Fine Dining to Wine Tasting: A Tour of Malta's Growing Gastronomy Scene
Take your tastebuds on a whistle-stop tour through Malta’s most tantalising delicacies. An island brimming with sensational flavours, award-winning seafood and recipes that date back for centuries, a trip to Malta is sure to tick all the boxes for a gastronomy-fuelled incentive…
AT A GLANCE:
Malta’s cuisine very much reflects the rich history, culture and geography of the island, with the dishes conjuring a beautiful blend of Mediterranean and Middle East flavours and all with a focus on fresh, local ingredients. Seafood certainly takes the centre stage with popular dishes ranging from lampuki (mahi-mahi fish) and octopus stew to spaghetti with clams, but guests are sometimes surprised by the popularity of another local specialty – Rabbit – which is often served in a stew or fried with garlic and thyme.
Take a tour through the island’s bustling street vendors and you’ll find Malta’s most iconic street-food dishes from pastizzi – a savoury pastry filled with ricotta cheese or mashed peas – to sweet delicacies such as qagħaq tal-għasel (honey rings), imqaret (date pastries), and figolli (almond-filled Easter biscuit). Just through Malta’s dishes alone you can feel yourself take a journey across 7,000 years of History and Culture.
Overall, Malta's gastronomic scene offers a diverse and incredible array of dishes and flavours, sure to delight foodies and casual diners alike.
AUTHENTIC FLAVOURS & MICHELIN STAR DINING
In recent years, Malta has seen a real surge in the number of high-end restaurants and innovative dining concepts – many of which draw on the island’s unique ingredients and culinary traditions. Now with 6 One Michelin-starred restaurants, 4 Big Gourmand and 27 restaurants with the Michelin Plate Awards, it’s clear to see that the island’s unique blend of Mediterranean and North African influences has seen Malta make waves in the gastronomy scene.
Delve underground beneath Rosselli Hotel’s grand exteriors and enter the world of award-winning Executive Chef Victor Borg. Surrounded by dark, moody décor and high vaulted ceilings, it’s a restaurant that’s clearly got its influence from the former tailor shops that once lined the streets and boasts an experience like no other. Enjoy expertly crafted Mediterranean dishes, busting with bold, innovative flavours as Bong challenges the line of classic favourites and brings new meaning to Maltese cuisine.
Well placed in the historic walls of Mdina, De Mondion sits in prime position on the top floor of Xara Palace Hotel’s luxurious complex and invites you into its snug, intimate setting. Elegantly dressed with local artwork and an outdoor terrace for warm, summer nights, the menu focuses on classically-based Mediterranean dishes using local ingredients. Try their specialty dish “the suckling pig” and get ready to take your senses on a whirlwind of a journey through the island’s very best flavours and seasonings.
Run by legendary chef Jonathan Brincat, Noni is the perfect example of “no risk, no reward” with his menu that completely reawakens the island’s best-known dishes. Tiptoe over the line of convention and tradition and immerse your senses in a dance of flavours and culinary passion with his concise menu and skilfully perfected creations. A chef who takes fine dining seriously, you can’t help but see a piece of his personality in each dish.
Another daring restaurant, housed on the first floor of Carinthia Palace Hotel, Chef Tyrone Mizzi writes an ode to both past and present with his three-piece menu that takes guests on a journey through Malta’s incredible history. Finishing with innovative flavour combinations that both challenge and re-set the mind, Bahia’s dishes are playful and mesmerising with an innovative take on seasonal ingredients and local specialties.
Set over the backdrop of Malta’s Grand Harbour and under the watchful eyes of Chef Simon Rogan, lies the incredible team at ION Harbour. From the moment you step out of the lift to the signing of the cheque, you feel a sense of the hard work that goes into each creation from the detailing of the ingredients to the colour on the plate. Each dish is harmoniously designed with flavours and textures that blend perfectly together and the atmosphere of the restaurant remains stylish and relaxed.
A quiet, bistro-style restaurant draped in Parisian elegance, Fernandõ Gastrotheque brings the subtle flavours of French and Italian cuisine to Malta’s table is effortless precision. Set in the small town of Sliema, it’s an intimate affair with plenty of character, the best local ingredients and a wine list of 600 labels that’s hard to beat. Tuck into dishes such as Dry Aged Beef Sirloin, Confit of Pork and Fresh Kabu Turnip and experience a world of flavours right at your doorstep.
WINERIES & VINEYARDS:
Discover Malta through the eyes of a Sommelier and venture out to Malta’s rolling hills and beautiful countryside as you learn about Malta’s thriving wine industry and the indigenous grape varieties that have led to Malta’s growing reputation.
Marsovin Cellars:
Head to Marsovin’s 400-year-old, award-winning winery and take a tour of the cellar’s original artefacts as you learn about the process of grape pressing and fermentation from the specialists themselves. An authentic experience that pays homage to true underpinnings of Maltese heritage, it’s a chance to walk the footsteps of a local winemaker and discover the hard work that goes into making the best wine in the region. Walk through Old French Oak Barriques and enjoy wine sampling in their Marsovin wine bar with a selection of local savouries and chatter among colleagues in the time-honoured sanctuaries of Single Estate Wines.
Tal-Massar Winery:
Experience an afternoon of personalised wine-tasting at Tal-Massar’s award-winning Winery and let your clients unravel the old stories of Maltese Wines. A vineyard well known for producing some of the highest quality wine, completely void of all herbicides, Tal-Massar Winery is a beautiful vineyard set in the idyllic village of Gharb. Let the owner guide you through the history of their aromatic wines as you enjoy a taste yourself and dig into their tantalising appetisers. Ideally placed with incentives in mind, it’s a great chance to bring your group outside of Malta’s bustling centre and to enjoy a moment’s quiet out in the countryside air.
Meridiana Wine Estate
Roll through the Meridiana’s seemingly infinite vineyards and discover a winery full of character in Ta’ Qali. Well recognised by all sommeliers throughout the world, this wine estate provides an ideal setting for any group tasting session. With its wines that deliver bursting flavours, deep rich tones and balanced acidity, the vineyard’s bottles are as cherished as the premises themselves. Explore the quaint doors of the vineyard’s farmhouse and run your hand along its picturesque limestone before feasting your eyes on the iconic French oak barrels and heading up to their panoramic terraces. A vineyard with an ambiance that’s hard to find elsewhere, a trip to Meridiana Wine Estate is a visit that’s hard to forget.
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