Malta has well and truly entered the age of the gourmet burger, with restaurants across the island constantly trying to outdo each other in the quest for the most extravagant of the lot. 

Now Fredy’s Diner, a small but bustling US-style diner in the heart of Qormi, has gone where no local restaurant has gone before – with a burger made of actual donkey meat. 

After repeated insistences that this was not a long drawn-out April Fool’s prank, I decided to take the plunge and get a taste of the burger myself last Thursday. 

Considering its novelty, the burger is very decently priced at €13.50, and it flew out of the kitchen in under 20 minutes. 

From the outside 

And from within

As for the taste itself, it’s kind of hard to describe. I was bracing myself for a horse-like taste and, although it has that distinguishably equine flavour, it is much fluffier and surprisingly juicy. It comes in a toasted brioche bun coated with a light beetroot relish and oozing with brie cheese, and with homemade dill crisps as a side dish. Not much where condiments and sides are concerned, but it was clear from the start what this dish’s focus was. 

I found the burger truly outstanding but, wanting a second opinion, I convinced my companion, who was decidedly less keen on trying donkey than I was, to try it out too. And what do you know? Another thumbs up.

The bad news is that Fredy’s hasn’t permanently added donkey burger to its menu but has merely offered it as a trial run to the first 22 people daring enough to order it. 

Fredy’s Diner – a small American style diner in the heart of Qormi 

For Fredy’s head chef Christian Stellini, it is a dream come true. 

“Some years ago, a chef friend of mine told me he had tried donkey meat in Sicily, and from that moment on, the idea of serving donkey burgers at the diner got stuck in my mind,” he told us. “I searched both Malta and Sicily for years but couldn’t find anyone who sold donkey meat.”

Then, quite by chance, a local farmer happened to knock on the diner’s door and ask Stellini whether he would like to buy any meat from two old donkeys he was about to slaughter.

“I jumped at the opportunity and the farmer brought me around 8kg of rump steak which, minus the silver skin, was enough to make 22 burgers,” he said. 

And while people weren’t exactly queuing outside the diner to get a taste of this weird burger, the response of the people who actually tried it has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“I sold eight burgers tonight so far and the customers all loved it,” Stellini said, a twinkle in his eye. “This isn’t going to stop here, and I will try and find more donkey meat to serve up once the 22 burgers are gone.”

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]