Quantity vs Quality on the Malta Restaurant Scene

The last head count of eateries in Malta has circa 2,700 licensed with Visit Malta and an additional 700 with the Trade Licensing Unit.

The latest population statistics in Malta state that we have a population of over 562,000 people.

Malta and Gozo have one catering establishment for every 165 people. Though today we shall not be delving into whether we have an over saturation of diners in the Maltese archipelago, but rather we shall compare today’s overpopulated dining industry to that of twenty years ago, from a quality perspective.

Two decades ago, many local travellers, when abroad, reported unique culinary experiences that were unmatched on the local scene. Back then one had to travel overseas to acknowledge the existence of a perfect mix of unique ambience, innovative dishes and top service standards. When taking into consideration how overpopulated the local restaurant industry is, one must also appreciate that the ‘competition is healthy syndrome’ has really raised the bar.

The pika (competitive edge) as we say in Maltese, or Chef Patron ego, showing off as to whose establishment is the more creative, offers the better value, menu versatility and fusion of flavours to be the more unique in comparison to competing eateries, has placed Malta on a level playing field with our foreign counterparts.

To go a step further many holiday makers are rather disappointed, that in some instances their culinary experience ends up being inferior to what we have been accustomed to back home.

A few years back, the MICHELIN Guide came to town, and we are proud to say that we have 40 restaurants who have made it on this Guide, six establishments obtaining one-star-status, and one a two-star rating. ACE believes that there are so many other catering establishments that ought to be on this famous Guide, a conservative overview would estimate that at least 150 eateries should be making this list in a very short span of time.

ACE will not mention specific diners that all are very aware of so as not to have a biassed opinion, but it would be very fair to say that locals do not need to travel abroad to satisfy their culinary appetite as many of our Maltese-owned high-end establishments, are practically a stone throw away from our homes.

As mentioned above–there are three and a half thousand establishments of which probably two thirds share a copy and paste menu of pizza, pasta, burgers and grills trying to be everything for everyone, some of which having an over congested 100 items’ menu.

As in any country, some locations might happen to be the prolific tourist traps, where one might need to be more selective in making sure they opt for the creme de la crème of local diners.

The remaining third are a mix of Asian cuisine, which is proving to be extremely popular, namely, the sushi and Indian places, Baltic cuisine has also become rather popular, as are the ever so many Turkish kebab eateries all over the country. One may notice an increase of traditional Maltese restaurants spreading beyond the known Mgarr village, of which there is quite a large concentration.

Marsaxlokk being the famous fishing village, is populated with fresh fish side-by-side-restaurants, where it is practically a tourists’ dream to feast on the day’s fresh catch, while seated a foot away from the Mediterranean coastline, inhaling the same sea breeze, from where the fresh catch was boated in from.

This same experience has been exported outside Marsaxlokk to the Three Cities, Senglea and Birgu Waterfront for example, as well as Marsalforn and Xlendi in Gozo, plus so many other seaside destinations.

It is our firm belief at ACE, that restaurants’ quality and experience levels in Malta have upgraded their status to such a high extent that one can honestly state that Maltese eateries can compare with any of our neighbouring countries, such as Italy, France and other Mediterranean countries.