The GF Traveller
Gluten Free Malta
Coeliac friendly Malta
Mar
10
I was very impressed by the gluten free options that many restaurants and cafes in Malta, and specifically the town of Sliema, had to offer. I was very happily surprised to find that many of the eateries in Sliema have gluten free options clearly stated on their menus and not only the usual one or two but lots of things to choose from!!!
Mint's menu board
As I was in Malta to run my first half-marathon I was worried about being glutenated and not being able to run at my best but on wandering around Sliema on our first afternoon in town, menus and signs saying ‘Gluten Free Options Available’ and ‘We serve gluten free food’ filled me with excitement. I started to feel much happier about eating out in the days before the race. We decided to cook dinner on the evening before the race at home just to be 100% safe but most other meals we ate in local restaurants/cafes.
GF section of local supermarket
Maltease supermarkets and even a few small convenience stores stocked gluten free foods, similar to those found in the UK. A couple of Medium sized supermarkets we visited in Sliema had gluten free sections with cereals, breads, pastas, cakes, biscuits and various other treats. Yoghurt has been one of my saviours since becoming gluten free and at home I like to eat Muller Light with rice cakes for dipping (surprisingly yummy!). Since I can’t be certain which yoghurts in other countries are safe I tend to go for natural stuff but the ones I found in Malta looked as though they had added ingredients that I wasn’t sure of and I couldn’t understand what I was reading enough to risk it. Luckily I found they stocked my Muller Light! 1.09 Euros for one tub…crazy but at least I knew they were safe!
There are lots of small convenience and fruit stores as well as a large number of fruit and vegetable vans all over Malta so finding fresh fruit is very simple!
Gluten Free eatery Highlights (all of which can be found on Tower Road, Sliema):
Mint – This small cafe has a fantastic selection of both savoury and sweet gluten free dishes. We went here for lunch on our first day in Sliema and returned after the half-marathon to fill out hungry tummies. Every day the cafe has 4 or 5 savoury dishes on offer and they are
Mint's tuna and potato pie
delicious. I tried their tuna and potato pie with creamy bechamel sauce and their potato and chorizo gratin. Both dishes came with a salad and dressing which, as I was getting ready to ask, the waitress confirmed was gluten free. Dessert wise, they again had 5 or 6 different gluten free options, which all looked amazing..there was choco-coconut brownies,
Chorizo and potato gratin
cookies and flourless cake. I tried their dried fruit, chocolate and coconut brownie which was ridiculously good! Savouries ranged from 4-7 euros and desserts were 1.50-3 euros. Good value for money and a great selection for coeliacs!
Kara’s Cafe – A busy cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating, which sells various snacks, sandwiches, drinks, desserts, smoothies, yogurt and alcohol. There weren’t a whole lot of gluten free options on the menu but a variety of their sandwiches (toast with jam, ham and cheese, egg mayo, chicken and tomato, salmon, prawn mayo and the club house) can be made gluten free at an extra cost of 1.15 euros. Their fruit smoothies are pretty good too. They do 5 different mixes at 4 euros each. 100% fruit so 100% gluten free!
The Kitchen – A restaurant serving some interesting, unique dishes, quite a few of which are gluten free (these are marked by stars on the menu). I had carmelised risotto with cheese and brazil nut powder. Pretty tasty but a little expensive. If you’re willing to spend a wee bit more for a nice meal then you will find some good gluten free choices here.
Frescos – I didn’t eat at Fresco’s as they had stopped serving when we were hungry but their menu has a few gluten free options which sounded good. Their menu also states that they can prepare their pasta dishes gluten free – this gluten free pasta, which they say is prepared seperately, is 1 euro extra and takes 20 minutes.
The long weekend we spent in Malta was a gluten free success! Any Coeliacs travelling to Malta, and specifically Sliema, need not worry about a lack of safe places to eat. Although we did all of our eating in the pretty town of Sliema, we visited some other towns that also had gluten free options on their menus. Sliema however was the most Coeliac friendly.
John and I at the end of our first half-marathon
Our first half-marathon was fantastic and we finished in 2 hours 9 minutes. It was a beautiful run across Malta 
Gluten Free running in Malta
Jan
27
Next month I’m heading to Malta to run my first half-marathon. Staying gluten free is hard enough when travelling to a new place but I’m going to need all of my energy for this race and glutenation could stop me from finishing in my best time. I’ve been doing lots of training so I want to run the best 22K that I can! We’re spending 4 days in Malta (the 3rd of which is the race) so hopefully I’ll be able to find lots of places to eat gluten free. I’ve got my fingers crossed on finding somewhere to get a big bowl of gluten free carbs the night before my race! As a runner, eating carbs is important for gaining the energy needed for running but unfortunately many of the carb filled meals I was eating the night before a race before being diagnosed had been full of gluten (which now explains why I always felt so bloated whilst running and didn’t feel the energy the meal should have been giving me!)
Coeliacmalta.org lists a number of restaurants in different areas around the country which have ‘indicated to the Coeliac Association of Malta that they can cater for gluten free diets and that their staff are sufficiently knowledgeable on the necessary procedures.’ There appears to be a good selection to try and they list 4 in the town of Sliema where my race ends so I’m certain to be starving for something gluten free when I get there! If there are any Coeliacs out there who have visited Malta and had either a good or bad experience with finding somewhere to eat then please share your stories here.