Café · Valletta
Caffe Cordina
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- Price
- €€€€
- Where
- Valletta
Open every day of the year, public holidays too, from 8:00. Closing time is not fully published and in summer it is extended.
A café with almost two centuries of family
Caffe Cordina is the big café on Republic Street, Valletta's pedestrian artery, with a terrace on Republic Square, which many call Queen's Square after the statue of Queen Victoria. The Cordina family began in 1837 in Cospicua, across the Grand Harbour, with a business selling Italian goods door to door. A Second World War bomb closed that shop, and in 1944 Cesare Cordina bought this building, which had belonged to the Casino Maltese club, and opened the café with his brother and a single employee.
They say that in the early fifties they were the first café in Malta with an espresso machine, a Gaggia. Then they grew sideways: they bought the old British pharmacy next door in 1966 and the neighbouring tobacconist's in 1972. In the late sixties they opened a bakery underground where they still make the pastries and traditional sweets. Today more than 130 people work there.
What to order
It is a place for a coffee at any hour, with something sweet or savoury. The ceilings and walls of the room are decorated with paintings the family has gradually restored; inside it is cool in summer. Outside, on the pjazza, there are about 80 tables with parasols that give heat or cool depending on the season.
From the display case, the most ordered are the Sicilian cannoli, pistachio or ricotta, and the Maltese sweets: the honey ring (qagħaq tal-għasel), filled with a dark paste of molasses and spices, and the almond nougat. In the online shop the reference prices are €5.03 for a pistachio cannolo, €4.35 for a ricotta one, €8 for the honey ring and €7 for a bar of nougat. They have a terrace menu with savoury dishes, and the kitchen says it adapts to most diets, without being able to guarantee the absence of allergens.
When to go
Open every day of the year, public holidays included, from 8:00, and in summer it closes later. By mid-morning it fills up with groups coming out of the Grand Master's Palace, right opposite, and St John's Co-Cathedral, two streets away. For a quiet breakfast, go before nine; for an afternoon snack, late in the day, when the cruise ships leave. You pay in cash or by card. For large groups it is best to book on 2065 0400.
What to order: a coffee with a pistachio or ricotta cannolo, or a Maltese sweet from the house such as the honey ring, sitting on the square terrace
Practical details
- Phone
- +356 2065 0400
- Opening hours
- Cuisine
- café, Maltese pastry, Sicilian pastry
House specialities
- Pistachio cannolo
- Ricotta cannolo
- Honey ring (qagħaq tal-għasel)
- Nougat
Tips
- Sit on the square The terrace faces the Grand Master's Palace and the National Library; it is the best place in the city for watching people go by.
- Take sweets away The honey ring and the nougat survive the journey and are also sold to take away.
- Have breakfast early By mid-morning the visitor groups from the palace and the cathedral gather.
Frequently asked questions
Is it open on Sundays?
Yes, every day of the year, public holidays included. On Sundays it closes earlier.
Can you book?
Yes, on 2065 0400, especially for groups.
Do they accept cards?
Yes, cash and the main cards.
Where is it?
At 244 Republic Street, on the square opposite the Grand Master's Palace.
As a family
