Cockney`s

Cockney's sits on Triq Marsamxett, on the Valletta side of the water that separates the capital from Sliema, and its tables look across Marsamxett Harbour towards Manoel Island. It is a family business with a long memory: the restaurant grew from a fishing supplies shop and café, and fish remains the centre of everything the kitchen does.

For anyone building a Maltese holiday around good eating, this is a place that rewards a slow lunch or an unhurried evening. If you are still deciding where to stay in Malta, the harbour edge of Valletta and the Sliema shoreline opposite are both within easy reach of the door, and the notes below cover the menu, hours and setting so you can plan with confidence.

The story behind the name

The story begins with a fishing shop and a café next door. The shop was run by a man the family calls Nannu Charles, and it sold tackle, lines and paint. Fishermen and sailors would buy what they needed, then wander into the café to play cards, drink and have their flasks filled with tea. It is an image that fits the setting, since Marsamxett has been a working harbour for centuries.

Later the café passed to Uncle Joseph, who became known for a milkshake called the Sensation, along with homemade ice cream and lemon granita. The Sensation recipe is a closely guarded blend that includes milk, cinnamon and vanilla, and that it is still made today. Uncle Joseph is now in his nineties and still calls in from time to time.

A member of the next generation then took the premises over and, with help from the rest of the family, turned shop and café into a restaurant. It started as a takeaway serving snacks such as burgers and pasta, and gradually became the seafood restaurant it is now. The name honours the owner's grandfather, who had spent a long time in London and had quite an accent.

Today the owner works alongside the oldest son, who manages the restaurant, while two more sons and a son-in-law are the chefs. That is a lot of family in one building, and it explains why the service is so thoroughly family-run. Valletta itself has plenty of stories of this kind, and our Valletta guide is a good companion if you want to put a meal like this in the context of the city around it.

A harbour-side setting with a terrace and a lounge

The restaurant stands on Marsamxett Harbour, with views of Fort Manoel on Manoel Island. In summer it serves outdoors by the water, and in winter the action moves to a rustic indoor dining room. If you are travelling outside the warm months, our Malta weather guide will help you judge whether to expect terrace weather or a cosier evening inside.

There are actually three ways to use the place. The main restaurant takes food orders at lunch and dinner. A garden terrace serves drinks and platters only, every day from 12:00 to 20:00, and booking is recommended. Finally there is a lounge bar, open every day from noon until midnight but only from June through October. The lounge does not take reservations, so it is a walk-in affair, which makes it handy for a drink before dinner or a late glass after sightseeing.

The atmosphere is casually sophisticated, with the dining areas set against the harbour backdrop. Smart-casual is a sensible choice for dinner, with light summer clothes and sandals perfectly comfortable at lunch.

What the kitchen cooks

The chefs concentrate on fish, with fresh catches delivered by trusted local fishermen as a daily routine. The signature dishes are octopus pasta, spaghetti with clams and mussels, and fish platters, all made from scratch. Alongside those sit a range of pasta, a variety of antipasti and Maltese staples such as aljotta, the garlicky fish soup, and rabbit. There is also a wide choice of wines.

The current food menu is available as a PDF. Starters run from a vegetarian daily soup at €8.50 and a traditional fish soup at €10.50 through bruschetta at €10 and fish cakes at €14, to crispy calamari and fresh black mussels at €15 each. Seafood ceviche is €15, and both the daily fish carpaccio and the octopus carpaccio are €16. Anyone who likes to start with oysters can order two Gillardeau for €10, and the Maltese breaded cheese, gbejna, is €13.

Pasta and risotto is where the pricing becomes especially friendly. Ravioli and a dish called Franciscan are €17 each, and the Beef and Pasta Classics plate is €18. Seafood versions cost a little more: Alle Vongole is €21, Sea and Shore and Coastal Delight are €22 each, and the Local Catch is €24. A larger portion or gluten-free pasta adds €2.

Salads include a Greek salad at €15, burrata with prosciutto at €16 and avocado with shrimp at €17. Children have their own list, with two pasta dishes at €8.50 and chicken nuggets and chips at €10.

