Malta's New Restaurants Reviewed: TATEL, Anaalā and Al Kasbah Compared
Malta's latest restaurant openings arrive with big names, glossy interiors and confident price tags. But MaltaGuide's anonymous reviews show that only one of the three examined here, TATEL, fully earns the hype.
Each restaurant is scored out of 40, combining food quality (20), atmosphere (10) and service (10), and judged against international fine-dining standards rather than against the softer benchmark of being good for Malta. By those measures TATEL scores 33/40, Anaalā manages 28/40 and Al Kasbah 26/40. The gap is telling: TATEL delivers a polished, entertaining night out; Anaalā has serious problems with its food and value despite excellent service; and Al Kasbah has some genuinely good Lebanese cooking undermined by weak service and an underwhelming room.
Independent review disclosure: These restaurants were visited anonymously and paid for by MaltaGuide. No restaurant has seen or approved this article before publication, and none has paid for coverage or placement. Scores and criticisms are the reviewer's own judgements of the visit described.
The scores at a glance
| Restaurant | Food | Atmosphere | Service | Overall | MaltaGuide verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TATEL, St Julian's | 15/20 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 33/40 | The standout new opening |
| Anaalā, Valletta | 13/20 | 7/10 | 8/10 | 28/40 | Disappointing food concept and portions |
| Al Kasbah, St Julian's | 15/20 | 6/10 | 5/10 | 26/40 | Good mezze, poor execution elsewhere |
Our restaurant guide carries these scores on each venue's page: TATEL at 33/40, Al Kasbah at 26/40, and Anaalā at 28/40.
TATEL, St Julian's: 33/40
Food 15/20 · Atmosphere 9/10 · Service 9/10 · Overall 33/40
TATEL is the clear success of this new wave. The Spanish restaurant in St Julian's, part-owned by Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal and Enrique Iglesias, scores 33/40, with 15/20 for food, 9/10 for atmosphere and 9/10 for service.
What makes TATEL stand out is not merely celebrity backing but the fact that it delivers on the essentials. The tapas drew particular praise: burrata with candied pine nuts and an orange-and-lavender vinaigrette, tuna tartare with egg-yolk confit, crispy aubergine with warm honey sabayon, and fresh king prawns in garlic all impressed.
The mains are less uniformly successful. The black cod is tasty but needs more miso glaze, while the Iberico pork pluma was judged dry and in need of a sauce or jus. Yet these read as refinements rather than fundamental failures: the cooking overall is confident, attractive and largely enjoyable.
TATEL's real advantage is the complete experience. The reviewer describes the service as simply outstanding, with attentive, well-trained staff and effective management visible on the floor. The design is strong, the terrace works well on warm evenings, and even the DJ, often a warning sign in a high-end restaurant, was judged to have pitched the music appropriately.
There are caveats, and they matter. This is an expensive restaurant, the wine list is pricey and several choices were unavailable on the night, and the lively late-night atmosphere will not suit anyone seeking a quiet dinner. But TATEL is transparent about what it is: glamorous, social, polished Spanish dining by St George's Bay. On this evidence it is the new opening most worth booking.
Anaalā, Valletta: 28/40
Food 13/20 · Atmosphere 7/10 · Service 8/10 · Overall 28/40
Anaalā should have been one of Malta's most exciting openings. Perched on the rooftop of Iniala Solis in Valletta, it serves Thai food inspired by four regional traditions under chef Ian Kittichai, with views towards the Grand Harbour. Yet it scores only 28/40, with food at 13/20, atmosphere at 7/10 and service at 8/10.
The central problem is the restaurant's rigid format. Only one of the four regional Thai menus is available on any given night, and diners cannot choose freely across them. The reviewer calls the idea hopeless in practice, arguing that guests will inevitably receive dishes they do not want.
Portions are the second major issue. The €59 menu may initially look reasonable, but the reviewer found the dishes tiny, served in small bowls and saucers rather than as substantial sharing plates, and warns that diners may leave hungry. With only two small main courses, extras from the grill cost an additional €40 each, and the reviewer's bill approached €300.
