These 19 Maltese Restaurants Are Offering Amazing Christmas Menus This Year
I say this with no shame; one of the main reasons I love Christmas is for the food. And it is something I take very seriously!
On Christmas Eve, I tend to do the traditional home-cooked feast with all the trimmings, but on Christmas Day, I want to get glammed up and go out to eat… then roll home in a food coma to watch tons of cheesy Christmas films.
I’ve been on the hunt for weeks to compile a list of Maltese restaurants that are offering the finest Christmas menus (so you don’t have to).
The hard part is choosing one…
1. Taro at The Villa, St Julian’s
This fine dining luxury institution is pulling out all the stops for their Christmas lunch deal, priced at €60 per head.
Choose from starters such as partridge terrine, salmon pastrami or Jerusalem artichoke risotto with black Alba truffles & hazelnuts.
Mains include hay-smoked turkey, parsnip and pistachio dukkha, beef fillet with truffle Yorkshire pudding or grey meagre with prawn tempura.
To look at the full menu, click here!
2. Castelletti Restaurant,Rabat
Castelletti are taking the festive season very seriously by offering a decadent Christmas lunch menu at €45.
You can expect starters such as roasted cauliflower & chickpea soup, beef carpaccio or baby octopus. For the middle course, you’ll be treated to a risotto with scallops and local prawns.
Mains will come in the form of a well-prepared salmon, beef or turkey dish.
They also have a Christmas afternoon tea and various Christmas menus specifically for larger groups!
The full deets can be found here.
3. Hammett’s Maċina, Isla
Hammett’s are serving up a five-course tasting menu for Christmas eve (€60pp) and a glorious three-course set menu for Christmas day (yay)!
The tasting menu features a salmon amuse bouche, scallops and pasta for starters, a lamb or beef fillet as the main course and a chocolate parfait for dinner.
You’ll have around four options to choose from for each course on the Christmas Day menu which is priced at €50 per person.
4. Risette, Valletta
The festive menus (yes, plural) at this informal but highly fine dining restaurant have a lot to offer.
Choose from the Gold (€60), Silver (€75) or Platinum (€100) menu. They also give you the option to customise your own menu for those foodies who want to be in control!
5. Diar il-Bniet, Ħad-Dingli
The home-cooked style Christmas Day lunch at Diar il-Bniet is priced at €50 and includes homemade mulled wine.
Roasted fennela and chestnut soup, ravioli filled with sheep cheese, ricotta and spinach, or pork, chicken and liver terrine are the starter options.
Stuffed homegrown turkey served with cranberry sauce, braised beef belly and sea bream fillets (rolled and filled with prawns) are what on offer for mains.
6. Tarragon, St Paul’s Bay
Now unless you’ve been living under a rock (not on it), then you definitely would have heard of the super romantic fine dining eatery called Tarragon.
For Christmas lunch, they want guests to enjoy a luxury set menu (€70) which includes an amuse bouche, four options for starters and four options for mains, plus a dessert.
You can view the decadent menu here.
7. One80 Kitchen & Lounge, Mellieħa
We’re sure you’ll love the Christmas Day Lunch menu at One80.
There’ll be plenty of starters to share and mains like pan-fried brown meagre, duck breast flavoured with cinnamon and cardamom, rib-eye of beef or truffle butter pumpkin.
8. The Phoenicia, Floriana
Both restaurants at The Phoenicia Hotel (The Phoenix and Cafe Phoenicia) are offering various festive menus for Xmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day!
The list is pretty vast so you better check them all out here and see which one suits you best!
9. The Village Kitchen, Naxxar
The Village Kitchen’s festive menu is as impressive as they get.
Starters? How about fig tart with foie gras, asparagus & salmon salad with truffle shavings and homemade rabbit terrine.
Mains? Pick from turkey roulade, wild boar and much more!
10. Quadro, St Julian’s
Looking for something extra special this Christmas?
Then head on over to Quadro Restaurant for their traditional yet creative Christmas Day lunch menu priced at only €55 per head.
11. U&Co Social Cafe, St Julian’s
The food at U&Co is seriously good! They are offering two Christmas menus for less than €30 per person and I can guarantee that it’ll be tasty.
You can view the menus here.
12. Loveage Bistro, Qawra
Give some love to the Christmas Day lunch menu at Lovage this year.
They have orchestrated a moreish menu which features an option of starters such as risotto with black truffles & Casutin cheese, beef carpaccio or baked sheep’s cheese.
Breaded turkey breast, ribeye, brown meagre fillet or duck’s breast is what you can expect for mains.
And of course your Just Desserts!
13. AX The Palace, Sliema
I don’t usually associate buffets with luxury or special occasions but that might change now that I’ve read what AX The Palace are offering for their Christmas Day buffet lunch.
Eat a long list of dishes such as selection of antipasti including prawns, meat platters, pâtés, raised game pies and terrines. Guinea fowl velouté, finished with truffle oiler Mediterranean langoustine bisque with Red Leicester cheddar croutes
The stars of the show are from the carvery – a traditional roast turkey with trimmings & cranberry sauce and a beef wellington served with green peppercorn jus.
14. de Mondion Restaurant, Mdina
Celebrate your festive season at the super posh de Mondion Restaurant? Why?
They’re dishing out two menus – one for Christmas eve dinner and the other for Christmas day lunch.
We’re especially liking the sound of the Christmas eve dinner which entails scallops, game confit, beef fillet, capon breast, lamb shoulder, pork neck and poached grouper.
Hell yes!
15. Barracuda Restaurant, St Julian’s
This chic and trendy eatery are offering and equally chic menu for Christmas lunch.
You and your loved ones will be treated to six courses priced at €48.50 which include an amuse bouche of seared scallop, butternut squash and chestnut velouté, scallop & prawn ravioli, salmon fillet or beef short rib and then dessert.
16. Haywharf, Floriana
The popular seafront joint’s Christmas Day lunch will be tantalising guests with apple & parsnips soup, cheese soufflé, butternut squash & pulled pork risotto as starter options and for mains; honey roasted turkey, pork fillet, beef entrecôte or Norwegian Salmon. Plus dessert.
Priced at €50.
17. Gululu Kcina Maltija, St Julian’s
Enjoy a festive meal with a Maltese twist with Gululu’s €30 menu.
Share Maltese dishes such as fritturi tal-Qarabali (marrow fritters), Fritturi tat- Tisfija (fritters of very small, transparent fish), turkey meat with goat’s cheese & fig chutney, turkey thighs with Maltese sausage, walnut & prune stuffing.
And tons more.
18. Le Bistro, St Julian’s
Le Bistro have devised a special menu just for the festive periods to suit all tastes.
Salt cod raviolotti, spicy pork sausage risotto, roasted grouper and rib eye are what to expect.
19. Bottegin Palazzo Xara, Rabat
Their €38 per person Christmas day lunch menu is short and sweet. They’re offering three courses. Feast on cauliflower & chestnut soup, smoked salmon or forest mushroom risotto as starters.
Mains include honey roasted duck breast, pork collar, pan-fried cod or stuffed butternut squash for veggies.
A Christmas pudding will feature on the dessert menu.