Porto Lounge

Porto Lounge stands at Ċirkewwa, the far northern tip of Malta within the limits of Mellieħa, where the island looks across the channel to Comino and Gozo. It is a beach, bar and restaurant in one: a complex above its own private beach, with a terrace and a lounge that both take in Malta, Gozo and Comino. The menu sets out to please everyone, from a plate of fried calamari after a swim to a ribeye at dinner, and the mood is relaxed but polished. Our guide to restaurants in Mellieħa covers the rest of the parish.

Beach, terrace and opening hours

There are two ways to do Porto. You can hire a sunbed and eat lunch or dinner with your toes in the sand, or book a table and make an occasion of it. The two parts keep different hours. The Porto Terrace opens every day from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, while the Porto Restaurant serves from noon to 10:00 pm Sunday to Thursday and until 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. Cocktails are poured from noon to 10:30 pm, seven days a week.

When you book you can ask for a table inside or outside, and booking in advance is recommended to avoid a wait. A packaged sunbed and lunch can be reserved together, which is the simplest way to spend a whole day here. The restaurant's own photographs show rows of sunbeds under white parasols, tables laid within sight of the sand and a blue-tiled oven turning out pizzas, which gives a fair idea of the pace of a day here. Our page on the best beaches in Malta compares other stretches of sand in the north.

Antipasti, dips and focaccia to share

Antipasti cost from €8.95 to €15.95. Squid-ink calamari fried until crisp and served with sriracha mayo cost €14.00, mussels steamed in white wine and tomato €15.95, and Burrata by the Sea, with red and yellow cherry tomatoes, grilled courgette, anchovies and pumpkin seeds, €12.95. Baked aubergine parmigiana is €12.00, barbecue chicken wings with a smoky honey glaze €10.00, and crispy chicken bites with fries €8.95.

The sharing list leans on homemade focaccia. Focaccia bruschetta with diced tomato, basil and garlic, or a plain garlic focaccia with cheese as an option, is €8.50, while the Primavera, with burrata, Parma ham and cherry tomatoes, is €12.00 and the Caprese €12.50. Three dips at €12.50 each come with bread: kefir with local honey, roasted pumpkin with cream cheese, and bigilla, the Maltese bean dip, finished with roasted capers. The Maltese Platter of local cheeses, sausage, dips, olives and sun-dried tomatoes costs €14.00, and a cheese board with seasonal fruit €16.00.

Salads, pasta and risotto

Salads make a light lunch by the water and cost from €14.50 to €18.50. The vegan quinoa bowl with broccoli, French beans and avocado is the cheapest, a grilled chicken and avocado salad and a salmon poke bowl cost €16.00 each, and both the warm octopus with turmeric pearl barley and the beetroot and goat's cheese salad with caramelised walnuts cost €18.50.

Pasta and risotto run from €11.00 to €18.00. Spaghetti aglio, olio and peperoncino is the simplest plate at €11.00, spaghetti vongole €16.50, and linguine marinara with mixed seafood €18.00, the same as the seafood risotto made with Carnaroli rice. Tagliatelle comes two ways at €16.00, with burrata and slow-roasted tomatoes or with chicken and three kinds of mushroom. Gnocchi with Gorgonzola, walnuts and pear, rigatoni Bolognese and a beetroot risotto are €12.50 each, and the mushroom risotto with porcini is €13.50.

Fish, meat and burgers

Catch of the day is simply grilled and priced at market rate. Grilled swordfish with puttanesca sauce and grilled sea bass are €18.00 each and grilled salmon €20.00, all with rocket and cherry tomatoes and a choice of puttanesca or chimichurri. King prawns in the house bisque cost €26.00, and the Porto Seafood Platter for two, with sea bass fillets, king prawns, mussels and fried calamari, costs €59.00.

From the land, a Thai green vegetable curry with basmati rice is €13.50, with chicken or prawns added for €5.00, beef goulash served over gnocchi is €14.50 and a brined, grilled corn-fed chicken supreme €18.00, the same as sliced beef with soba noodles. Barbecue pork ribs with coleslaw and fries cost €26.00, a slow-braised lamb shank with mash €29.00, the beef tagliata €30.00 and a chargrilled ribeye €35.00. Burgers all come with fries: chicken at €13.50, a classic Black Angus or a broccoli and chickpea patty at €14.00, crispy salmon at €15.50 and the Porto burger with cheddar and smoked bacon at €16.00. Sides are €4.00, apart from halloumi fries at €9.50, and two soups, seasonal vegetable and Maltese aljotta, are €8.00 each.

Pizza, desserts and the children's menu

Pizzas start at €9.50 for a Margherita with San Marzano tomato and fior di latte. The Maltija, with Maltese sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and peppered goat's cheese, costs €14.50, the Mortadella Pistacchio finished with burrata €15.50, and the Porto Tagliata, topped with grilled beef, rocket and Grana Padano, €17.00, the dearest on the list. Every dessert is €7.00, among them crème brûlée, warm apple pie, a chocolate lava cake, a Nutella calzone and imqaret, the Maltese date pastries, with vanilla ice cream or a pistachio version with tan-Nanna ice cream.

Children have their own menu at €8.50 a dish: a plain beef burger, pasta with tomato sauce, chicken nuggets, fish fingers or a Margherita pizza with cocktail sausages, with fries alongside the fried options. The printed menu carries a key to the 14 main allergens.

Cocktails, beer and coffee

The bar has a long cocktail list. Aperol, Campari, limoncello and Capo spritzes are €7.50, a classic mojito €9.00, and the house Porto Rainbow and a Long Island iced tea €10.00. Spritz pitchers for sharing cost €17.50, and mocktails such as the Sunset, with orange, lime, mint and watermelon, cost €6.00. For a caffeine kick there is an espresso martini at €8.50, or a blue latte, made with blue curaçao, double espresso and cream, at €8.00.

On draught, a pint of Cisk or Carlsberg costs €6.00 and a pint of Moretti €6.50. Soft drinks such as Kinnie are €2.95, fresh orange juice €4.00, an espresso €2.00 and a cappuccino €3.00. Bottled beers include Cisk Excel, Corona and Guinness, Strongbow cider is €6.00, and there is a full range of gins, whiskies, rums and liqueurs, up to Johnnie Walker Blue at €16.50.

Around Ċirkewwa

Ċirkewwa is not a town but a harbour zone at the northernmost point of Malta, and its ferry terminal, about 250 metres away, runs regular car ferries to Mġarr in Gozo. In summer, boat trips leave for Comino and dive boats head out to the reefs, so lunch here pairs neatly with a crossing; our Gozo guide and Blue Lagoon guide help you plan either.

Inland, the Marfa Ridge, about 1.4 km away, runs for some 8.3 km of limestone, with terraced fields on its eastern slopes and wild garigue and sea cliffs at its western end. St Agatha's Tower, the Red Tower built between 1647 and 1649 as the last large bastioned tower in Malta, is about 1.7 km away. Latnija Cave, about 1.1 km away, made news in 2025 when digs found signs of people living there 8,500 years ago, a millennium earlier than previously known. Our Mellieħa guide and the page on Popeye Village cover more of the area.

Booking a table or a sunbed

Reserve through the booking form on the Porto Lounge website, choosing your date, time, party size and whether you prefer to sit inside or out; confirmation follows by email. Sunbed and lunch packages can be booked the same way. If you are staying in the north, our page on hotels in Mellieħa lists places nearby, and Ventuno Lido is another seaside table in the parish. To ask about a booking, a group or anything else, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the restaurant.