Malta Food - The Grand Finale Of The Best Pastizzi In Malta And Gozo

For all you pastizzi lovers out there, and for those of you who have been following our quest to find the best pastizzi in Malta and Gozo… it’s sad to say that this is the grand finale.

And, in this blog post we reveal who we believe has the best pastizzi in Malta and Gozo. Yet, before we announce the top rankers and winner, here is the last batch of pastizzerias on our travels.

So, let’s get right into our pastizzi tastings around Malta and Gozo…

Jeff’s Pastizzeria

Address: 99, 91 Merchants Street, Valletta, Malta

Price: 0.50 Euro each

So, nearby our accommodation at Casa Zoe in Valleta, was Jeff’s Pastizzeria. And, of course we had to try their pastizzis!

Yet, when we got our pastizzis, the cheese ones looked burnt…

And, although the pastry was flaky, it made the flavor average because they were burnt. So, the pea pastizzi was OK, yet we found that the ones in Cospicua were better.

Plus, the sizes of the pastizzis at Jeff’s Pastizzeria were smaller in size compared to others.

So, unfortunately the pastizzis as Jeff’s in Valletta didn’t rate high on our list.

The Original Sphinx

Address: St Anne Street, Floriana, Malta

Price: 0.40 Euro each

So, while Paul and I were on our self-guided walking tour of Floriana… we wandered down one of the main roads, which was St Anne Street. And, to our delight we saw a sign for The Original Sphinx.

To find out more about our self-guided walking tour of Floriana, CLICK HERE.

Now, we’ve had some absolutely delicious pastizzis, at the different Sphinx pastizzerias around Malta. Thus, we did have high expectations.

So, we patiently waited for a cute old couple, who looked like they were going to buy all the pastitzzis! Yet, thankfully there were enough left for us…

And, after we bought our usual pea and ricotta pastizzis, we sat outside Sphinx at their tables to chow down.

So, the sizes were decent and the cheese pastizzi was tasty, with the yummy flaky pastry. Then, when we took a huge mouthful of the pea pastizzi… it had a robust curry flavor, which was delicious!

So, it was a thumbs up for The Original Sphinx in Floriana, like the others we’d had.

Champs Pastizzeria

Address: 64 St George’s Road, St Julian’s, Malta

Price: 0.40 Euro each

After Paul and I had some drinks in St Julians and Paceville, we weren’t feeling like having a big meal. And, we were hoping that there would be somewhere that still had pastizzis, as it was about 10pm.

Then, our pastizzi radars must have been calling out, as we found Champ Pastizzeria…

Plus, they had some pastizzis left! So, they looked like decent sizes, yet they weren’t hot and barely lukewarm.

There was very little pea filling, which was disappointing. And, although they were salty they tasted OK but not great.

So, after having the pea pastizzis I didn’t have high expectations for the ricotta ones. Yet, at least there was more filling in the ricotta pastizzis, although it was a milder tasting cheese.

Plus, the pastry lacked the rich buttery flavor too… that we’ve been accustomed to on our travels to find the best pastizzi in Malta. And, the pastry was chewy to eat through.

So, we have had pastizzis at another Champs which was in Sliema, which were better.

Yet, we did go there late at night, which we were surprised to see a pastizzeria open in the first place. So, we wondered if the batch that we had were from maybe the afternoon or dare we say, the morning!

Good To Go Cafe

Address: Cirkewwa Ferry Terminal, Melieha, Malta

Price: 0.50 Euro each

As Paul and I had a long wait for the ferry to Gozo, I was feeling puckish. So, at the Good To Go Café in the ferry terminal, I saw that they had pastizzis.

Now, the pastry was different to every other pastizzi we’d had, but I was curious to try them. Plus, they were bigger than all the others. But sometimes size doesn’t matter as the taste is what counts…

Then, as I took my first big mouthful of the ricotta pastizzi, all I could taste was pastry. And, the pastry had a chewy-like texture which didn’t appeal to me. Then, as I kept taking more mouthfuls there was hardly any ricotta…

So to me, it was about 85% pastry and 15% ricotta!

Then, as I tried the pea pastizzi it also had a lot of pastry, with a few dollops of pea filling. Furthermore, the flavors for both pastizzis were average, which was a let down.

And in fact, this was the first time in our search for the best pastizzi in Malta and Gozo… that I didn’t want to finish them off.

Bellusa Cafe

Address: Pjazza l-Indipendenza, Victoria, Gozo

Price: 0.50 Euro each

While we were on a back streets tour of Victoria in Gozo, we ended up in It Tokk Square. And, there were lots of people in this little pjazza, yet we took some seats at a snack shop called, Bellusa.

So, the staff were flat out but not long after taking we got our ricotta and pea pastizzis… along with some cold beers!

And, the size of them were average, yet the curry was yummy and the pastry was crispy, delicious and flaky. Even so, it was slightly overcooked as you can see from the photos.

So, the cheese in the ricotta pastizzi was creamy and nice… but not really salty as we generally prefer. Plus, the pastizzis were served on a plate on top of a napkin.

So, it soaked up the grease from the pastizzis and we couldn’t use them to wipe our hands!

Ekxa Kiosk

Address: Marsalforn Bay, Gozo

Price: 0.50 Euro each

On our first morning in Marsalforn, we had to try and find a place that sold pastizzis, of course!

And, it didn’t take us long to find this place, which was smack bang in the middle of Marsalforn Bay…

Then, we took a seat at one of the outdoor tables and when we got the pastizzis we were shocked! The size of the pastizzis were one of the largest we’d tried. Plus, they looked very appetizing!

And, as we bit into the pastry it was very crispy and flaky, and we were making a mess all over the table!

