A’s Coffee and More | Everything’s A-okay

The free seating concept at A's encourages a more familiar feel where patrons sit wherever they can find a free chair

You might be at a table with a mother and her kids or with two elderly men stopping to catch their breath.

Andrew Falzon, who runs the show with owner Gertrude, said "we want people to feel like they are sitting down to lunch with their extended family. In a world where we spend most of the day behind a screen, communicating through a computer or mobile phone it is important to spend time having quality face-to-face conversations."

Though the ideal was first met with some resistance, Andrew said people have really embraced this concept, which is new to Malta and you will often find people choosing to sit at a table with other people on it even if there are empty tables available.

This philosophy extends to the food served at A's too. "There is no such thing as flimsy ham and processed cheese or sliced bread in a sandwich. We take care to source the best quality ingredients - ftiras or seeded rolls, along with a range of ingredients you can choose from to build your own sandwich." And what's more is that you are charged according to how many ingredients you put in your sandwich and not what the ingredients are so you can feel free to build exotic sandwiches with anything you like.

The menu changes according to seasonal ingredients available with seasonal fruit being the star of many recipes. In May, it was strawberries, freshly picked from Mgarr, that took a leading role in the menu - from simple strawberries dipped in chocolate, to strawberry smoothies and pancakes with strawberries and mascarpone. Summer saw a myriad of melon recipes and the oncoming autumn makes room for different ingredients yet to come into season.

"Absolutely everything is made in-house. We had special requests for pastizzi from the Valletta crowd, however we could not bring ourselves to buy them in and sell them at a profit so we decided to try our hand at making them ourselves. The results were fantastic - pastizzi with buffalo ricotta, ricotta and rucola, mixed gbejniet and prociutto cotto.

"We make them twice a week and they are sold out pretty much as soon as they hit the shelves. You can, however call in to place an order to be sure you won't be disappointed."

In just a few months of opening A's has become a necessary stop for anyone needing a coffee fix. Along with the usual espresso, A's also make a proper double espresso - which is made from two espressos rather than just one with added water. You can also order a huge mug of coffee which is becoming more and more popular.

A's is open on Monday from 6:15 to 18:00, from Tuesday to Friday from 6:15 to 19:00, on Saturday from 7:00 - 19:00 and on Sunday from 11:00 - 19:00.

A's coffee and more

Old Theatre Street, c/w Strait Street,

Valletta

Tel: 27667770

Email: [email protected]