Look on the sunny side, brunch is served

Picture this: you’ve just landed in Malta, you’re exhausted and starving, but eager to explore the island. Well, have a seat, because we’ve got just the thing that will start your trip on the right foot.

Ready to tick all your boxes is Two Buoys, a casual dining restaurant located in the heart of St. Julians, overlooking Spinola Bay. With a view to die for, and a menu worth resurrecting and dying for all over again, we can guarantee that this restaurant will meet all of your expectations (and then some).

Two Buoys boasts the headline: Where Melbourne Meets Malta and although it’s rather self-explanatory, please allow us to explain. The brain child of brunch-obsessed, Australian-born Jesse Caruana, Two Buoy’s revolutionary menu features the very best of what the Land Down Under has to offer, in addition to dishes well-known and well-loved by the locals.

Head chef of the breakfast, brunch and lunch menu, Mark Miller, worked and resided in the vibrant Melbourne cafe scene for 25 years. Jesse and Mark worked together at The Pint of Milk in Newport and many years later, Jesse called Mark and informed him that he would be opening a cafe in Malta, similar to the scene he knew and loved. Intrigued, Mark made his way over and the rest is, as they say, history and he now calls Malta home.

We were intrigued too, so we made our way to the bistro one afternoon, to see for ourselves. Disclaimer: we were not disappointed.

As explained by the backbone of the operation, Karl Abela, you can order from the dynamic breakfast, brunch or lunch menu any time your heart desires (between 9am and 4pm, that is), which is somewhat of a bizarre concept, especially here in Malta. If this in itself hasn’t convinced you to call and book, do not fret and keep reading.

With a newly released winter menu, a completely revamped dinner menu, led by head chef Nicky Deguara, and a keen eye for exactly what patrons desire in their heart of hearts, the team at Two Buoys cut zero corners. Allow us to demonstrate this for you.

First up: the Williamstown Rosti. Featuring smoked salmon, potato rosti, halloumi, tahini yoghurt, rocket, beetroot relish, feta and a poached egg. Inspired by Jesse’s hometown of Williamstown, the dish is a perfect example of what the breakfast and brunch menu has to offer. Delicious, fresh, and quite frankly, a breath of fresh air in a place where hundreds of eerily similar restaurants populate the area.

Next: the Portarlington pie floater. With truffle mash, beef brisket, red wine gravy and puff pastry, this one is extra special. Named after a town that is rumoured to be home to more Maltese than Malta, this dish will remind you of home, even if you’ve never eaten it before. The best way to describe this heart (and tummy) warming dish, would be to say that you’ll feel the exact same way you do when you think of your grandmother’s family dinner dish. Do you know what we mean? We thought so.

If you happened to be Australian and want a little taste of home, or just really love crumbled chicken, covered in napoletana sauce, ham and mozarella, with a side of fries and green salad, this next one is right up your alley.

Make way for the Aussie Parma. With what we could have sworn was a tear in his eye, Jesse described that the Chicken Parma is the most Australian meal you can get. In other words, it’s their ‘pastizzi’. After excitedly digging in, we completely understood their love for the dish.

Full to the brim, we were ready to call it quits but not before trying out their new home-made waffle, obviously. With Nutella ganache (and a whole lot of it), vanilla ice-cream, toasted nuts and marshmallows, this dish is not for the faint-hearted. Perfect for those with a raging sweet-tooth, the waffle was the cherry on the cake of a superb meal.

And just like that, we bid our new favourite eatery goodbye. If you haven’t fit Two Buoys into your itinery yet, well, what exactly are you waiting for?

Two Buoys

106, Triq Spinola, San Giljan

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+356 2122 2221