Same as its colorful historical background, Maltese cuisine a fine blend of Italian, North African and British influences. This is mostly imbodied through pasta meals and exotic spices.
Even visiting during out of season period, we had good food and we had some not so good culinary experiences.
We would have breakfast at our rental, savoring some local dried meats and we often snacked along the way. There is always time for some bakery products and sweet pastry.
Pastizzi are famous street food diamond-shaped pastries filled with ricotta cheese or mushy peas. Gluten at its finest, what can I say.
Pinsa Romana is an oval-shaped Italian flatbread, a modern take on an ancient Roman recipe and the Sotto Pinsa pizzeria offer variety of different toped pinsas.
In search for (good) food we always like to visit local markets or the newest concepts of street food courts. Is-Suq Tal-Belt was no exception. A 19th-century building, once noted as the first building in Malta to be constructed mostly of iron is now home to 15 food stalls offering food from all corners of the world. Plenty of space to choose from and to enjoy lunch or dinner.
Even with plenty of modern concepts on disposal, we have to do at least one traditional food restaurant in search for old home made recepies. This time, our goal was the national dish, rabbit stew or stuffat tal-fenek.
We found it at Nenu, the artisan bakery.
Nenu is actually Carme Debono, baker who learned baking skills from his father and other relatives doing the same job. His specialties were baking Maltese bread (honza tal-Malti) and the flat bread (ftira). By creating the eating experience at Nanu the artisan baker, he went beyond ordinary cuisine adventures bringing together heritage of local cuisine and food baked in a 100 year old oven.
Restaurant it self is a small exhibition of the former Nanu’s trade, with life size dolls in action, visible through the glass floor. Helps a lot when you have impatient kids, waiting for the food.
Trattoria Zero Sei Romana in Valletta is a proper Italian trattoria with native speakers and fantastic Italian food.
Vinnies in St Pauls Bay was a pleasant surprise because we were served in local language. Not Maltese local, but Balkan local. We noticed that people working in the hospitality service either speak Italian or Montenegro. The owner of the restaurant was a Montenegro lady who has been living in Malta with her Italian husband for years now. Apparently Malta has some quite gentle and attractive law rules for immigrants that would like to live and work on the island. Fine by me. Always a pleasure to meet locals from our region and get a recommendation.
No trip can go without pizza for M. He is a lover of all beautiful Italian pasta dishes but pizza is a special kind of love for him.
Pizza Workshop is a family run restaurant and their local is small but the food is great.
We had some fantastic pizza with Maltese sausage, mozzarella cream cheese baby spinach breasaola, truffle oil pesto parmesan and a simple pizza with dough and cheese, sprinkled with tomato sauce dropps fro the little one.
On a days that we were to tired to go out and eat, we had some food delivery by D so sushi and kebab in this eclectic food ambient was right on spot.
No trip goes with out some disappointments and we had quite a few in Malta. The weather was sh*** at the beginning, our rented car got a flat tire on the way from Popaye village, we had to stop on a speed road with no side walks and call for a taxi to get M and me home, while D claims the damage at the rental company at the airport. And that cherry on the top, just when we thought things were going great, the sine was shining, we got a bright yellow replacement car, we had dinner at a restaurant called I due Sardi (The Two Sards). The restaurant was Italian, what could go wrong, right?
But it did.
We arrived at 7pm sharp, just at the opening of the evening seating, ordered our food (some pizza and pasta), got some drinks and snacks. And waited. Waited. Waited. The restaurant slowly started to fill and people were seated and people were greeted and people were served. Before us. Way before us. And I went around and asked about our food and D, as he likes to sit facing the kitchen was telling me what was actually going on there. The staff was chatting so they burnt M pizza, and went to make a new one. Our dishes were no where in sight.
When we complained about the significant delay, first arrived M pizza. In the shape of a fish. I get it. The staff wanted to indulge the kid, but our kid eats regular round shaped pizza and he was completely disappointed at what he got. As were we.
Once our dishes arrived, I could not help my self to gasp to a size of the plates / bowls and the amount of spaghetti I got. The food was good, very good but the whole experience was just bad.
As the experience in St Pauls Bay was not a pleasant one, I decided to end on a bright note and safe the best for the last.
It’s hard to tell whether the good impression of the restaurant called Step 15 in Mdina was caused by the sunny day or fantastic food. I mean, the restaurant has an outdoor seating on the stepway to the city, hence the name – Step 15.
We arrived for an early lunch, sun gazing at the steps, munching of some bread, drinking Aperol and waiting for the fantastic pasta dishes.
Deserts is always the last and we often found it at the local, Sottozero gelato factory that is Maltas chain of delicious homemade ice creams with loads of choices. We had pastry breakfast in Sliema at Sottozero and we became regulars for three days in a row in St Pauls bay. And all that to M love for ice cream. And ours, as well, can’t deny that.
Last but not the least, the selection of fine local alcohol.
