The Cliffs

The Cliffs is a cafeteria perched on the very edge of the Dingli Cliffs, the highest ground in Malta, with tables looking straight out over the Mediterranean. It is part of The Cliffs Interpretation Centre on Triq Panoramika, a family-owned estate founded in 2011 that pairs food with the ecology and farming of this stretch of coast. Our page on restaurants in Dingli lists the other places to eat in the village.

Baked here, from local produce

Everything starts with the oven: baking happens on site every day, and the kitchen uses Maltese ingredients wherever it can. The fruit for the house jams comes from the island too, so a breakfast croissant arrives with a jar of fig or blood orange preserve, and the cake counter fills with tarts and slices through the day; whatever is made with pistachio is always the first to go. Later on, sharing platters of local cold cuts, olives, capers, beans and dips come out with a glass of wine as the light fades. Come for breakfast, a coffee and something sweet, or a slow lunch facing the sea.

The jams and other produce are sold to take home as well, and the site keeps a database of Dingli's wild food, from greens and herbs to nuts, mushrooms and wild fruit. Its blog has covered the edible snail, a traditional Maltese delicacy, and in summer 2023 the team announced a barbecue menu for Thursdays and Fridays.

The estate and its orchard

The plateaus of the Dingli Cliffs climb to 250 metres above sea level, and for centuries farmers cut the slopes below into stepped terraces to work the thin soil. Lack of water and the difficulty of reaching the lower fields led many to give up in the 1960s. The estate has since brought these fields back into use, with a large underground reservoir collecting rainwater and drip irrigation feeding a new orchard of quince, pomegranate, fig and hawthorn, alongside carob, olive and lentisk trees typical of the wild scrub on the cliffs.

Walking the land, you pass rubble walls built with skills that go back to Arab rule, old stone shelters once used for bird trapping, and caves in the rock face that sheltered locals from pirates and, later, from wartime air raids. Ancient carob trees give shade in the hottest months, and pomegranates and wild poppies grow on the Lower Terraces. The centre also runs guided walks, and seasonal bookings open for the Lower Terraces in July and August.

Opening hours through the year

Hours change with the seasons. In winter, The Cliffs opens every day from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, which suits breakfast or lunch on a clear day. In summer, it opens from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm on weekdays and from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, so weekend mornings and summer sunsets are the times to aim for. If you are combining a visit with the old capital, our Mdina guide and our selection of hotels in Mdina and Rabat cover the area just inland.

Around Dingli and the cliffs

Dingli village sits on a plateau about 230 metres up, 13 km from Valletta and 2 km from Rabat, with the uninhabited islet of Filfla offshore. The highest point in Malta, Ta' Dmejrek at 253 metres, is about 1.8 km away along the cliffs. Inland, Buskett Gardens, about 1.8 km away, is one of the island's few woodlands, 30 hectares in the valley of Wied il-Luq with Verdala Palace on its edge.

History buffs should seek out Misraħ Għar il-Kbir, about 1.6 km away, a web of ancient cart ruts cut into the rock that the archaeologist David Trump nicknamed Clapham Junction after the busy London station. Closer still, the 1646 St Mary Magdalene Chapel, about 600 metres away, stands above the cliffs and is known locally as the chapel of the cliffs.

Getting in touch

Other tables nearby include Diar il-Bniet in Dingli and Castelletti in Rabat, and our page on Maltese and Mediterranean restaurants has more kitchens cooking local food. To ask about a table, a guided walk or anything else, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the restaurant.