Throw a euro coin anywhere on the Maltese islands and you’re bound to hit a restaurant, bar, hip joint, take away outlet or a trendy lounge club.  New eateries seem to be opening every day – no space is too small, no location too inconvenient. A vegan beer on a weekday morning? There’s a place for that. Dumplings midday on a Saturday? Bring it on. But, it wasn’t always this way. Back in the day, choice was limited and places to eat out were confined mainly to the capital or to the nerve-centres of the island. And, while the quality varied, memories have a habit of spitting out the bad parts to leave us only with the lingering taste of joy and (perhaps) more innocent times. 

1. Wimpy's, Gzira Seafront

Before the days of McDonald's, Burger King or KFC, fast food back in the '80s did not get much more cosmopolitan than Wimpy's, perched on Gzira seafront and the go-to joint for a quick meal with the family. Its red livery made many a five-year-old beam, but it’s the mixed grill which often became a favourite with the older kids. Today, the fry-up would probably be banned, but back then, nobody worried too much about all that.

2. Still Alive, Valletta

Everything used to be covered in flour: the cook’s table top, pockmarked with fresh ravioli, waiting to be scooped up and cooked for the next customer; the air, thick with white dust, like a ghost of food-gone-by and the maker’s quick hands, always ready to prepare the next batch. A heady atmosphere reigned at Still Alive in Valletta, where many families and shop workers used to stop for Saturday lunches. Fresh ravjul biz-zalza ta’ tadam (ravioli with tomato sauce) was always the order of the day – whatever day it was. 

3. Central Bar, Valletta

On the site of the old Victory Kitchen, used during the Second World War to cook and feed the besieged islanders, Central Bar became a hub for a different type of regular: the lawyer. Before the current court house opened in 1971, cases used to be heard and discussed at the top of Merchant’s Street, in the Auberge D’Italie (now being renovated to host MUZA, Malta’s new museum for art), just a stone’s throw away from this café. Tea, coffee, bread and pastizzi would be accompanied by heated discussions, familiar friends and old colleagues. 

4. The Britannia Restaurant, Valletta

Timpana, fish and chips, ravioli, mushrooms on toast, spaghetti with tomato sauce: these are just some of the offerings served by this underground eatery, with a menu which seemed to delight in the Maltese amalgamation of Italianate and British influences. Its timpana - that weighty baked pasta dish served with a crusty pastry topping (not for no-carb days) - was legendary. But, those who remember the heyday of this underground eatery more-readily recall its bustling vibe, its nimble service which never failed to impress, and the romantic hook-ups which took place in its belly. 

5. Villa Mare, Bugibba

The taste of a fondly-remembered sweet or dessert is like a childhood friendship: innocent, pure and never forgotten. The tiramisu at the Villa Mare in Bugibba is one of these. Reader, I’ve spent a lifetime trying to find that creamy flavour, scooping up the sweet in cafes all over the island, and in cities like Rome and Budapest (where I found a version which most closely resembled my memory of the taste). This restaurant, owned by an Italian-British couple, was a firm favourite for those familiar with the main square of Bugibba. The long bar and deep dining room may be long gone – replaced, insultingly, by a popular fast-food chain – but we’ll always have the love of that tiramisu. 

Main image: Sarah Micallef

Which do you remember visiting? Can you recall a favourite restaurant which is no longer with us?