Sunny tour of Michelin Star restaurants in Malta

Under Grain is a fine dining Michelin-starred restaurant in the Rosselli Hotel in Valletta. It serves typical French cuisine that has been reinvented into contemporary works of art by combining the freshest premium ingredients. Under Grain features an intimate and luxurious atmosphere that looks like a tailor-made shop with leather sofas, wooden furniture, and gray color tones.

The kitchen is managed by renowned chef, Victor Borg, who steered Under Grain to Michelin-star success in the year 2020, a mere five months from its opening. Chef Borg has worked at Gordon Ramsay’s world-famous Aubergine in London and at Bagatelle, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Oslo, where he gained most of his culinary experience. You can enjoy an exclusive luncheon or visit the restaurant for dinner and choose between the a la carte or 4-course tasting menus, complete with wine pairings.

Some of the delicacies that you can enjoy at Under Grain are crispy pig ears with tarragon, linguine pasta with cacio e pepe sauce, risotto with pumpkin and sage, grilled rib-eye of black Angus beef with onion mushroom sauce, and roasted dorado fish with olives and capers. In desserts, you can relish dishes such as candied walnut beignet with coconut yogurt emulsion and lemon meringue tart with olive oil and thyme ice cream.

Luncheon Express – €25
4-course Tasting Menu – €65

ION-The Harbour is set on the 4th floor of the luxury Iniala Harbour Hotel House, which overlooks the Grand Harbour. This Michelin-starred restaurant received its title only 6 months after opening. ION strikes the perfect balance between the ancient and the modern culinary traditions, just like the city it resides in. You can enjoy Mediterranean cuisine made with the magnificent view over the Grand Harbour as your backdrop.

The kitchen has Chef Alex Dilling at its helm, who has trained under famous French chef, Alain Ducasse, in New York. The serene ambience of the establishment is created with marbled flooring and rich-colored natural wooden furnishings. Some of the tables offer a glimpse of the open kitchen, so the guests can experience the symphony of flavors during their creation.

Besides the a la carte menu, they also offer a chef’s special tasting menu that changes according to the seasonal ingredients. You can indulge in creative dishes such as foie gras with sherry vinegar, venison with red cabbage and juniper berries, barbequed sea bass in a seaweed beurre blanc sauce, and smoked oysters with Kaluga caviar. If you have a sweet tooth, do not miss out on the opportunity to try their special Sicilian hazelnut cake with Madagascar vanilla ice cream and sheep’s milk yogurt with Amalfi lemon. 

Chef’s Special tasting Menu – €135

Noni is a Michelin-starred restaurant located on Republic Street in Valletta, an address that has been synonymous with food, hospitality, and entertainment for more than 250 years. It is a coveted dining establishment known for its welcoming atmosphere, making it easy to relax in its intimate and warm environment. Noni is an ideal place for a romantic date night and family-style dinners.

It offers a concise menu that features a modern approach to traditional Maltese and Mediterranean cuisine made of seasonal ingredients. They also have a private dining room in a stone-walled cellar with fine Italian and Maltese wines to choose from to accompany your meal. The restaurant’s moniker comes from the nickname of the owner and chef, Jonathan Brincat. The front of the house is handled by his sister and business partner, Ritienne, who has spent 12 years working in the high-end food and beverage sector.

Noni features 3, 4, and 7-course menus with an optional wine pairing where you can relish dishes such as ravioli with saffron and black cardamom, pork neck with apple and onion in a mustard sauce, cured sea bass with fennel and mandarin, roasted Irish lamb with broccoli and olive fricassee, and wreckfish with mussels in a brown butter sauce. 

3-course Menu – €85
4-course Menu – €105
Chef’s Tasting Menu – €125
Wine Pairing – €75

Bahia restaurant is named after the prestigious navel orange which is grown in the region of Malta, and a preserved orange tree sits at the center of one of the dining rooms. Located on the first floor of the elegant Corinthia Palace Hotel, this restaurant offers its guests a unique dining experience which is the brainchild of the talented chef, Tyrone Mizzi.

The interiors of the restaurant are bright, elegant, and incredibly comfortable with a homely atmosphere that resembles a trattoria in Italy. There are 3 types of menus for guests to choose from. The “Past” takes you back in time with sophisticated dishes inspired by various periods in Maltese history, such as the Stone Age and Roman times. The “Future” allows diners to explore new and sometimes daring combinations of flavors which push boundaries. The “Present” is a seasonally changing menu that focuses on local ingredients delivered in a contemporary style.

Some of the authentic dishes you get to explore at Bahia are slow-cooked potatoes with seaweed dashi and dill, beef cheek with spinach, smoked celeriac and egg yolk confit in braising juices, rabbit with autumn black truffles in chicken stock, and charred local red prawn in a caper berry mustard sauce. The sweet desserts are also a reflection of the unique menu with dishes such as chocolate mousse with almond cream and orange ice cream and vanilla rice pudding with blueberry and yuzu sorbet.

Future Menu – €120
Past Menu – €90
Present Menu – €90
Wine Pairing – €60

De Mondion is an elegant and intimate fine-dining restaurant situated on the top floor of the luxurious Xara Palace Hotel in the walled city of Mdina, Malta. If you are visiting De Mondion in summer, a table on the terrace is a must, to enjoy the stunning views of the island. The interiors of the dining room have been designed in a minimalistic and precise way, to create a very cozy and airy atmosphere.

De Mondion’s kitchen is run by Chef Kevin Bonello and his team, who have created a menu with refined Mediterranean flavors so as to highlight the local ingredients. The place features a tasting menu that changes based on seasonal ingredients and an a la carte menu. The modern and creative dishes you can enjoy at De Mondion are risotto with saffron, foie gras with miso, veal sweetbreads with anchovy and truffles, beef filet with red beetroot and oxtail, pan-fried red snapper with shiitake mushroom, and cuttlefish tagliatelle with sea urchin.

You can also treat yourself to some great quality vintage wines from their impressive wine list. Combine the award-winning food with the panoramic view and professional service, and you will get an unforgettable gastronomic experience.

7-course Tasting Menu – €115
Wine Pairing – €75

Malta packs a lot of glorious attractions into its small archipelago. You will find prehistoric temples, fossil-studded cliffs, hidden coves, island lagoons, and dreamy beaches to explore in this great island country. Due to its unspoiled nature, quiet coastline, and ancient artifacts, Malta has been used as a film location shoot for many movie productions such as Gladiator, Troy, Captain Phillips, and Game of Thrones, to name a few. Malta’s food is one of the most diverse cuisines you can find in the Mediterranean region.

Have you ever tried any Maltese dishes? Share your experience with other foodies in the comment section below.