◦ The Grain — hero
Reviews / Sliema
Review · Brunch · Café · Sliema

The Grain

Score
4.2
Honey tier
Status
Open · until 17:00
Mon–Sat · weekday hours vary
Visits
6
Most recent · Sep 2026
Last visit
Sep 2026
By Calvin Briffa
Latest visit Sep 2026

The verdict.

Brunch ambition occasionally overshadows the bar, but the flat white is consistent and the natural-light room is one of the best on the strip for a long Saturday.

The bar runs as expected on a busy morning — the team has its routines, the machine is dialled, and the queue moves at the speed of a place that’s done this before. We sat at the counter for twenty minutes and ordered the drinks we always order at a place like this.

The standout was the flat white (4.4) — clean, on-temperature, presented without ceremony. The rest of the menu reads as careful rather than ambitious, which is the right move for Sliema.

Two notes for the next visit: service was attentive but the room got loud after the breakfast rush, and the food side of the menu — which we didn’t fully sample today — has expanded since the last visit and probably deserves a separate trip. We’ll be back.

Drinks rated
Flat white 4.4 Cappuccino 4.2 Espresso 4.1
Sub-scores
Espresso quality 4.1
Milk texturing 4.4
Filter 3.8
Ambience 4.5
Value 4.0
From the visit
◦ The Grain — bar
◦ Espresso shot
◦ The room

Score history

6 visits over 18-ish months.

4.5 Jun 2025 · 4.1 Aug 2025 · 4.4 Dec 2025 · 4.2 Feb 2026 · 4.3 May 2026 · 4.2 Sep 2026 · 4.2
Jun 2025 4.1 Aug 2025 4.4 Dec 2025 4.2 Feb 2026 4.3 May 2026 4.2 Sep 2026 4.2
Earlier visits
  1. May 2026 4.2 Read

    Earlier review summary kept here for reference. The cup on this visit was broadly consistent with the latest read; detailed notes will publish here once the editorial collection is wired up.

  2. Feb 2026 4.3 Read

    Earlier review summary kept here for reference. The cup on this visit was broadly consistent with the latest read; detailed notes will publish here once the editorial collection is wired up.

  3. Dec 2025 4.2 Read

    Earlier review summary kept here for reference. The cup on this visit was broadly consistent with the latest read; detailed notes will publish here once the editorial collection is wired up.

  4. Aug 2025 4.4 Read

    Earlier review summary kept here for reference. The cup on this visit was broadly consistent with the latest read; detailed notes will publish here once the editorial collection is wired up.

  5. Jun 2025 4.1 Read

    Earlier review summary kept here for reference. The cup on this visit was a step below the latest read; detailed notes will publish here once the editorial collection is wired up.