Mr. Kebab

Mr. Kebab has been feeding Qawra since 1998 from Triq it-Turisti, in the heart of the resort. It is two things at once: a café bar where you can sit down for anything from a morning coffee to a late cocktail, and a takeaway for kebabs to carry back to a hotel or flat. The kitchen is led by Turkish chefs, and the menu stretches well beyond döner to grills, starters, pizzas, burgers, salads, crêpes and waffles. Our page on restaurants in Qawra lists the other kitchens in the resort.

More than 25 years on Tourist Street

The business has been trading for over a quarter of a century, and its approach has stayed simple: fresh ingredients sourced on the island, put together by Turkish cooks. Everything on the menu can be eaten in the café bar or taken away, and the doors open at 9:00 am every day, so the same tables serve breakfast coffee, a quick lunch and a late supper after an evening on the seafront.

The house speciality is the kebab. Each one follows Mr. Kebab's own recipe and spice blend, and the sauces and döner are prepared fresh every day rather than bought in, which gives the meat its juiciness. For other kebab specialists around Malta, see our page on kebab restaurants.

Döner, pitta and wraps

Döner comes three ways: lamb and beef, chicken, or a mix of both, each sliced thin from the roast. Any of them costs €8.75 in a pitta or a wrap, or €15.75 as a plate. Vegetarians have falafel, the fried croquettes of beans and fine herbs, or grilled halloumi, at €8.25 in pitta or wrap and €14.95 on a plate.

A pitta or wrap comes with two salads of your choice and a sauce. The plates are the fuller meal, with five salads, chips, pitta bread and a sauce, either hot and sweet or yoghurt and garlic. Extra sauces cost little: harissa or sweet chilli at €0.50, spicy mayo at €1.00 and a mild jalapeño cheese sauce at €1.50.

Starters and the sharing platter

Turkish meze sit alongside snack-bar favourites. Hummus of chickpeas, tahini and lemon comes with pitta for €5.25, five falafel with garlic sauce cost €5.75 and grilled halloumi €6.10. From the fryer there are four spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce at €5.25, ten onion rings with garlic dip at €6.75 and four mozzarella sticks at €5.15, while six chicken wings in a home-made BBQ sauce cost €6.75 and four garlic bread €3.45.

For a group, the Platter to Share at €20.95 gathers onion rings, spring rolls, chicken tikka strips, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks and nacho bites, with garlic, sweet chilli and BBQ sauces for dipping.

Shish and the grill

The grill section uses fresh meat seasoned with the house spice mix. Chicken shish, beef shish, a mixed shish of both and grilled chicken breast each cost €16.50. Chicken thighs, fried chicken wings and Lamb Adana, the minced lamb kebab made with onions, herbs, chilli and parsley, are €15.50. Every grill plate arrives with a choice of five salads, chips, pitta and one sauce, so it is a full meal on its own. If you would rather a steakhouse, our page on Carvv covers a grill restaurant nearby.

Pizzas, burgers and hot dogs

Pizza dough is made in house, and the Turkish-inspired pizzas are the ones to try. The Turkish Special combines sucuk beef sausage with lamb and beef döner, fresh tomatoes and green pepper, the House Special adds yoghurt garlic sauce to mixed döner and mushrooms, and the Spicy Lamb brings döner, pepperoni and jalapeños together. These cost €13.35 at 12 inches and €18.85 at 16 inches. Classics such as Hawaiian, Capricciosa, Quattro Formaggi and Al Tonno are €12.95 and €18.40, and a Margherita is €8.95 and €14.30. Extra toppings cost €1.75 each, and a portion of chicken, lamb or mixed döner can be added to any pizza for €4.95.

Burgers use homemade Angus patties in sesame buns with chips. A 125g beef burger costs €8.15 and a 200g one €10.50, the Chicago Burger with hash brown and fried onions is €9.95 or €12.60, and the Double Burger is €13.50 or €17.75. The Zinger chicken fillet with cheese and spicy mayo costs €11.45. Wudy hot dogs cost €6.85, or €8.15 for the Plus Ultra with baked beans and cheese, and the salad bar fills a medium bowl with four items for €6.95 or a large with seven for €9.45. On the side, chips cost €3.15 small or €5.20 large, a small cheesy chips €4.15 and sweet potato fries €4.95, and five chicken nuggets served with chips cost €7.95.

Crêpes, waffles and baklava

Sweet things take up a good part of the menu. Belgian crêpes run from €5.10 for plain hazelnut or white chocolate to €6.95 for filled versions such as Oreo with white chocolate, or Aphrodisiac with hazelnut chocolate, strawberries and cream. Belgian waffles start at €5.85 with chocolate and reach €7.35 for Banoffee, the Malteser with vanilla ice cream and caramel, or the Ylenia with Kinder Sorpresa.

For a Turkish finish, baklava in pistachio, walnut or chocolate costs €2.00 a piece, or €5.45 for a trio, with ice cream €1.50 extra. Marlenka honey cake, in walnut or chocolate, costs €4.95.

Coffee, cocktails and Maltese wine

The café bar side shows in the drinks list. An espresso is €1.60 and a cappuccino €2.40, with lattes, frappés and milkshakes for something sweeter. Eight smoothies, such as Watermelon Breeze and Dragon Fruit Dream, cost €5.80 each. Cocktails are €9.50, from Aperol Spritz and Mojito to Espresso Martini and Mai Tai, with the Long Island at €10.50, and virgin versions of the mojito and colada cost €7.00.

Beer drinkers can order a pint of draught Cisk or Carlsberg for €5.20, or a pitcher for €14.65. Apart from the prosecco, the wines are Maltese: a glass of white, rosé or red costs €4.95, Classic Collection bottles €17.95, and a Medina Chardonnay and Girgentina from the D.O.K. Malta range €23.00. For a sit-down Maltese dinner nearby, our page on Ta' Pawla is close by, as is Tagine Restaurant for Moroccan cooking.

Around Qawra

Qawra is the resort end of St Paul's Bay, next to Buġibba and Salina, and its seafront is busy with hotels, bars, water sports and evening strollers. Our guide to hotels in Qawra and Buġibba covers places to stay along the promenade.

Buġibba Temple, a megalithic temple on the edge of Buġibba and Qawra with a hotel built around its grounds, is about 200 metres from Mr. Kebab. Perellos Redoubt, a coastal fort the Order of St John built on Salina Bay in 1715 and 1716 and demolished after the Second World War, stood about 600 metres away. The Malta National Aquarium, the largest in the country with more than 175 species, is about 650 metres away, which makes a kebab lunch an easy add-on to a family visit. In summer, swimmers bathe from the flat rocks along the Qawra shore, and our guide to the best beaches in Malta points to sandier bays. For days further afield, our list of things to do in Malta covers the rest of the island.

Opening hours and enquiries

Mr. Kebab opens at 9:00 am seven days a week. It closes at 11:00 pm from Sunday to Thursday and stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Walk in to eat at the café bar, or order at the counter to take away. To ask about a table for a group or anything else, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the restaurant.