The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants Awards Ceremony sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority, Global Payments and The Malta Food Agency held its Annual Restaurant Awards Ceremony on Monday 9 December at The Xara Lodge. The awards celebrated the outstanding achievement of Malta and Gozo's top survey rated restaurants as voted by diners out who participated in the Malta and Gozo Restaurant Survey online at www.restaurantsmalta.com in September. Based on diner voting, only 150 restaurants make it to be included free in the The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo and on its official portal www.restaurantsmalta.com.

Official commemorative plate presented to Malta & Gozo's top survey rated 40 restaurants on the evening.
Congratulations go to the team at Risette who were rated Top Overall restaurant for 2025.
Following an address by the Honourable Minister of Tourism Ian Borg the results were revealed by Lisa Grech Managing Director of the Definitive(ly) Good Guide Co and presented by Tanya Sultana for Malta Tourism Authority, Adrian Cachia from Global Payments, Justin Camilleri and Brian Vella for Malta Food Agency, and Mark Ciantar of Continental Purchasing on behalf of Schonwald, Germany who supplied the beautiful commemorative award plates for the occasion.
This year's Malta and Gozo Restaurant Survey conducted in September 2024 returned a high number of responses, with 3951 participants who dined out on average one to two times a week, equivalent to a total of 331,855 dining experiences in a year! The latest edition of the guide sees 33 new restaurants in the The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo which was launched on the evening. The information in the guide is also included in its portal www.restaurantsmalta.com which was also launched on the evening.
The Top 40 Award winning restaurants were taken from the highest rated restaurants taking into account their overall rating, the number of people rating, comments and other data from the survey. The top 40 restaurants winning award plates in order from most highly rated were:
- Risette
- de Mondion
- Rebekah's
- Sole by Tarragon
- Da Luigi
- Galea's Kitchen
- Ta' Frenc
- Bastion Bar & Restaurant
- Paranga
- Tal-Familja
- Mamacita
- Ta' Bertu's Kitchen
- Scala
- Verbena Wine & Dine
- Lovage Bistro
- Sicilia Bella
- Casa Gringo
- Contessa
- La Mer
- ION Harbour
- Step 15
- MEZ
- Palazzo Preca
- Grotto Tavern
- Caviar & Bull
- Onella
- Venus
- Bacchus
- Minoa Mediterranean Fusion
- Ostrica
- Adura
- Village Fork
- Country Terrace
- The Villa Bologna
- Naan Bar
- The Aft Galley
- Don Royale
- Quadro
- Chatterbox
- The Boathouse

Best Maltese Food Restaurant with VisitMalta and winner Tal-Familja

Best Value for Money restaurant with representatives from J Calleja Ltd for Rummo, winners Village Fork
Additional Awards in different categories were made:
- Best Food (sponsored by American Express) - Risette
- Best Ambience - de Mondion
- Best Service (sponsored by Spiteri Catering) - Risette
- Restaurant Most Dedicated to Supporting Local, Best Local Fish Restaurant & Best Local Wine List (sponsored by Malta Food Agency)- Verbena, Sole by Tarragon and Al Sale respectively
- Best Restaurant in Gozo (sponsored by The Ministry for Gozo) - Ta' Frenc
- The Best Chef Award (sponsored by Pentole Agnelli represented exclusively by The Catering Centre) - Sheldon Sammut
- Best Newcomer (sponsored by Horeca) - Mamacita
- Restaurant most mentioned in survey (sponsored by Bookia) - Ta' Tona
- Most children-friendly restaurant (sponsored by the Malta Baby & Kids Directory) - Don Royale
- Best Maltese restaurant (sponsored by Malta Tourism Authority) - Tal-Familja
- Restaurant most popular for business entertainment - Caviar & Bull
- Best value for money restaurant (sponsored by Rummo represented by J. Calleja Ltd) - The Aft Galley
- Favourite Café (sponsored by Buondi represented by Nestle Malta) - Busy Bee
- Most promising young chef of the year - Neil Peresso
- Most promising F&B Maitre of the year - Jael Ellul
The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in association with Abraham's Supplies Co Ltd Wine Awards were as follows:
- The People's Choice Wine List (taken from the results of the survey) - Caviar & Bull
- Best Overall Wine List: ION
- Best Presented & Designed Wine List: Fernando's
- Best Champagne Wine List: ION
- Best Italian Selection Wine List: Contessa
- Best Port Wine List: Country Terrace
The results of the Restaurant Survey can be found in the 2025 edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo which is now available to purchase online for €8 at www.restaurantsmalta.com. It is also available at leading stationers and bookshops in Malta and Gozo.