Sliema is one of Malta's best-served areas for Indian food, with several established restaurants and takeaways catering to everything from a proper sit-down dinner to a quick lunch run. The question is not really "is there Indian food in Sliema?" but rather "which one suits what I'm actually doing right now?"
If you are new to the search, the first thing to know is that Indian food in Malta has been shaped by its restaurants over the past couple of decades. The menus are recognisably Indian: curries, rice, naan: but they tend to cluster around a few familiar options. The heat is generally calibrated for a Maltese audience, which means a "medium" in a Sliema kitchen is milder than it would be in London, and a "vindaloo" is taken seriously but not as a punishment. Expect warm rather than mouth-blistering. The waits are usually sensible: 20 to 40 minutes for a sit-down dinner, ten minutes for a straightforward takeaway curry.
The established spots
Krishna Indian Restaurant at 97 Triq ix-Xatt is one of the longest-standing Indian restaurants in Malta. It trades on that history and on a loyal customer base. If you want a proper sit-down experience with all the ceremony of a full Indian menu, this is the place.
The Tiffin Box operates from Plaza Food Hall on Bisazza Street (and has a St Julian's location). It sits around 4.6 on TripAdvisor and has built its reputation on speed and consistency. It runs through the major delivery platforms: Wolt and Bolt Food: which tells you something about its setup. Built for volume, not for lingering. If you are ordering a curry and eating it at your desk, this is a safe bet.
New Delhi Restaurant serves Sliema, Gzira and St Julian's from its base in Sliema. It is the kind of place that has been quietly reliable for years without becoming a household name.
Taj Mahal Indian Kitchen at 14 Triq Parisio is another solid option for the sit-down or takeaway crowd.
Maharaja at 55 Triq Ix-Xatt scores around 4.3 on TripAdvisor and sits in the same part of town as Krishna, competing for the same dinner-goers.
Beyond Sliema proper, Naan Bar in Valletta is worth the trip if you are heading that way: it sits at around 4.8 from roughly a thousand reviews, which is genuinely rare. Emperor of India in Paceville has been trading since 1994 and hovers around 4.5 from roughly 900 reviews, making it a steady favourite. Chatterbox in Bugibba rounds out the nearby options at around 4.9, though it is outside the central belt.
Note: review figures and ratings change over time and should be treated as approximate.
How to choose: matching the restaurant to what you want
For a long sit-down dinner with friends. Go to Krishna or Taj Mahal. These are the restaurants built for lingering: proper starter and main structure, proper wine lists, the kind of place where an evening becomes an event rather than a transaction.
For a quick weekday lunch. The Tiffin Box or New Delhi. In and out in 30 minutes, curry boxed and ready, minimal ceremony.
For ordering ahead and collecting. Again, The Tiffin Box or a delivery platform order to any of the above. You know the wait time because you ordered it.
For a group (4+). Call ahead. Any of the sit-down places: Krishna, Taj Mahal, Maharaja: will accommodate a booking. They have the space and the kitchen bandwidth. The Tiffin Box or a delivery platform can handle the order, but you will be standing around waiting or dealing with multiple deliveries arriving at different times.
For late night (after 22:00). Check hours carefully. Most close by 23:00 or midnight. If you need really late service, you might be looking at Paceville options or one of the delivery platforms still showing riders available.
For delivery to a flat. Use a delivery platform like Wolt or Bolt Food rather than ordering direct. Yes, you pay a platform fee and the restaurant pays commission, but the risk is on the platform if something goes wrong, the tracking is live and transparent, and you are not negotiating a delivery with a restaurant that may have a queue of 20 people and is not organised for it.
How Maltese Indian menus are structured
Almost every Indian restaurant in Malta offers a curry menu that runs something like this: mild curries (butter chicken, korma), medium curries (tikka masala, jalfrezi, rogan josh, medium madras), and hot curries (madras, vindaloo). Proteins vary: you might get chicken, beef, lamb, shrimp or vegetarian options depending on the dish. Rice is usually plain, pilau, or biryani. Naan is standard. Chutneys and sides are add-ons. This structure is so consistent across Sliema restaurants that you can walk into any of them and already know roughly what to expect.
The heat ladder matters because it helps you avoid the trap of "medium means different things in different kitchens." In Sliema, you have learned that The Tiffin Box's "medium" is hotter than Krishna's "medium", or you order knowing the range. The safest move is to ask the person taking your order: "I want something warm but not mouth-on-fire, what do you recommend?" Most restaurants are good about this.
Opening soon: indoo
indoo is an Indian fast-food takeaway cooking in Qormi and delivering to Sliema and beyond, built around speed, a short focussed menu, and clearly marked spice levels. It sits apart from the existing restaurants because it is not trying to be a sit-down venue: it is trying to be the fastest way to get a proper curry delivered hot. You choose from three spice levels when ordering so you know exactly what heat level you are getting. The menu runs eight curries (butter chicken, tikka masala, korma, mango coconut curry, rogan josh, jalfrezi, madras, vindaloo), rice, naan and sides, all available for delivery across Malta via Wolt and Bolt Food, or collect from our Qormi counter. We are open 11:00 to 23:00 every day. Follow @indoo.mt on Instagram for the launch date.
Common questions about eating Indian in Sliema
What is the difference between a "medium" and a "hot" curry?
In Maltese restaurants, a "medium" usually means the curry has noticeable spice but will not overwhelm someone who eats mild food regularly. A "hot" is noticeably hotter: madras and vindaloo sit here: and will make your mouth warm. The gap between medium and hot is bigger than the gap between mild and medium. If you are unsure, start at medium. You can always go hotter next time.
Is it better to eat in or order delivery?
Eat in if you have time and want the full experience. The food arrives hot, the restaurant can serve you fresh items, and you get the whole evening out of it. Order delivery if you want food at home or at your desk. The risk is that food cools down in transit. Combat this by ordering rice and naan separately-boxed, ordering to a short distance, and avoiding peak times like Friday 20:00 to 21:00.
Do I need to book ahead?
For a group (4+) and for dinner at a sit-down restaurant like Krishna or Taj Mahal, yes, call ahead. For a solo or pair visit to a takeaway counter, no. For delivery, no, just order through the app.
What should I order if I have never had Indian food before?
Butter chicken or korma. Both are mild, creamy, and tasty without any heat. Serve with plain or pilau rice and a garlic naan. Add mint yoghurt chutney on the side if you like something cool and tangy. This combination has introduced thousands of people to Indian food in Malta and it still works.