Castelletti

Castelletti sits at 62 Triq San Pawl in Rabat, the town that wraps around the walls of Mdina, and the building behind the name is Palazzo Castelletti, a seventeenth-century residence that now works as a restaurant, tea room and events venue. If you are planning time in the old capital, our Mdina guide covers the walled city itself, and this page picks up where it leaves off, with a closer look at one place to eat nearby.

Castelletti offers a full à la carte menu with prices, an enquiry route through this page, set opening hours and seven distinct spaces for guests to use, from a roof terrace to a wine room. Lunch, afternoon tea and celebrations all happen under one roof, which makes it easy to fit a meal around a day out from a base elsewhere on the island. Menus change, so ask when you book.

A seventeenth-century palazzo beside Mdina

Palazzo Castelletti is a stately seventeenth-century house near the ancient capital of Mdina, and a visit means discovering four hundred years of history. You are dining in a house that has stood since the 1600s, in the heart of Rabat.

The business is run by Castelletti Ltd, and the house is a place for intimate meals and for modern celebrations under one roof. The same address handles a plate of pasta at lunchtime, an afternoon tea and a wedding reception. The palazzo is organised into distinct rooms, each introduced in turn here.

For travellers from the UK, the practical draw is location. Castelletti is near Mdina, so a table here fits into a day spent in the old capital. If you have not yet chosen where to sleep, see hotels in Mdina for places inside the walls, or where to stay in Malta for a wider comparison of the island's resort areas and towns.

The rooms, courtyard and roof terrace

Castelletti has seven distinct spaces: the Roof Terrace, the Courtyard, the Cellars, the Glass Room, the Wine Room, the Altar Room and the Yellow Room. Each space has its own photograph gallery, and the photographs on this page show them. When you book, ask the team where they can seat you and whether a particular space is open on your date.

The names tell the story of the house. A cellar and a wine room are the working parts of an old palazzo put to new use, while a courtyard and a roof terrace invite eating outdoors in good weather.

Beyond everyday dining, Castelletti caters for any type of private event and offers a personalised quote on request. Weddings can be seated or standing, from small gatherings to large celebrations, with help on planning and a custom menu, and the team will arrange a venue tour. There is also a Festive Season 2026 programme of seated dinners, standing receptions and bespoke Christmas menus in decorated spaces. For anything of that kind, send an enquiry through the form on this page and it goes to the Castelletti events team via VisitMalta.co.uk.

If you are weighing a celebration in Malta against one at home, our Malta holiday deals page is a sensible place to start for the travel side, since a group booking works best once flights and rooms are settled.

The à la carte menu and its prices

The à la carte menu is wide. It runs from small plates and soups to sharing platters, pasta, mains, burgers, pizza, a children's section and homemade desserts, so one table can order very differently from one another without anyone feeling short-changed. All figures below are in euros.

On the starters list, a Duo of Bruschetta is €8.00 and a Pesto Focaccia is €11.50. Roasted Cauliflower Soup is €13.00, Prawn and 'Nduja Kofta is €14.00, and the Goat's Cheese Royal is €14.90. A Rabbit Liver Parfait costs €13.50 and Grilled Stuffed Calamari costs €15.90. For something distinctly Maltese there is aljotta, the fisherman's soup, at €16.50. Salads are the Gozitan Farmer Salad at €15.00, the Classic Caesar Salad at €15.50 and the Warm Duck Salad at €16.50.

Three platters are meant for sharing: A Taste of Malta at €26.50, the Mediterranean Platter at €27.50 and the Fried Fish Platter at €28.50. Ask your server how many people each one feeds when you order.

The pasta and risotto section holds the Traditional Maltese Rabbit Spaghetti at €16.90, Maltese Ravioli at €16.50, Truffle Risotto at €17.00 and Tagliatelle Mussels at €17.50. The Asparagus and Almond Ravioli is priced at €23.50.

In the main courses, the Traditional Braised Rabbit, known by its Maltese name, fenek fiż-żalza, is €23.50. Fish lovers have a locally caught sea bream fillet at €24.50 and pan-seared salmon at the same price. Meat options include the Chicken Supreme Roulade at €25.50, Duck Breast at €26.50, Pressed Smoked Lamb at €27.50 and an Irish Beef Fillet at €36.50, which is the dearest dish on the main menu.

Casual eaters are catered for too. The homemade burgers are an Angus Beef Burger at €18.50, a Fish Burger at €17.50 and a Chicken Breast Burger at €16.50. Pizzas run through nine names, including a Margherita at €12.50, Chorizo at €14.00, Salami Milano at €15.00, a Vegan Pizza at €15.00, Maltija at €15.50, Rabbit Pizza at €16.00, Boscaiola at €16.00, and both the house Castelletti and the Mortadella Stella at €16.50.

