Malta’s First Spanish Tapas Festival Is Coming to Gzira

Apparently, Malta has been missing a Spanish tapas festival. An oversight that is finally being corrected.

From 18th to 20th September, Gzira Public Park will host the first edition of Tapas Fest, a three-day celebration of Spanish food and culture. Entry is completely free, with no tickets required. Once you’re inside, simply top up tokens to use for food and drinks.

So, who’s feeding everyone?

The confirmed line-up currently includes IBER&CO, Valletta’s much-loved Spanish tavern; Yard 32, Valletta’s gin and tapas bar; and Kalama, purveyors of fried calamari and seafood, with a few more food stalls still being finalised. Expect Spanish favourites including paella, jamón and tortilla, alongside plenty of smaller plates designed for the very Spanish tradition of ordering several things for the table and somehow continuing to order.

Beyond the food…

The programme changes across the weekend rather than simply repeating itself each day. There’ll be acoustic sets over vermouth and lunch, relaxed afternoon sessions, sunset sangria, DJ sets and live music stretching into the evening.

Alegria Malta, the flamenco dance school, takes care of the main flamenco show on Saturday evening, while Carlitos Wey handles the live music later that night. Sunday brings a sunset DJ set from 6:30pm, with Spellbound joining the Adios Fiesta for live music from 8pm.

The whole thing is being staged around separate eating, relaxation and performance areas, with Gzira’s waterfront setting doing quite a lot of the atmospheric heavy lifting. Spanish food, music, sangria and flamenco under the September sky is, admittedly, a fairly easy sell.

Come hungry. Ordering several small plates and subsequently discovering you have ordered one enormous meal is, after all, half the point.

Tapas Fest
Gzira Public Park
Gzira
Website