Cuisine
Malta’s Mediterranean cuisine, based on seasonal fresh produce, features many of the main ingredients typical of the region: aubergines, tomatoes,
peppers, courgettes, onions and garlic together with freshly caught fish and seafood. Mediterranean herbs such as basil, mint, thyme, oregano and bay leaves are used in abundance, and flavours are enhanced by locally cultivated virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
Meat dishes, pasta of all types, baked macaroni and rice dishes are also very popular and feature heavily on traditional menus. Typical Maltese dishes include specialities such as rabbit, octopus, ravioli and bragioli (beef olives). A favourite Sunday lunch is roast pork and potatoes flavoured with onions and herbs.
Maltese bread is exquisite and the traditional recipe calls for sourdough and a wood-burning stone oven.
Maltese food is served in most restaurants offering Mediterranean cuisine, but in addition there are many specialist restaurants available: Italian, French, Chinese, and Indian are the most numerous. One can also find Greek, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Japanese and many others. Dining out in Malta can be a wonderful experience: from smart city restaurants in baroque palaces to family-run trattoria-style places in quaint village squares or seafront fish restaurants in tiny fishing villages. The choice is wide and there’s something to suit every mood and pocket.
There are a large number of supermarkets, some international, stocking a vast variety of both local and foreign foods of all descriptions. Against these one can also find the little village grocer shops dotted around the villages.
