The fifth edition of the pocket guide to the best restaurants in Sicily and Malta will be launched in Sicily tomorrow.

The guide offers tips on the best Sicilian restaurants and this year some of Malta’s top restaurants have been added.

The pocketsize guide will be distributed with The Malta Independent on Friday, 28 July, and later in the Sole24 Sicily edition.

The pocket guide has enjoyed considerable success over the years, revealing as it has the finest fare at Sicilian restaurants, with stories relating the passion and professionalism behind top restaurants’ dishes and, of course, the chefs who make it all happen.

One hundred and thirty-nine restaurants around Sicily and Malta are featured in this latest edition, publisher Carmelo Pagano said. Among them are some novelties classified as ‘other places’. These are not necessarily restaurants or trattorias as such, nor can their dishes be categorised as street food.

“They are simply places that include a wide choice of good things to eat, from cold cuts and cheeses to simple toasts or sandwich with an original filling, such as Sicilian rabbit for example," Pagano explained.

The novelty this year is the inclusion of Malta.

"I was really curious about how there can be 2,200 restaurants on an island with a population of less than half a million people. It is a surprising island because, in addition to local products, primarily fish, the Maltese use excellent products from all over the world," Pagano said

The new Restaurant Guide is a unique opportunity for Maltese restaurants to promote their cuisine in the Sicilian market and, in the process, attract more Sicilians to Malta for short breaks.