A business that is peculiar to this part of the world is the pastizzeria, where the fast food staple known as the pastizzi can usually be bought from the sidewalk for less than 30 cents.  These are a savory pastry filled with either a spiced pea mixture or ricotta cheese.  Pastizzerias will usually have more substantial pastries and pizza by the slice as well.  A foodstuff unique to Gozo is the ftira ( The same word is also used for a flatbread sandwich throughout the country ).  The traditional Gozitan ftira tas-sardin is a rustic pizza with anchovies, capers, tomatoes, sliced potato, herbs and olive oil.  There are bakeries in Gozo that make these to order.  The ftira on cafe menus is most often a sandwich made with tuna, capers, onions, tomato paste, olives and marinated white beans.  They are very satisfying and usually a good value.

Many restaurants have menus that are pretty much Italian with a few local items thrown in for the tourists.  A few restaurants specialize in traditional Gozitan fare such as the two-course meal known as fenkata.  This is a pasta smothered in rabbit broth followed by the stewed rabbit itself served with potatoes and vegetables.

Because Gozo has such a seasonal tourist trade, some restaurants in villages such is Xlendi and Marsalforn will be closed during the off-season.  Many others throughout the island will have reduced hours during the off-season.  The flip side of this is that during the height of tourist season booking ahead is required to get a seat in most good restaurants.

Something worth mentioning is that the evening meal tends to be enjoyed much later in Europe than in North America.  There are cafes of all descriptions in Gozo.  Expect good service at nearly all of them, we generally choose where to have our coffee based on where we are when we feel like having coffee.  The coffee tends to come from one of three main suppliers, all of them Italian.  We have found a preference for one in particular.  The variety of cakes and desserts available at the better cafes are entirely too good and very reasonably priced.

Location can often be a deciding factor when eating out.  A truly enjoyable light lunch can be ordered from an unassuming bar with sunny seating on the bastion of the Citadel.  Alternately, one can escape down a narrow alley to a cool cafe.

Wine bars offer up lots more than just wine.  Sharing a cheese platter is a great way to sample the locally produced cheeses.  Our favorite wine bar has very comfortable seating and freshly hung art on the walls.  While some convenient eating spots have local radio blaring all day, our favorite wine bar usually has recorded music with both the content and volume suited to the time of day.