Homemade desserts are the Deconstructed Cannoli at €7.50, Imqaret at €7.00, Caramel Mousse at €8.00, the Exotic Tart at €8.50 and Petit Choux at €8.50. A selection of ice creams and sorbets is €3.00.

Afternoon tea at Castelletti

Castelletti serves two afternoon teas, both served from 2:30pm to 5:30pm with unlimited English Breakfast tea and coffee included. The Maltese Afternoon Tea is €20.50 per person and runs Monday to Saturday. Its savoury layer centres on ftira biz-zejt, a Maltese bread-based bite, with a ricotta pie and a mini qassata of tuna and spinach. The sweet side includes imqaret, cannoli, a Maltese trifle and assorted macarons, and there are plain and raisin scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

The BUBBLY Afternoon Tea is €30.00 per person and is available every day of the week. It adds a glass of Prosecco on arrival and changes the savoury line-up to smoked salmon and dill mayonnaise, smoked ham, sous vide beef with mustard cream, a chicken Caesar mille-feuille, a pancetta and asparagus quiche, a red pepper and goat's cheese tart and a Cumberland sausage roll. Pastries are a chocolate brownie, a passion fruit meringue, an apple crumble tart and a sheep's cheese ricotta and pistachio cannoli, again with scones.

Two practical points matter. First, afternoon tea needs at least 48 hours' notice when you book. Second, the menu you want should be mentioned in the booking comment, so the kitchen knows which version to prepare. A Sunday visit is therefore a BUBBLY day, because the Maltese version is not offered then.

What to order on a first visit

With a long menu, a short plan helps. For a Maltese meal in one sitting, you could pick aljotta at €16.50, then braised rabbit at €23.50 or the rabbit spaghetti at €16.90, and imqaret at €7.00 for dessert. Rabbit is clearly a theme of the menu, since it appears as a parfait, a spaghetti, a braise and even a pizza topping.

For a table that wants to share, A Taste of Malta at €26.50 is the platter to look at first, and the Fried Fish Platter at €28.50 suits those who prefer seafood. Add the Duo of Bruschetta at €8.00 if you want something light alongside.

Guests who would rather not eat meat can look at the Vegan Pizza at €15.00, the Truffle Risotto at €17.00, the Asparagus and Almond Ravioli at €23.50, the Roasted Cauliflower Soup at €13.00 or a plain Margherita at €12.50. Mention any dietary need when you book and again to your server.

The cellars and wine room are named among the spaces of the house, so ask the team what is poured by the glass before you decide on drinks.

Who it suits and when to go

The menu points to a mixed audience. Couples and friends will find sharing platters and mains, families have a children's menu with chicken breast or seabass fillet at €14.50, a beef burger at €11.50 and a kids' pizza at €9.50, with penne pasta also listed but without a price. Groups marking an occasion can lean on the events team, and travellers who want a slower, more genteel hour have the afternoon teas.

One welcome detail for dog owners is that pets are welcome at lunch or dinner. There are designated indoor and outdoor areas for guests with animals, dogs stay on a lead throughout, and you should reserve a table and mention the pet when you book. It is worth knowing if the dog is travelling with you.

For timing, the kitchen takes last orders at 21:30 from Monday to Thursday and on Sunday, and at 22:00 on Friday and Saturday, with opening from midday every day. If you are planning a late arrival, mention it in your enquiry through the form on this page. Lunch or the afternoon tea hours are the natural choice if you are visiting on a day trip, whereas dinner suits those staying nearby.

If you are still working out what else to fit into the day, our guide to things to do in Malta has plenty of ideas, and Malta holidays can help you build the wider trip around your visit.

Booking, hours and getting there

Send an enquiry through the form on this page and it goes to Castelletti via VisitMalta.co.uk. Give your date, party size and any dietary or pet details so the team can prepare.

The address is 62 Triq San Pawl, Rabat. Look it up on your map app, and ask when booking about the best way to arrive, particularly if you are coming from a coach tour or a hotel in another part of the island. For a broader sense of the island's layout and its main towns, our about Malta page is a useful primer, and the other restaurants in Rabat give you alternatives close by.

Getting to Malta is straightforward from Britain. Look at flights to Malta for the available routes, or go directly to London Heathrow to Malta if that is your departure point. Allow for a transfer by road to Rabat once you land.

Prices and hours were checked in October 2026 and can change, so check the current menu when you book.