Best Restaurants in Valletta
Five essential tables, ranked by occasion.
$$ €25–55$$$ €55–100$$$$ Over €100
Valletta’s Top 5
ION Harbour by Simon Rogan
ION Harbour by Simon Rogan holds two Michelin stars from the fourth floor of the Iniala Harbour House in Valletta, with a commanding view over the Grand Harbour that is among the most dramatic restaurant views in Europe....
Under Grain
Under Grain was among the very first restaurants in Malta to earn a Michelin star and has retained it for seven consecutive years — an achievement that makes it Malta’s most enduring symbol of fine dining exc...
Noni
Noni is located in the heart of Valletta on the capital’s most important street, and has built a reputation as the city’s most accomplished restaurant outside the starred rooms through a modern European menu ...
Rubino
Rubino holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for serving high-quality Maltese food at high-value prices — a recognition that the guide awards sparingly and that Rubino has earned through years of consistent quality in a fo...
Grain Street
Grain Street has been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its exceptional value and quality, located on bustling Merchants Street opposite the Jesuits Church in the heart of Valletta. The restaurant’s position on o...
Dining in Valletta — The Essential Guide
Europe’s Smallest Capital, Biggest Harbour
Valletta is the smallest capital city in the European Union — a fortified peninsula of 0.8 square kilometres that contains, within its Baroque walls, the Grand Harbour that was the strategic fulcrum of Mediterranean history for five centuries. The Michelin stars that Simon Rogan and Under Grain have brought to the island are calibrated against this backdrop: the two-star ION Harbour is physically positioned to make the harbour the dining room’s primary argument, and the kitchen delivers at the level that backdrop demands.
The 7th edition of the Michelin Guide Malta, published in 2025, includes 3 Michelin-starred restaurants, 2 Bib Gourmands, and a growing selection of recommended establishments that reflect a culinary scene developing faster than most European capitals of comparable size.
Maltese Food Culture
The Maltese food tradition is a palimpsest of the island’s extraordinary history: Phoenician, Arab, Norman, Aragonese, Hospitaller, British — each occupation has left traces in the kitchen. The bragioli, the rabbit stew, the lampuki, the ftira (Maltese bread), the pastizzi — these are dishes shaped by centuries of cultural layering. Rubino is their most accomplished contemporary custodian; ION Harbour is the global context in which they can be understood.
The Grand Harbour
The Grand Harbour is one of the most naturally beautiful and historically significant harbours in the world: the Knights of St John fortified it against the Ottoman fleet in 1565; the British resupplied Malta through it under aerial siege in 1942; today it receives the cruise ships and superyachts that have discovered what the rest of the Mediterranean offers. ION Harbour’s fourth-floor position makes it the most dramatic dining room in Europe for the simple reason that no other restaurant in the continent has this specific view.