Rubino

A 1906 confectioner's that became a restaurant

Rubino is on Old Bakery Street, the street of the ovens, near St John's Co-Cathedral. It opened in 1906 as a confectioner's and Sicilian restaurant and has kept its period interior: a small, intimate room that feels more like a house than a dining room. The Michelin Guide lists it in Valletta with a Bib Gourmand, its distinction for eating well at a reasonable price, and the house says it has held it for seven years in a row.

The cooking is Maltese and Italian, traditional and generous, and the menu changes with the season: the dishes of the day are written on a blackboard, and the owner usually recommends what to order, especially to first-timers.

What to order

The dish the house is known for is fenek moqli: rabbit stewed in red wine with a bittersweet finish, Rubino's version of the Maltese national dish. On the sample menu published on the website:

• Starters and pasta: Gozo asparagus in season, house-smoked octopus on carrot purée, spaghetti with bottarga (€22 / €26), orecchiette with Maltese sausage and 'nduja (€17 / €21) or rosemary risotto (€17 / €21), in half or full portion.
• Mains: beef tagliata, pork fillet with honey and thyme, braised lamb (haruf brasato), bone-in veal Milanese, sea bass involtini with pine nuts and mint, red mullet en papillote (gurbell al cartoccio) and grilled squid, the last two at market price.
• Desserts: the Sicilian cassata, which ties in with its confectioner's origin, white chocolate cheesecake, lemon sorbet, panna cotta, crema catalana.

They have a list of Maltese and foreign wines chosen for the house cooking. The Michelin Guide gives it a price of two symbols out of four; the fish at market price should be asked about before ordering.

Opening hours and booking

Open Monday to Friday at midday (12:30 to 14:30) and Monday to Saturday in the evening (19:00 to 22:30). Closed on Sunday, and on Saturday it serves dinner only. The room is small: book by phone on +356 2122 4656 or by email. It has air conditioning and accepts cards.