What to order

If you want the restaurant at its most characteristic, build the meal around fish. The fish of the day is priced at €6 per 100g, which means you choose by weight and the final bill depends on the size of the catch, and a filleted portion is €28. Grilled calamari is €24, slow cooked octopus is €26 and local red prawns are €30. Two or three people who are happy to share could look at the seafood platter at €55, which is the menu's obvious centrepiece.

Pasta lovers should go straight to the signature dishes: the octopus pasta and the clams and mussels spaghetti. The printed menu uses names such as Sea and Shore and Alle Vongole, so ask your server which plate is the signature one.

Meat eaters are not forgotten. Braised local rabbit is €22, and it is worth trying if you have not yet met the national dish; it is a lovely thing to taste once in Malta. BBQ ribs are €21, pork belly confit is €22, pesto chicken is €24, a grilled ribeye is €30 and the grilled fillet of beef is €32. Sauces are €3.50.

On the drinks side, classic cocktails are €7 each, including Aperol and Limoncello spritzes, a Negroni and a mojito, plus a Smokey Jack at €9 made with bacon-infused Jack Daniel's. The coffee cocktails are €5.50 each, and one of them, the Maltese, uses aniseed liqueur, which makes a distinctive finish to a long lunch. Local beers such as Cisk are on offer, and the draught lager starts the beer list at €2.50.

Who it suits and when to go

Cockney's suits couples and families alike. The menu has a proper children's section, the setting is relaxed, and the family-run service gives it a warm, unhurried character. Groups who like to share will enjoy the platters and the starters, while a pair on a romantic evening can take a table with a view of the harbour lights.

For a sunny day, lunch is the obvious choice. Food orders are taken from 12:00 to 15:00 from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday the kitchen serves from 12:00 to 16:00, with no evening service that day. Between a morning in the capital and an afternoon on the water, a long seafood lunch works well, and our things to do in Malta page has plenty of ideas to fill the hours either side.

Evening service runs from 18:00 to 22:00, Monday to Saturday. A good plan is to arrive just before sunset in summer so you can see the harbour change colour from your table. The lounge bar's season, June to October, lines up neatly with the warmest and busiest months, so if you are visiting then, expect the waterfront to be lively.

Sightseeing before or after a meal is easy. Many visitors spend the day at St John's Co-Cathedral and the Upper Barrakka Gardens, both in the old centre of Valletta, before heading to the water's edge for dinner.

Getting there and booking

The restaurant is on Triq Marsamxett in Valletta, and it is easy to find on the Valletta side of Marsamxett Harbour. If your hotel is in the capital, a short walk or taxi ride will do; browse hotels in Valletta if you want to stay within strolling distance. Guests based across the harbour can look at hotels in Sliema, since the two sides of Marsamxett are close as the crow flies, though the road or ferry journey around the water takes a little planning.

For a restaurant table, send an enquiry through the form on this page and it goes to Cockney's via VisitMalta.co.uk. The garden terrace is best booked ahead, and the lounge bar takes walk-ins only. In the busier months, particularly for a dinner table by the water, it is wise to reserve a few days in advance.

Allergies matter on a menu so rich in shellfish, and the restaurant asks guests to tell a member of staff about any allergy when ordering. Vegetarian dishes are marked with a (v) on the menu, including soup, bruschetta, ravioli, mushroom dishes and several salads.

If you are still at the planning stage, our flights to Malta page shows the routes from the UK, and the Malta holiday deals page is a useful place to compare packages that include a harbour-side base.

Practical information

Address: Triq Marsamxett, Valletta, Malta. Enquiries and bookings: through the form on this page, which passes them to Cockney's via VisitMalta.co.uk.

Restaurant hours: Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 22:00, with those times being the last food orders; Sunday, 12:00 to 16:00. Garden terrace: daily 12:00 to 20:00, drinks and platters only. Lounge bar: daily 12:00 to midnight, June through October, no reservations.

A typical meal might be a starter at €14 or €15, a pasta at €21 or €22 and a drink, which puts the bill comfortably into mid-range territory, with the fish by weight and the large platters pushing it higher. For more places to eat nearby, browse our restaurants in Valletta listing.