Rubino on Old Bakery Street is one of Valletta's most traditional restaurants, occupying a 19th-century confectionery shop with the original fittings largely intact. The menu focuses on classic Maltese cooking — rabbit, bragioli, seasonal vegetable dishes, and traditional desserts including kannoli and imqaret date pastries. The kitchen uses recipes largely unchanged from the pre-independence era, which makes it unusual in a city where restaurants tend toward either tourism-aimed Mediterranean or contemporary fusion.
The restaurant is small, somewhat old-fashioned in its service, and closes at weekends, which is an honest signal of where its priorities lie. Lunch is the main meal. Book ahead for dinner on the limited evenings it is open.