Food & drink
In Mdina and its neighbour Rabat, you eat in places that have been feeding people for 400 years. Gunpowder vaults, Norman courtyards, bastion walls. The cuisine reflects Malta's position at the crossroads of the Mediterranean — Arab, Norman, Italian, and British all left something on the plate.
Mdina and its neighbour Rabat together offer some of Malta's finest dining — in medieval palazzos, former gunpowder stores, and 400-year-old courtyard gardens. The cuisine reflects Malta's position at the crossroads of the Mediterranean: Arab, Norman, Italian, and British all left something on the plate.
The Medina Restaurant
A Norman residence in a winding alley off Cathedral Square, operating as a restaurant for more than 30 years. Dine under vaulted stone ceilings or in the internal courtyard. Local ingredients, subtle modern twists, and a setting that makes every other restaurant feel hurried by comparison.
medinarestaurant.xaracollection.com · t: +356 2145 0587
Bacchus Restaurant
Dining in the former barrel-vaulted gunpowder storage rooms of Mdina, with an open-air terrace over the bastion walls. A combination that should not work but absolutely does. Classical dishes with Maltese flavours, popular with locals and visitors in equal measure.
Fontanella Tea Gardens
Tables set directly against the bastion walls with panoramic views across Malta. World-famous — among those who have been — for its cakes. Pastizzi, ftira, and Maltese treats served from morning to night. Come for the view, stay for the ricotta cake, watch the light change on the plain below.
The Fork and Cork
On the hill entering Rabat, with an imposing view across the Maltese landscape. A seasonal menu driven by the owner's genuine passion for food and wine — the menu changes with what's good, not with what's expected. One of the better addresses in the area for serious eating.
Castelletti Restaurant
In the heart of Rabat, in a 400-year-old palazzo where the old flamboyance still shows in the stonework. Lunch, dinner, Sunday breakfast, and afternoon tea. A seasonal menu alongside pizzas and homemade burgers — unpretentious in the best sense, in surroundings that are anything but.
62 Palazzo Castelletti, Triq San Pawl, Rabat
Malta has been producing wine since the Phoenicians. The island's small vineyards produce wines of genuine character from indigenous varieties — Gellewza (red) and Girgentina (white). Look for Marsovin, Meridiana, and Camilleri on wine lists. At Fontanella, the view is free. Order the local white and stay until the light changes on the plain.