D. took me to this really hip restaurant Gululu my first night in Malta. It's in Spinola Bay, St. John's very close to his apartment.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789820068/" title="The restaurant Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6789820068_576b6c3749_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="The restaurant Gululu"></a>
He told me the food is good and that it's Maltese with a modern twist. The business card I ended up describes the restaurant this way: casual Maltese cuisine. Whatever it is, it's tasty and the service was good.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789835886/" title="D. at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6789835886_7fab775e83_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="D. at Gululu "></a>
The restaurant has indoor seating and outdoor seating as well. The outdoor seating was closed but really it was much too cold to sit outside anyway. Inside the restaurant has clean lines, bright colors and great photography.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789826666/" title="Dips at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6789826666_8235cdef80_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Dips at Gululu "></a>
The English menu made everything sound great and I had an incredibly hard time picking. That is until D. told me that rabbit is a local specialty and island favorite. I figured, when in Malta. The thing is I'm not really sure that I'd ever eaten rabbit before this past weekend. So I kind of surprised myself by settling on the rabbit. But I'm glad that I did.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789822192/" title="Caravaggio white wine at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6789822192_4c23d1b548_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Caravaggio white wine at Gululu"></a>
We started with a plate of mixed dips--one with olives, another with anchovies, a third with beans and a very light creamy dip made of ricotta cheese. We ate the dips on round water crackers which are apparently are the go-to choice in Malta. The cracker is round, toasted and has some bite to it. We were also served a couple of thick slices of homemade bread. The dips were fresh and bright most had hints of lemon and garlic. Delicious.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789830988/" title="Spaghetti omelet at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6789830988_a219c66875_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Spaghetti omelet at Gululu "></a>
The main meals were just as good as the dips. I had the rabbit pie. Think of it as a take on chicken pot pie but with a smokey tomato sauce rather than a cream sauce. D. had a spaghetti omelet. His omelet was very tasty but required salt and pepper and frankly in comparison to my meal was bland.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789828806/" title="Rabbit pie at Gululu by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6789828806_990815c813_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Rabbit pie at Gululu"></a>My rabbit pie was made up a light flaky crust. The pie filling was a mix of rabbit and root vegetables--potatoes and carrots--as well as onions and peas. I really couldn't be happier with my choice. It was hearty, warming and perfectly spiced.

We drank a white Maltese wine bottled under the label Caravaggio. Caravaggio in fact spent time in Malta painting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beheading_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist_%28Caravaggio%29" target="_blank">The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Co-Cathedral" target="_blank">St. Johns Co-Cathedral in Valletta</a>. It's the only painting that Caravaggio ever signed. I however didn't get to see it but I did get to see the inside of the church. The tours of the church apparently end at 12:30pm on Saturdays and I got there well after that. Ops. Luckily I've had a chance to see plenty of other Caravaggios in museums across Europe.

And the restaurant's cat joined us for dinner! 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6789833500/" title="A cat at Gululu  by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6789833500_05e3785666_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="A cat at Gululu "></a>