Editorial
The best bars in Malta are hiding in plain sight — tucked beneath the limestone arches of Valletta's Republic Street, spilling onto terraces above the Grand Harbour, and occupying converted churches in the Sliema marina. We have spent considerable time on this island, and what follows is the only guide you need for a proper night out.
Valletta is a Baroque city packed onto a narrow peninsula, which means its best bars are steps apart and wildly different in character. The old city rewards exploration: duck down any side street after 9pm and you will find something worth stopping for.
Cross the ferry from Valletta's Marsamxett Harbour and the island shifts gear entirely. Sliema's seafront promenade and St Julian's' Spinola Bay have a more international feel — cocktail bars with terraces, late-opening clubs, and the kind of wine list that competes with anywhere in southern Europe.
The sister island of Gozo has a bar scene that most visitors never discover. The capital Victoria has a small cluster of wine bars around the Citadella walls that are worth the 25-minute ferry crossing, especially in summer when the city empties out and the terrace tables fill up.
Malta punches well above its size for bar quality. The combination of a serious wine culture, a genuinely historic drinking environment, and a year-round warm climate makes it a better bar destination than most visitors expect. Our strongest recommendation: start in Valletta, have one drink at Trabuxu and one at Hammett's Macina, then take the ferry to Birgu and end at BeBirgu. That is the Malta bar evening done properly.
For a wider view of Mediterranean bar culture, our guides to Rome and Athens cover cities with a similar blend of historic bars and serious wine programmes.
Priya covers global cities with a focus on cultural context and provenance. She has been drinking her way through the Mediterranean for a decade and holds strong opinions about which islands take their wine lists seriously.