Buyers Guide - Cost Living
The costs of food in Malta will vary according to factors such as where the particular cuisine is sold. Obviously, as with many other locales, the prices of food in restaurants will be different from what you would normally pay for grocery items in local supermarkets. For the former, factors like type of food, atmosphere, and location can determine costs. The least expense option would of course be to purchase all foods and drinks from supermarket outlets. (For instance, the average cost of Maltese bread is only around €0.50. Six two-litre bottles of soft drinks can be purchased for less than €2.50.)
There are a number of small take-away outlets scattered throughout Malta. Most will sell a mixture of local products and imported food and beverages. The more popular establishments offer local delicacies such as pastizzi, which are specialty cheesecakes, pizza, and lamb or chicken kebabs. Prices on cheesecakes average around €0.35, small pizza squares sell for about €0.70, while kebabs with bread begin at €5.50.
Elaborate dining establishments like the more traditional sit-down restaurants may be the most expensive food option in Malta. For example, the cost of a two-course meal, including an appetizer and an entrée, for a single person would range from €12 to about €40. Restaurants in Malta include those offering Mediterranean, Maltese, French, Italian, and Indian, as well as other cuisines. (You can get a 12 inch pizza for about €8, while choosing a beef fillet as your entrée item at a restaurant may cost anywhere between €15 to €30, depending the establishment.
Beer prices in Malta typically start at €1 for about a half pint of local or imported beer. Naturally, buying beer in bulk from supermarkets and other venues will be cheaper. You will pay around €1.50 for a pint of beer from a bar in the tourist-centers. Other drinks may start at €1 but quickly rise to as much as €3 a glass, when you move from local bars to more exclusive Maltese nightclubs.