Modern Indian food in Malta: Discover Tanvi in St George’s Bay

By Tanvi  ·  3 August 2026

Tanvi is a modern Indian restaurant in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, Malta. Opened in July 2026, Tanvi serves regional Indian food across chaat, tandoor dishes, curries, seafood, vegetarian plates, breads and desserts, alongside spice-led cocktails shaped by tea, fruit and botanicals. It is a table built for sharing, made for dinners that become full evenings.

Indian food is not one flavour

At Tanvi, Indian food is not treated as one fixed style. The menu takes inspiration from different regions, ingredients and ways of cooking, moving from crisp street-food snacks to smoky tandoor dishes, coconut-led seafood, rich curries and slow-cooked biryani.

That variety matters. A dish such as Prawn Thenga Meen, with roasted coconut, brings a very different kind of warmth to the table than Old Delhi Chicken with smoked cream and crispy chicken skin. Hyderabadi Baby Aubergine Salaan puts vegetables at the centre, while Awadhi Lamb Biryani is built around fragrance, rice and time.

If you know Indian food well, there is range and detail to explore. If this is your first time at an Indian table, there is an easy way in: choose a few starters or plates, share generously and let the table find its rhythm.

Start with chaat, then follow the smoke

Chaat (India’s savoury street snacks) is where the meal starts moving. Bhel Puri brings raw mango, tamarind, sev and yoghurt together in one bright, crisp plate. Sev Puri adds pomegranate, spiced chickpeas and more texture. The Chaat Trolley takes a familiar Indian street-food ritual and gives it a Tanvi point of view through pani puris filled with green apple, mint and coriander, amberjack with ginger and tamarind, or tomato and curry leaf rasam.

These are not just starters to get through before the mains arrive. They set up the contrast that runs through the meal: sweet, sour, crisp, spicy and fresh.

From the tandoor

The tandoor is one of the defining parts of the Tanvi menu. Its intense heat brings smoke and char to the outside of a dish while keeping the centre tender. It is why a tandoor dish has a flavour that a standard grill cannot quite recreate.

The choice goes well beyond chicken. Malai Paneer comes with summer tomato, sweet onion and basil. Afghani Chicken Tikka is paired with grape chutney and tarragon raita. Butter Garlic Pepper Grilled Prawn is finished simply with lime, while Mahi Mahi Hariyali Tikka and Rajasthani Lamb Chops give the table more reasons to follow the smoke.

If you’re choosing a dinner in St Julian’s and want something with a bit of fire and a lot of flavour, this is the section to start with.

Curries with a point of view

“Curry” can be creamy, smoky, bright, coastal, vegetable-led or built slowly around meat and spice. Treating it as one category misses the point.

At Tanvi, the curry section is deliberately varied. Hyderabadi Baby Aubergine Salaan is deep and satisfying without relying on meat. Prawn Thenga Meen leans into roasted coconut. Grilled Whole Red Snapper comes with Malabar sauce and pickled fennel. Old Delhi Chicken brings smoke and richness, while Aloo Gobi Gnocchi gives a familiar vegetable combination a more contemporary form.

What to order for a first dinner at Tanvi

Drinks that speak the same language

Tanvi’s drinks menu is not an afterthought. It speaks to the kitchen through spice, fruit, tea, botanicals and texture.

The Mango Gimlet brings vodka, mango, oxymel and cardamom together in a bright, clean serve. Sozni layers sakura gin, sherry, kahwa tea cordial and cherry bitters. Nakkashi moves in another direction with sage vodka, curry powder, mango and saffron lassi. For a table that plans to stay a while, Golden Chai is a sharing cocktail built around clarified masala chai, pineapple rum and dry jerez.

There are also Asian Gin Perfect Serves, including Indian, Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese gins. Whether you’re starting with a cocktail or staying for dinner, the drinks are designed to sit naturally beside the food, from the first snack to the final course.

A modern restaurant with a proper sense of occasion

Tanvi is for dates, catch-ups, visiting friends, family dinners and the kind of evenings when another round feels like the right decision. The food gives people something to talk about. The cocktails keep the pace going. The menu makes it easy to share, but never requires everyone to order in the same way.

For groups of eight or more, Tanvi can help plan a dinner around the size and style of the occasion. For larger celebrations and exclusive venue hire, contact the team directly at info@tanvimalta.com or through the Tanvi contact page.

“Not your ‘normal’ Indian Restaurant. It all comes with a contemporary twist.”

John Messina · Google review