MALTA: Two restaurants have been awarded with a Michelin star in Malta bringing the total number of Michelin starred restaurants on the island to 5. Chef Andrew Borg and his team clinched one star for the newly opened ION – The Harbour in Valletta. On the other hand, chef Tyron Mizzi and his team at Bahia in the small village of Lija in the centre of the island is the other new entry.
These restaurants join the existing one star restaurants that retained their star for the second consecutive year. These are De Mondion, Noni and Under Grain.
Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guides said the last year has created enormous challenges for the hospitality industry around the world. “Our hearts go out to all those facing difficulties in these trying times. Our inspectors, like the restaurants themselves, have had to adapt, but we were very pleased that they were able to spend time on the islands and find two new Michelin stars and five new Michelin ‘Plates’ to add to the Guide.
The new ‘Plates’ are The Fork and Cork in Rabat, Chophouse and Fernando Gastrotheque in Sliema, Zest in St Julian’s and Mezzodi in Valletta. The Plate symbol denotes restaurants where you’ll experience ‘fresh ingredients, capably prepared; simply a good meal.”
The three existing Bib Gourmand restaurants all retained their award. These are Terrone, Commando and Rubino.
Five restaurants have also been identified as taking positive steps to work in a more sustainable way and their entries in the guide come with one-line descriptions of these practices. The restaurants highlighted for these practices are The Harbour, Noni, Briju, De Mondion and Tmun in Mgarr.
The second edition of the guide features 31 restaurants spread across the islands of Malta and Gozo.
Read also our observations from last year on why the Michelin Guide is a big deal for Malta.
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