Eating out
Malta's food and drink transformation
Summary
Malta's food and drink landscape is being reshaped through planning applications. Restaurant applications have doubled from ~40/year to 100/year. Takeaways have surged 6x from 7/year to 46/year. Cafés have nearly doubled. Meanwhile, bars have halved from ~60/year to ~30/year. And outdoor dining on public pavements went from nearly zero to 43 applications in a single year — with approval rates jumping from ~30% to 85%+.
Key findings
The shifting food landscape
| Year | Restaurants | Takeaways | Cafés | Bars | Nightclubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 41 | 7 | 25 | 69 | 6 |
| 2010 | 33 | 13 | 17 | 60 | 2 |
| 2015 | 64 | 26 | 25 | 49 | 1 |
| 2017 | 86 | 35 | 28 | 42 | 3 |
| 2019 | 69 | 46 | 34 | 31 | 5 |
| 2021 | 101 | 42 | 42 | 59 | 6 |
| 2023 | 100 | 41 | 42 | 40 | 4 |
| 2025 | 93 | 31 | 45 | 32 | 10 |
Restaurants replace bars
In 2005, bar applications outnumbered restaurant applications 69 to 41. By 2025, the ratio has flipped: 93 restaurants to 32 bars. Malta's social scene has shifted from drinking to dining — a pattern seen across southern Europe but quantifiable here through planning data.
The takeaway boom
Takeaway applications went from 7 in 2005 to 46 in 2019 — a 6.6x increase. The timing correlates with the rise of food delivery platforms (Bolt Food, Wolt) in Malta. Even with the COVID dip in 2020, takeaways remain at 30–40/year.
Pavement creep: outdoor dining on public space
Applications to place tables and chairs on public pavements and footpaths:
| Period | Avg applications/year | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–2010 | 5 | ~30% |
| 2015–2019 | 29 | ~85% |
| 2020–2025 | 16 | ~78% |
Outdoor dining applications went from near-zero to 43 in 2017, while their approval rate tripled from ~30% to 85%. The system shifted from resisting the encroachment of commercial dining onto public pavements to actively permitting it.
Nightclubs: a small but notable 2025 spike
Nightclub applications hit 10 in 2025 — the highest in 20 years. After years of 1–6 applications, this suggests a possible revival of Malta's club scene or development in nightlife districts like Paceville.
Why this matters
Planning applications for food and drink are a direct measure of how Malta's social and commercial landscape is changing. The data shows a clear transition from a bar culture to a restaurant/café/takeaway culture, mirroring broader Mediterranean trends. The pavement creep story — where public space is gradually privatised for commercial dining — reflects a policy shift that traded pedestrian comfort for economic activity, with approval rates tripling in a decade.