Even the big dog on the next table turned around and he found some new best friends… as his nose was sniffing the pastizzis.

Yet, while the pastizzis were big tasted fine… the flavours were quite mild for our liking. But, big thumbs up for the size.

Kenn Il-Bajja

Address: Marsalforn Bay, Gozo

Price: 0.50 Euro each

Paul and I took a stroll around Marsalforn Bay one morning, and tucked away in the corner was this pastizzeria…

And, as we looked through the glass cabinet they were almost sold out. So, like our usual routine we got some ricotta and pea pastizzis.

Yet, they were both average tasting, and not so flavorsome, even the pastry. And, if you want to get some pastizzis from here… you’ll need to get here early morning as they run out quickly!

But for us, we wouldn’t come back again, unless we were desperate.

Sorry that we don’t have any photos of the pastizzis… as we’d forgotten to them! Our bad.

Golden Pastizzeria

Address: Calypso, Gozo

Price: 0.50 Euro each

Paul and I decided to take a long walk from Marsalforn to get to Ramla Bay. Yet, along the way we saw a sign to the Calypso Caves. So, we ended up taking a detour before getting to Ramla Bay.

Then, while we were in the Calypso Caves area, we saw this little pastizzi truck…

And, outside the front surrounding the truck… we saw some elderly gentleman on chairs having a chin wag.

So, we decided we had to stop by and get our usual pea and ricotta pastizzis. Then, while we noticed that the size of the pastizzis were big…

Yet, it was unfortunate that the pastry was dry, and they lacked flavor.

Yet, in saying that it was late in the afternoon… so for all we know they could’ve been the morning’s batch!

Even so, it was a great opportunity to sit on a bench, have our pastizzis… and enjoy the amazing view.

D Snacks

Address: 8th September 2005 Avenue, Xaghra, Gozo

Price: 0.40 Euro each

After Paul and I went to see the Ggantija Temples and the Ta Kola Windmill… we decided to check out the town square of Xewkija.

And, while it was eerily quiet, before reaching the centre of town we saw this pastizzeria…

So, by this stage I was ravenous and getting hangry, and this was only mid-morning! Thus, luckily for Paul we found this snack shop. Then, as we looked through their glass cabinet we were searching for pastizzis.

But, there were only 2 ricotta pastizzis left… and if we wanted the pea pastizzis we had to wait another 20 minutes.

So, without hesitation we got the 2 last ricotta pastizzis. And, they hit the spot with their flaky pastry where I made a massive mess. Yet, for us the ricotta was nice but it was very subtle flavor.

So, to kill some time we walked to the cute local church and had a look inside…

But, 20 minutes hadn’t passed, yet we wandered back to the snack shop anyway. And, there was a huge fresh batch of pea pastizzis!

So, similar to the ricotta pastizzis, the size of the pea ones were large. And, while the flavor was good and salty… it didn’t have a big curry flavor from others we’d tried.

So, that was the last of the pastizzerias we tried on our quest, to find the best pastizzi in Malta and Gozo.

And, after 30 places, we had over 120 pastizzis between us! Now, that’s a truck load of pastizzis, right? So, needless to say our waistlines grew a little… LOL!

Thankfully, on our travels through Malta and Gozo… we did lots of walking to burn those calories off.

So Who Made The Shortlist For The Best Pastizzi In Malta?

So, there were several pastizzerias that were high on our list, for the best pastizzi in Malta. Yet, on our shortlist of the top rankers included…

Sphinx Pastizzeria in Sliema, Malta

Roger’s Bakery & Pastizzeria, in Żejtun, Malta

Crystal Palace in Rabat, Malta

Pie Master in Floriana, Malta

No contenders from Gozo

So, as you can see from the list, none of the places where we had pastizzis in Gozo made it to our shortlist.

Plus, it was difficult to decide who would be crowned as the winner… because Paul and I had a few differing opinions about the pastizzi flavors!

Yet, one of the surprise packets for us were the pea pastizzis at Roger’s Bakery. For us, it was delicious and was different because it seemed like to us that there was hint of a cinnamon flavor.

Then on the other hand… Sphinx in Sliema had a robust curry flavor in their pea pastizzis, which we thought were incredible.

And, the Pie Master in Floriana was a surprise packet for us with it’s salty, yummy ricotta pastizzis. Plus, the pastry of the pastizzis were tasty and flaky.

Then, when we went to Crystal Palace the aroma coming from the ovens smelt so good. It was such a busy place with lots of people tucking into their pastizzis.

And, the sizes of their pastizzis were big… with generous amounts of filling for both the pea and ricotta pastizzis. Plus, the flavors were outstanding. So, we could understand why so many people rated the pastizzis at Crystal Palace highly.

Yet, from our perspective, in third place for the best pastizzi in Malta… this goes to Sphinx Pastizzeria in Sliema. And, not only are their pastizzis great… it’s close to the waterfront so we could enjoy beautiful ocean views and scenery.

Then, in second place was the Pie Master in Floriana. With their rich, robust flavors and delicious, flaky pastry we went there a few times when we were in the area.

The Winner Of The Best Pastizzi In Malta…

And now, imagine the drumroll as we announce the winner of the best pastizzi in Malta is…

Crystal Palace in Rabat, Malta!

So, with the buttery, flaky pastry, generous sizes and to die for flavors… their pastizzis just edged out the Pie Master.

So, we do have to agree with many others that Crystal Palace has the best pastizzi in Malta.

And, we hope that through our blog posts… we’ve given you a guide of where to try some pastizzis when you’re on your travels in Malta and Gozo. Yet, everyone has different likes when it comes to food and flavors.

Thus, while you’re trying pastizzis, you may find it different to us. So, who do you think has the best pastizzi in Malta and Gozo?