Pastizzi Cafe

Posted by Buggles & Squeak on March 15, 2011 in Cuisine, Modern European, Reviews

We love food. We don't care if it costs a little or a lot... as long as it is good. We would prefer to pay $50 for a great steak, than $5 for a mediocre one. That's just the way we roll. That said if we can get a great steak for $5 all the better! We write about food as a labour of love; we enjoy eating & sharing our experiences and hope that our blog inspires others to try out some places they may not have otherwise.

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My love affair with pasta ended almost two years ago, when I decided to ‘try’ & eliminate carbs from my diet.

What were once daily delights are now, at most, weekly highlights.
So when after all this time, my thoughts do turn to pasta, I immediately start thinking about the pasta of my mother country, the wonderful ricotta & parsley filled Maltese Ravjul (ravioli).

The Pastizzi Cafe is thankfully very close to home, so it is quite easy for me to satisfy this craving, I need to get it out of my system.

It is a Sunday night & we foolishly think it will be easy enough to score a table, how wrong we are – the place is buzzing. These diamond shaped pastries certainly seem to be popular with the local population.

We decide to start with a couple of pastizzi each. In Malta I believe, there are only two types of pastizzi: pastizzi ta’ l-irkotta (ricotta) and pastizzi tal-pizelli (pea).
The Pastizzi Cafe however, offers a much larger selection that includes both savoury & sweet.

Buggles decides on Chicken & Mushroom and Salmon, Dill & Ricotta, while being a purist, I go for the plain Ricotta. The pastizzi are wonderfully flaky & plump full of goodness.

For mains we both decide on the Ravjul.

You can choose from a variety of sauces to top your ravjul, but we go with the traditional Maltese zalza of tomato & garlic, this is about the ravjul after all; the sauce should complement the ravjul, not overpower.
The perfectly cooked pillows are stuffed full of ricotta, the accompanying sauce is light & delicious with a hint of garlic.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as eating the food you grew up with.

The Kannoli that complete our meal are light, crispy & positively brimming with lush, chocolate flavoured ricotta.

Despite the Maltese Crosses & all the red & white, the Pastizzi Cafe is essentially an Italian restaurant that offers a few Maltese dishes.
Maltese cuisine remains one of the most underrepresented in this country and the Pastizzi Cafe does not do too much to redress the balance.

It would be great to see dishes such as Ross il-Forn, Mqarrun il-Forn and Braġjoli on the menu.

So, if Pastizzi & Ravjul aren’t your thing (impossibbli!), then the Cafe offers many other pasta choices (think Marinara,  Carbonara, Bolognese and the like), as well as quite a few veal & chicken dishes.

Service is quick (but not rushed), friendly & efficient.

The Pastizzi Cafe is always busy and as such booking ahead is well advised.

Pastizzi Café
523 King Street
Newtown
Ph: 9519 1063