Malta’s first dhaba has just opened serving roadside Indian street food

Yaba dhaba do!

Not that we’re lacking of Indian joints here in Malta (some are good, some bad, a very few great), but there’s a brand new Indian kiosk which opened a few days ago, and it's actually the first of its kind here in terms of concept.

Situated in Swieqi (Wembley Station to be exact), Dhaba Malta Indian Street Food does exactly what it says on the tin. This bright yellow kiosk pays homage to Punjabi street food and dhabas.

What’s a dhaba you ask? It’s a roadside cafe or restaurant which is usually located on the highway or a petrol station. They are highly popular in India or Pakistan, and typically frequented by truckers and lovers of no fuss local cuisine. Now Malta has it’s very first one.

Dhaba’s menu is short and their prices are oh so sweet. Starters include chicken tikka kebab (using boneless thighs that have been soaking in a marinade for 24 hours) and firm, squidgy cubes of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) with superlative qualities thanks to the generous use of spices (please note that this photo shows a little bit of each as requested and not a full portion).

The onion bhajis were firm, crunchy, fragrant and not oily. The prominent use of garam masala was evident and the onion to batter ratio was how it should be. I did suggest they use different packaging for take away to avoid sogginess. 




Not a typical Indian dish so let’s call these moreish crispy chicken bites Indian-inspired due to the spice mix they were coated in. Moreish being the operative word.  




Surprisingly, my favourite curry of the night was the dhaba dal makhani. Whole black lentils and red kidney beans swimming in a rich tomato gravy, butter and cream.




The butter chicken was OK. I felt that it didn’t really taste of a butter chicken but more along the lines of a dhansak 8including the colour).

A little on the sour side, not to mean that it wasn’t fresh. The sauce needed tiny little tweaks here and there.

The tandoori chicken tikka was well executed. The meat pieces were big, tender and juicy. This was made Punjabi style and the flavours were not lacking. 




My side of choice was a fluffy jeera rice which was only 1.80EUR.




Overall, I would recommend giving this place a nice welcome to the island. You can either enjoy your food at the one table they have, on the stacked tyres in front of the kiosk, take away, or get it delivered via Wolt.

Your wallet won’t feel a pinch and your belly will be full. I’ll say it again… dhaba yaba do!

Dhaba Malta Indian Street Food
Wembley Station
128-116 Triq It-Tiben
Website