Indian street food in Malta: chaat, crunch and big flavour
Indian street food in Malta has a home at Tanvi, a modern Indian restaurant in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s. Opened in July 2026, Tanvi serves chaat classics such as Bhel Puri, Sev Puri and Pani Puris, a signature Chaat Trolley, and street-food-inspired snacks, alongside regional curries, tandoor dishes and spice-led cocktails.
Indian street food at Tanvi
- Chaat classics from Mumbai: Bhel Puri, Sev Puri and Pani Puris
- The Chaat Trolley, our signature street-food ritual at the table
- Modern takes: rabbit keema samosa, kale and red onion pakora
- Plenty of vegetarian plates and bright, yoghurt-cooled flavours
- In St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, Malta
- View the menu or reserve a table
Some dinners are about comfort. Chaat is about electricity: crisp, sour, sweet, fresh and spiced, often in the same bite. It is the food of India’s streets and station platforms, and it is the part of an Indian menu most restaurants in Europe leave out. We built it into ours from day one.
What is chaat?
What chaat actually is
Chaat is not one dish but a whole family of savoury snacks, and it runs on contrast. Tamarind brings the sour edge, yoghurt cools, raw mango sharpens, and sev (fine, crisp noodles made from chickpea flour) brings the crunch. Every plate is assembled so that no two bites land the same way.
If you have never eaten Indian food before, this is the most generous way in: small plates, bright flavours, nothing too heavy. Our guide to a first order at Tanvi covers the rest of the menu if you want the full picture.
Chaat in Malta
The classics, on our table
Bhel Puri
Mumbai’s most famous street snack. Traditionally built on puffed rice, chutneys, onion, tomato and sev, our version brings raw mango, tamarind and yoghurt into the mix. Bright, crisp and gone faster than you expect.
Sev Puri
An absolute classic of Mumbai street food: little crisp bases loaded with chutneys and a final snowfall of sev. We keep it as it is done in Mumbai, pomegranate and spiced chickpeas included.
Pani Puri
Possibly the most iconic street food in India, and known as golgappa or puchka depending on the region. Crisp, hollow shells filled with spiced, tangy water: you eat them in one bite, and the whole table ends up reaching for the next one.
Pani puri in Malta
The Chaat Trolley: street theatre, at your table
In India, the best chaat comes from a cart. So we brought the cart to the dining room. The Chaat Trolley takes that familiar street-food ritual and gives it a Tanvi point of view: pani puris filled with green apple, mint and coriander, amberjack with ginger and tamarind, or tomato and curry leaf rasam.
It is the part of the menu we are proudest of, and the one nobody else on the island is doing. If you are coming for street food, start here.
Street food snacks in St Julian’s
Street food, given a Tanvi accent
Away from the chaat classics, the snack section of the menu keeps the same street instinct and gives it a contemporary kitchen. Even the simplest start, Papads with Chutneys (€7), follows it: informal, shareable, finished too quickly.
Rabbit Keema Samosa
The samosa is pure street food. Ours swaps the traditional filling for spiced rabbit keema, a nod to Malta inside an Indian classic.
Kale & Red Onion Pakora
The fritter of every street corner and rainy afternoon, lifted with kale and more refined company on the plate.
Rajma Galouti
A tribute to Lucknow’s galouti kebab, reworked with kidney beans. Soft, spiced and made to disappear in one bite.
Whipped Channa
Green chickpea chaat and crisp khakhra over whipped chickpea: the flavours of the chaat stall, read in a modern way.
“After enjoying amazing Indian food in Mumbai, I had been searching for that same authentic taste in Malta and I finally found it here.”
Serenay Satıroğlu · Google review
Come for the crunch. Stay for dinner.
Chaat, tandoor dishes, regional curries and spice-led cocktails in St George’s Bay, moments from the centre of St Julian’s.
Tanvi is a modern Indian restaurant in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, Malta. Opened in July 2026, Tanvi serves regional Indian food and one of Malta’s most distinctive Indian street food selections, from chaat and pani puri to tandoor dishes, curries, seafood, vegetarian plates and spice-led cocktails.
Frequently asked questions
Is chaat spicy?
Chaat is more about contrast than heat: sweet, sour, crisp and fresh in the same bite. Some plates carry a gentle warmth, and the team can always point you towards what suits your taste.
Do you serve pani puri in Malta?
Yes. Pani Puris are on the menu at Tanvi in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, alongside Bhel Puri, Sev Puri and our signature Chaat Trolley.
Can I make a dinner out of chaat and snacks?
Absolutely. Order a few plates for the middle of the table and let it build from there. If the table wants more, a curry or a biryani joins in naturally.
Are there vegetarian street food options?
Plenty. Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Kale and Red Onion Pakora, Rajma Galouti, Whipped Channa and Papads with Chutneys are all vegetarian.
Where is Tanvi?
Tanvi is in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, Malta. You can view the menu or reserve a table online.