olives. For an affordable, tasty, and filling lunch, order a tuna sandwich on ftira—you won’t be disappointed. In 2020, it was added to the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, emphasizing its cultural importance on the islands.
Where to eat it: Nenu the Artisan Baker
- Location: Valletta | Google Maps
You can get a great version of ftira at Nenu the Artisan Baker, a wonderful eatery founded by the owner of Malta’s popular Maypole bakery chain, but you should also make a pilgrimage to Qormi, a town in central Malta that’s known for its nearly 50 bakeries. It’s here that locals celebrate their love of bread every October at the Lejl f’Casal Fornaro (Quormi Bread Festival) with traditional music, art, and food stalls.
Soppa tal-armla (widow’s soup) and aljotta (fish soup)
Widow’s soup is loaded with common ingredients like potatoes, carrots, and peas.
Photo by Renata Apanaviciene/Shutterstock
A satisfying choice, particularly in the winter months, armla soup is a Maltese staple made of potatoes, carrots, peas, garlic, cauliflower, beans, and sometimes gbejniet (goat cheese) or ricotta left melting in the broth. Its name derives from the fact that the ingredients are common and cheap, so even widows can afford to make it.
At restaurants, you’ll more often see aljotta—whose name derives from aglio, the Italian word for garlic—as a soup option. Since eating meat during Lent is forbidden (Malta is a predominantly Catholic nation), this garlicky, pescatarian soup is a popular, traditional dish to eat during this time (though you’ll see it on many menus year-round).
Where to eat it: Rampila
- Location: Valletta | Google Maps
History lovers won’t want to miss the chance to dine at Rampila, located in the old bastions (fortress walls) that surround Valletta and serve an array of elevated, traditional Maltese dishes, including aljotta. On a nice day, ask for a table on its terrace overlooking the old city. Otherwise, get cozy in its cavernous dining room, which, like the fortress walls it has been built into, is completely made of a light, sandy-colored limestone.
Timpana
Essentially baked macaroni in pastry, timpana is Maltese comfort food at its best.
Photo by Steve Estvanik/Shutterstock
Timpana is best described as macaroni with meat sauce, baked in a pie. A nod to Malta’s Italian influences, it’s essentially a second cousin to baked ziti, but with boiled eggs, sometimes chicken livers, and flaky pastry crust for good measure.
Where to eat it: Gululu or Ta’ Marija
- Location: Saint Julian | Google Maps (Gululu) / Mosta | Google Maps (Ta’ Marija)
Get your fix at Gululu in Saint Julian’s or Ta’ Marija, a lively eatery in central Malta that also has great rabbit stew. (Ta means “belonging to” in Maltese.)
Imqaret
Finish your meal in Malta with the date pastries known as imqaret.
Photo by Lisa Mar/Shutterstock
By now, you’ve gathered that you’re not going to lose any weight while in Malta, so don’t skimp on dessert. For a traditional treat, save room for some imqaret, a rectangular-shaped sweet made with pastry and date filing. Date pastries are popular across the Middle East and the delicious imqaret speak to the Arab influence in Malta.
Where to find it: Emanuel’s Bakery
- Location: Qormi | Google maps
Sometimes you’ll see people selling the treats from stalls on the street, especially during festas (large religious celebrations), but you can also find delicious imqaret at Emanuel’s Bakery in Qormi, the Maltese village most known for its bread.
This article was originally published in 2019. It was most recently updated on February 27, 2023. Jessie Beck contributed to the reporting of this story.
