How to Eat Like a Local in Malta (Without Going Broke)

So you’ve landed in Malta, and naturally, after your flight, you’re starving. I’ll excuse the one fast-food splurge at the airport food court, but that’s the only time you should be eating an American fast-food franchise meal. Come on, you’re in the Mediterranean. Live a little!

Now, for the rest of your trip, you’ll probably want to enjoy that one really good Michelin-star meal, and you absolutely should. But realistically, after that €80 bill, your responsible side is going to kick in. And if you’re anything like me, a local trying very hard to save for her next trip without compromising on good food, you’ll want meals that are both genuinely good and genuinely cheap.

So here’s where you should eat if you want to survive Malta on a budget without surviving purely on sadness and supermarket sandwiches.

Pastizzerias

These are Malta’s pride and joy, and you’ll probably find one on every corner. Pastizzerias sell Malta’s national savoury snack: the glorious pastizz, usually filled with ricotta or peas and an amount of oil that would make a cardiologist nervous. But they’re delicious, comforting, and somehow capable of improving your mood instantly.

One pastizz costs around €0.50.Two pastizzi cost €1. Six pastizzi cost your summer body.

If somewhere is selling them for €0.70 (looking at the stalls next to Tritoni Fountain), you are being robbed in broad daylight.

Besides pastizzi, these places usually sell all kinds of Maltese comfort food and snacks: timpana, imqarrun il-forn, pizzas (always get the olive one if you like olives), pies, sausage rolls, and basically every deliciously unhealthy thing imaginable.

Duke’s Snack Bar

Snack bars are what keep the hardworking people of this island fed and functioning. A bacon, egg, and cheese toast from Duke’s will cost you a whopping €3.50 and deliver an unreasonable amount of happiness.

For maximum enjoyment, get it to go and eat it by the marina. I genuinely believe fresh air, a nice view, and aggressive Mediterranean sunshine can improve any meal.

That’s my personal order, but snack bars usually have endless combinations. You can choose different types of bread, and yes, Malta genuinely has some of the best bread on the planet, like ftira or panina, or completely freestyle your order by pointing at whatever fresh ingredients are laid out behind the counter.

Duke’s was the snack bar of my teenage years because it was close to my post-secondary school, and it’s where we went after we’d already finished the lunch we brought from home. But honestly, there are snack bars all over the island.

Nobody’s standing outside trying to lure you in. The chairs have probably been there since 2004. Nothing is aesthetic. But the food is genuine, the prices are reasonable, and the place will always be full of locals inhaling lunch during their 30-minute break. Honestly, you might even find me there too.

Babylon Falafel

This is the one place I genuinely wanted to gatekeep, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I love Babylon with my entire heart.

Now you might be thinking, “but falafel isn’t a traditional Maltese dish?” and you’re right, it isn’t. But Malta has become beautifully multicultural over the past decade, and with that comes food from everywhere. And honestly? Thank god for that.

My order at Babylon is always a falafel wrap. The falafel is made fresh, and if you’re there during a busy rush, you can actually see them frying it up in real time. There’s no limit on sauces and toppings either, which is dangerous in the best possible way. And about three bites in, you’ll start questioning how something so fresh, so filling, and so ridiculously good is only €4.50.

Little bonus tip: if you eat in, there’s usually a pot of soup you can help yourself to, plus a sweet mint tea dispenser, both completely free. Which feels illegal, but I promise it isn’t.

Of course, it’s not just falafel. They also do kebabs, and those beautiful golden-brown whole chickens that look like they’ve been kissed by fire and good decisions.

Babylon has, without exaggeration, the best falafel on the island. It’s affordable, it’s consistent, and every single friend I’ve dragged there and hyped it up to, has now also developed an obsession.

Panina

You know how I mentioned snack bars earlier? Panina is like that, but upgraded, slightly aesthetic, and with better lighting.

I remember when their first spot opened in Fgura and I used to work nearby. The moment someone in the office said “shall we order Panina?” there was no debate. It was an instant agreement. That alone tells you everything you need to know.

Now they’ve expanded to multiple locations across Malta, so wherever you are, there’s a high chance you’re within reach of a very good sandwich.

Panina is basically the Maltese answer to those viral Italian sandwich spots. The ones layering prosciutto, burrata, and everything slightly unnecessary but completely correct, except here it’s our version, and it just hits differently.

A solid ftira will set you back around €5, while the more “I’m treating myself today” focaccias cost a bit more. The menu is huge, like, dangerously huge, packed with fresh meats, cheeses, and combinations you didn’t know you needed.

My personal favourite (and my mother’s obsession) is the Tal-Koxxa fig jam burrata focaccia. Sweet, savoury, creamy and slightly chaotic in the best way possible.

It’s the kind of place where you go in planning to “just grab something quick” and leave mentally planning your next visit before you’ve even finished eating.

Kul ħa tikber!

(A Maltese saying that means “eat so you’ll grow”)

So those are my go-to recommendations for good food on a budget here in Malta.

Eat up, experiment a little, and don’t be afraid to ask the staff what they’d recommend. Locals usually know best anyway, and sometimes that’s where the real gems are.

Tasting Malta doesn’t have to mean surviving on packets of crisps and supermarket sandwiches. There are plenty of affordable spots where you can actually eat well, eat local, and still have money left for the rest of your trip.

I can almost guarantee that if you follow my advice, you won’t regret it… although your “summer body goals” might need to be postponed. Because these places really hit the spot.

Cheers!