The food itself also disappoints. The reviewer describes the South Thai menu as excessively spicy, with the chilli-lime sauce on the sea bream overpowering and the beef massaman curry spiced to the point of being inedible, even after milder versions were requested.
There are positives, and they are real. Service is excellent in the Iniala tradition, the cocktails are good and the wine list has some appealing options. But the setting does not rescue the experience: the restaurant is difficult to find, some tables face a wall, and the rooftop view is partly obstructed by the main Iniala building. The reviewer's conclusion is that Anaalā is a disappointing opening: stylish and professionally served, but conceptually restrictive, expensive and unlikely to inspire repeat visits from locals.
Al Kasbah, St Julian's: 26/40
Food 15/20 · Atmosphere 6/10 · Service 5/10 · Overall 26/40
Al Kasbah, at the Hard Rock Hotel in St Julian's, scores 26/40, the lowest of the three. Its food score of 15/20 is respectable, but atmosphere falls to 6/10 and service to just 5/10, and that split tells the story of the evening.
The good news is the Lebanese mezze. The reviewer calls the muhammara, a red pepper dip with walnuts and molasses, utterly delicious and the best dish on the table. Classic dips including moutabal, hummus and baba ghanouj are also well executed. The slow-cooked lamb is a better main-course choice than the small €35 lamb chops, which were criticised for their portion size and described as more like a cocktail appetiser than a main.
Everything around the food lets it down. The reviewer found the interior stark and under-finished, describing it as an upmarket Lebanese restaurant that ran out of money. The terrace is small, the lighting unflattering, and the hotel-tourist clientele adds to the sense that the venue has not developed a distinct identity of its own.
Service is the biggest weakness. The reviewer says there is more work to do here, and criticises a wine list that appears to list bottles the restaurant does not actually stock. After several unavailable choices the reviewer was directed to the bar, where only five whites were available, and the sole Lebanese white cost €160. High wine prices, inconsistent service and an unfinished atmosphere make the otherwise good cooking difficult to recommend at these prices.
The verdict: which one is for you
The three experiences fail and succeed in different ways, so the right choice depends on what you are actually after.
For a celebration or a big night out, TATEL is the obvious pick. It is the only one of the three where food, service and atmosphere all hold up, and the 9/10 service score is what separates it from the other two.
For a special-occasion view with serious cooking, Anaalā is harder to recommend on this evidence. The setting and the service are genuinely good, but a fixed single-region menu, small portions and a bill approaching €300 for two are a lot to accept for food the reviewer found too hot to finish. Go only if the rooftop and the chef's reputation are the point of the evening, and go hungry for that format.
For good mezze without a big occasion, Al Kasbah's cooking justifies a visit on its own: the muhammara and the slow-cooked lamb are worth ordering. But with a 5/10 for service, an atmosphere that reads as unfinished and a wine list that cannot deliver what it prints, it is best treated as an informal meal rather than the upmarket night the prices suggest, and worth budgeting carefully around the drinks.
Malta's new openings show that glamour alone is not enough. TATEL stands out because it combines good food, excellent service and a convincing sense of occasion. Anaalā and Al Kasbah are disappointing for different reasons: Anaalā's fixed menus, tiny portions, extreme heat and high bills undermine a promising Thai concept, while Al Kasbah's strong mezze cannot compensate for poor service, a weak wine list and an unconvincing atmosphere.
If you are booking one of these three new restaurants, the MaltaGuide scores point firmly towards TATEL.
How we score
Every MaltaGuide restaurant review is scored out of 40: food out of 20, atmosphere out of 10 and service out of 10. The scores are the reviewer's assessment of a single anonymous visit and are not adjusted for a restaurant's reputation, its opening buzz or its celebrity backers. You can browse the full set of scored venues in our restaurant guide, or read our guide to where to stay if you are planning a trip around eating out.
