DESTINATIONS MALTA FOOD & DRINK
stuffed aubergines with fresh-minced beef, washed down with delicious house wines produced at the farm’s 12th-century organic olive grove. Craving some adventure, we follow lunch with a three-hour Segway tour, leaving Dingli village to zoom through lush countryside to the Dingli Cliffs, the highest point of the Maltese islands with heart-melting ocean views.
w GO LOCAL ON GOZO Glorious food can also be found on Malta’s sister island Gozo, most famous for its year-round diving. For traditional Maltese fodder, recommend that visitors book a table at rustic tavern Ta’ Rikardu, tucked inside the ancient walls of the lofty medieval citadel. It’s here that diners can try
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Mercury Holidays offers four nights’ bed and breakfast in a deluxe room at the Corinthia Palace Hotel for £338 per person, including flights from Gatwick and transfers, departing
November 28.
mercuryholidays.
co.uk/travel- agents
Prestige Holidays offers seven nights’ bed and breakfast in a deluxe room at the Excelsior
Grand Hotel Malta from £975 per person, including Ryanair flights from Luton and transfers, departing May 16. prestigeholidays.
co.uk
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travelweekly.co.uk 26 April 2018
traditional Maltese cheese gbejniet, created from goat’s and sheep’s milk. The gorgeous cheese is produced in restaurateur Rikardu’s farm, where 200 sheep and goats are milked daily by hand. The charismatic proprietor also offers cheese-making demonstrations. Other must-try meals at Ta’ Rikardu include the homemade cheese-filled ravioli, rabbit stew, and sumptuous platters loaded with cheese, bread, tomatoes, capers and olives, which can be washed down with Rikardu’s Gozitan wine. Also worth a visit on Gozo is
Ta’ Philip, near the ferry port of Mgarr, where diners can enjoy a smorgasbord of Gozitan food (sourced entirely on the island) and cooked using traditional methods in a wood-fired oven.
Birgu’s cobbled streets are bejewelled with brightly-coloured front doors and decorative knockers – a must-visit
w AGE-OLD EATS Perfect for those with a passion for food and history are the Malta Maritime Museum’s heritage dinners, which offer guests the unique opportunity to feast on the kind of food and wine that was enjoyed by corsairs 300 years ago. Dining on the historic museum’s
pretty terrace, overlooking the twinkling lights of the Birgu marina,
we tuck into dishes created from age- old recipes, including 1740s-style ice cream, while knowledgeable curator Liam Gauci provides a fascinating historical commentary. To book, email
dinners@heritagemalta.org. The museum can be found within the under-the-radar fortified city of Birgu, where cobbled streets are bejewelled with brightly-coloured front doors and decorative knockers, a must-visit for photographers and Instagrammers.
w TIME FOR WINE To complement the island’s spectacular cuisine, there are a growing number of small-scale wineries on Malta and Gozo, with many gaining international recognition. We visit the boutique San Niklaw winery near Zejtun on the main island, which is open to visitors for private guided tours all year round. Run by the island’s only paediatric surgeon, San Niklaw is a small family estate with an olive grove of 500 trees, set against a backdrop of blue skies and verdant countryside. These wines can be found in some of Malta’s high-end restaurants, including The Harbour Club in Valletta. We enjoy a delicious lunch cooked
ABOVE: Birgu Marina
LEFT: Wines from San Niklaw estate
by a local restaurateur and enriched by full-bodied, world-class wines produced from syrah, vermentino, sangiovese and mourvèdre grapes on the estate. With a bellyful of food and wine, Malta has been a feast for the senses, with rich cultural attractions and bountiful dishes. The country’s glorious gastronomy is most definitely one of its key selling points; now I’m just left to wonder what’s for dinner…
PICTURES:
VIEWINGMALTA.COM; HUSH STUDIOS
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