The Medina

Should You Book The Medina?

If you're choosing between The Medina and The de Mondion Restaurant for dinner in Mdina, the decision comes down to what you want from the setting. De Mondion sits in a palatial rooftop room with panoramic views and a more formal register. The Medina operates at the €€ price point with two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025), meaning the kitchen is cooking at a level that punches above its price tier. For a food-first traveller who wants serious Mediterranean cooking without a fine-dining price tag, The Medina is the stronger call.

The Portrait

Mdina is a city that demands patience. The so-called Silent City of Malta admits no cars, receives visitors through a single gate, and has a restaurant count small enough that every seat matters. The Medina, on Holy Cross Street, occupies this context well: it is the kind of address that earns its Michelin Plate not through spectacle but through consistent, focused Mediterranean cooking delivered at a price point accessible to most travellers.

Two Michelin Plates in consecutive years — 2024 and 2025 — signal a kitchen that inspects, repeats, and refines. The Michelin Plate designation marks restaurants with good cooking that inspectors find worth recommending, a tier below the star level but meaningfully above the baseline. For context, fewer restaurants in Malta hold any Michelin recognition at all, so back-to-back Plate recognition in a city of Mdina's size is a substantive credential, not a participation trophy. If you're treating Michelin recognition as a proxy for kitchen discipline, The Medina delivers at a price that makes it a reasonable choice even if you're not on a special-occasion budget.

The cuisine is Mediterranean, which in a Maltese context draws on deep pantry traditions: olive oil, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh fish from the surrounding sea, and the island's own bread culture. Malta's position at the crossroads of North African, Sicilian, and broader Southern European cooking gives any Mediterranean kitchen here a rich register to pull from. What distinguishes better restaurants in this genre from lesser ones is whether the sourcing is local and the cooking is precise, rather than defaulting to a generic pan-Mediterranean menu that could come from anywhere. The Medina's repeat Michelin recognition suggests the kitchen is working with intention rather than coasting.

The editorial angle worth focusing on for first-time visitors is seating position. Mdina's historic architecture means most restaurants here operate in stone-walled rooms or courtyard settings. If The Medina offers counter or bar seating with a view of the kitchen operation, that format tends to reward the food-curious traveller more than a tucked-away table. Engaging with how the kitchen moves , particularly in a Mediterranean restaurant where technique and timing are visible in the plating process , adds a layer of context that a formal table can't replicate. If counter seats are available when you book, request them. For a solo diner or a pair, counter seating here is worth specifying.

Google rating of 4.3 across 617 reviews gives a reliable signal of consistent delivery. A large review sample at that score suggests the kitchen is not producing occasional peaks with troughs in between; it is hitting its level reliably. For a €€ restaurant in a tourist-heavy area, sustaining that average across that volume of visitors is harder than it sounds. Comparable restaurants in Malta's dining scene , including ION Harbour by Simon Rogan in Valletta and Rosamì in St Julian's , operate at different price tiers and kitchen philosophies, but The Medina's Michelin endorsement at its accessible price point makes it one of the stronger value propositions for serious eating in Malta.

For the explorer-type traveller who moves between destinations seeking depth rather than convenience, The Medina sits well within a Malta itinerary that also includes Terrone in Birgu and Terroir in Attard. Those restaurants cover different geographies and registers; The Medina is the Mdina anchor for that kind of deliberate, restaurant-led travel. If you are spending time in the walled city anyway , exploring its streets, visiting the cathedral, taking the slower pace of the place seriously , booking dinner here rather than returning to Valletta or Sliema for a meal makes logistical and culinary sense. Mdina thins out after dark, and eating inside the walls gives you the city at its quietest and most atmospheric.

Booking is rated easy, which in Mdina's compact dining scene is worth noting. The city receives significant tourist traffic, and popular sittings do fill. Book ahead, particularly on weekends and during the shoulder and high seasons of spring through autumn. The €€ price range means you are not facing a commitment that requires weeks of advance planning, but leaving it to a same-day decision in peak season risks disappointment.

For a fuller picture of what's worth doing and eating across the area, see our full Mdina restaurants guide, our full Mdina hotels guide, our full Mdina bars guide, and our full Mdina experiences guide.

Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025; €€ price range; 4.3/5 (617 reviews); Mediterranean cuisine; Holy Cross Street, Mdina; booking difficulty: easy.

How It Compares

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is The Medina worth the price? Yes, at the €€ price tier with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) and a 4.3 Google rating across 617 reviews, The Medina delivers serious kitchen credibility at an accessible spend. For comparable Michelin recognition in Malta, you would typically pay more at a restaurant like ION Harbour by Simon Rogan in Valletta. If Mediterranean cooking at a mid-range price with a recognised kitchen is what you're after, the value case here is clear.
• What should I order at The Medina? Specific menu items are not available in our data, so we can't name dishes. What the Michelin Plate recognition does confirm is that the kitchen is cooking Mediterranean food at a level inspectors find worth endorsing. In a Maltese context, that typically means well-handled fish, locally influenced ingredients, and technically sound execution. Ask the kitchen what's fresh when you arrive , that question tends to get the most honest answer at restaurants cooking at this level.
• Can The Medina accommodate groups? Capacity data is not available in our records. Mdina's stone-built venues tend toward intimate room sizes, so larger groups should contact the restaurant directly before assuming availability. For groups of six or more, calling ahead or emailing to confirm seating arrangements is advisable. The city's architecture limits how much any restaurant here can flex on group size.
• What are alternatives to The Medina in Mdina? The two primary alternatives are The de Mondion Restaurant (Mediterranean Maltese, with a more formal room and rooftop setting) and The Xara Palace (Maltese Traditional). De Mondion is the choice if setting and occasion matter as much as the food; The Xara Palace suits travellers who want a more traditional Maltese register. The Fork and Cork is also in the €€ bracket with Mediterranean cuisine. Outside Mdina, Root 81 in nearby Rabat is worth considering if you want to extend your dining range. See our full Mdina restaurants guide for a complete picture.
• What should a first-timer know about The Medina? Arrive knowing that Mdina is a car-free city, so plan your transport to and from the gate. The Medina sits on Holy Cross Street in the walled city. Booking is rated easy but don't leave weekends to chance in high season. The €€ price point means this is not a special-occasion-only restaurant , it is viable for a well-considered weeknight dinner. The Michelin Plate tells you the kitchen is cooking with discipline; the 617 Google reviews at 4.3 tell you that holds across a broad audience. For travellers also planning to visit Le GV in Sliema or Sessions in St Julian's, The Medina offers a different pace and a different culinary register , worth treating as a distinct experience rather than a stopover.