Maltese Street Food — From Pastizzi to Ftira and Beyond
“The complete guide to what Maltese people eat on the street — for pennies”
Maklowicz dedicates an entire scene to pastizzi: "Pastizzi is precisely this — a type of savoury pastry most often filled with either ricotta or green peas." But Maltese street food goes much further.
Pastizzi — King of the Street (€0.50)
Crispy filo pastry in a diamond shape, filled with ricotta (pastizzi tal-irkotta) or peas (pastizzi tal-piżelli). Sold in "pastizzeriji" — simple shops open from dawn. Most famous: Crystal Palace in Rabat, Serkin in Rabat, Is-Serkin in Mosta.
Ftira — Gozitan Bread (€3-5)
Round, flat sourdough bread with olive oil, tomatoes, tuna, capers and olives. On Gozo it's an institution — every bakery has its own recipe. On Malta, authentic ftira is harder to find.
Hobż biż-Żejt — The Maltese Sandwich (€2-4)
Literally "bread with oil" — Maltese bread rubbed with tomato, drizzled with olive oil, with tuna, capers, olives. The traditional lunch of workers and fishermen.
Other Street Flavours
- Imqaret — fried pastries with date paste, €1
- Qassatat — pastizzi variant with spinach and anchovies
- Kinnie — bitter-sweet orange and herb drink, €1-2
- Cisk — Maltese beer, €2-3 at a bar
In Malta you can eat superbly for €5-10 a day by eating like the locals on the street.