Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546491
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS Tapea: where Spain comes alive in St. Julian's SOME restaurants fill a table. Tapea fills a gap. Since open- ing in St. Julian's, this quietly exceptional Spanish restaurant has done something Malta's dining scene rarely manages: it has made fine gastronomy feel both elevated and genuinely welcoming — a place where the food is serious, the atmos- phere is warm, and Spain arrives on every plate with total convic- tion. The project began with two Spanish architects, Mariel Álva- rez and Nicolás Suárez, whose backgrounds in design shaped everything from the restau- rant's considered interior to the structure of its culinary vision. Rather than open a restaurant on instinct, they built one on knowledge — assembling a Culinary Counsel that drew on Michelin-starred expertise, in- cluding that of the celebrated chef Iñigo Urrechu, alongside the most respected tradition- al Spanish culinary voices. The result is a menu that honours Spain's extraordinary regional food heritage while giving it a modern, intelligent edge. At the stoves stands Chef Pao- la Alvarez — architect and chef, and what Tapea calls their "Cu- linary Architectural Manager." Her discipline shows. Every dish is a carefully considered compo- sition of authentic ingredients, technique and intention. The open kitchen makes this pro- cess visible: guests can watch the craft unfold in real time, turning dinner into something closer to a performance. The menu is a journey through the flavours that define Spanish cooking at its finest. The tortil- la, the spider crab brioche, the gazpacho — dishes that feel both deeply familiar and quiet- ly revelatory, delivered with a wine list that navigates Spain's richest viticulture regions with confidence and ease. Nothing here is accidental. Everything is chosen. Tapea's guiding philosophy — food that restores, replenishes and revives — extends beyond the kitchen to every corner of the experience: the staff select- ed for their genuine passion for Spanish culture, the cocktails, the pacing, the detail. Guests notice. TripAdvisor review- ers call it "a gem." Lovin Malta agrees. It should surprise no one that Tapea holds the ICEX 'Restau- rants from Spain' certification — awarded by Spain's official Trade and Investment Agency to establishments outside Spain that meet the highest standards of culinary authenticity. In Mal- ta, very few have earned it. Whether you're new to Spanish fine dining or return- ing to a table that already feels like yours, Tapea is the destination. Triq IL Mensija 55, St. Julian's · tapea.com · +356 7979 7922 Spanish gastronomic tradition THIS IS A PAID COLLABORATION Discover more Restaurants and Colmados from Spain Majority say government incentives will not persuade them to have more children ALMOST half of respondents have said government incentives would not persuade them to have more children. Data presented in a survey car- ried out for the President's annu- al State of the Nation conference showed continued resistance by couples to having larger families despite efforts to reverse Malta's falling birth rate. When asked whether government incentives would persuade them to have more children, 36% of respond- ents said yes, while 16.4% were un- sure. The question was put to all participants, regardless of wheth- er they already had children. Just under half (47.6%) said in- centives would not sway them. Resistance was strongest among people in their late 30s and early 40s. Among respondents aged 36 to 45, 61.7% said government in- centives would not persuade them to have more children, compared with 28.5% who said they would. Half of those aged 46 to 55 and 52.8% of those aged 56 to 65 also said they would not be persuaded. The youngest and oldest age groups were the least resistant. Among those aged 16 to 25, 38.1% said they would not be swayed by incentives, while the figure was 39.7% among those aged over 66. However, these two groups also recorded the highest lev- els of uncertainty, with 21.1% of 16- to 25-year-olds and 25.5% of those over 66 saying they were un- sure. Those aged 26 to 35 were the only group in which more respondents said government in- centives would persuade them to have more children than said they would not, at 48% and 42.9%, re- spectively. Malta's fertility rate falls to record low The findings come as Malta con- tinues to grapple with one of the lowest fertility rates in the Euro- pean Union. Eurostat figures published in March put Malta's fertility rate at 1.01 children per wom- an in 2024, down from 1.06 in 2023. The EU average stood at 1.34 children per woman. A fertili- ty rate of about 2.1 is generally consid- ered the replace- ment level need- ed to maintain a population in the long term without migra- tion. Malta's fertility rate stood at 1.99 in 1980 and rose slightly to 2.02 in 1990 before beginning a pro- longed decline. By 2013, it had fallen to 1.36, dropping further to 1.13 in 2021. At the same time, Malta record- ed the second-fastest population growth of any EU member state over the past two decades, driven almost entirely by immigration, while recording the bloc's lowest birth rate for the eighth consec- utive year, according to Eurostat figures published earlier this year. The changing composition of Malta's population is also reflected in birth statistics. The proportion of children born to foreign-born mothers increased from 11% in 2013 to 36% in 2023 — the larg- est increase recorded by any EU country over the period. Government turns to tax incentives Finance Minister Clyde Caruana last year described the country's declining fertility rate as the "el- ephant in the room" and "Mal- ta's biggest challenge" when he launched the government's pre- budget document. By October, the government had placed the issue at the centre of Budget 2026, introducing exten- sive income tax cuts for parents, particularly those with multiple children. Under the new measures, par- ents with two or more children will, by 2028, be exempt from pay- ing income tax on the first €30,000 of their earnings. Caruana had previously raised concerns about "ethnic extinc- tion" ahead of the Budget. He later explained the tax cuts as a meas- ure intended to support families considering having a second or third child. Closing the State of the Nation conference, President Myriam Spiteri Debono also stressed the importance of investing in future generations. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt