City of London Bar, St Julian's

The claim

A small bar above Balluta Bay that opened in 1914, while British troops were being mobilised on the island, and has been kept by the Borg family ever since: Karmnu, then his son Salvu from 1960, then Julian from 1977. Maltese writers call it the oldest bar on the island. It opens seven days a week from eleven in the morning, and its terrace looks across the water to the neo-Gothic church.

What the records show

Two Maltese publications date the bar to 1914: Guide Me Malta, writing in August 2019 that it had stood for a hundred and five years, and Culture Trip in 2017. Both say it opened as British soldiers were being mobilised on the island at the outbreak of the First World War, and both name the founder, Karmnu Borg, whose son Salvu kept it from 1960 and whose grandson Julian has kept it since 1977. Neither cites a licence, a deed or a directory, so the year reaches us as a published account rather than as a record, and the grade says so. The doors were checked on 18 September 2026 against the Malta Tourism Authority's public register of the establishments it licenses, which carries the house as a licensed bar at 193 Triq il-Kbira, San Ġiljan, under reference BAR-14791. That is the regulator's word that the house may serve, and it is the first thing later than the 2019 article to say so. That a drink is served without a meal is not in doubt either: the house is mapped in OpenStreetMap as a public house, and the 2019 account describes patrons on the terrace, darts and a whisky against the winter.

What to look for inside

Opened in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War
Three generations of the Borg family have kept it
Terrace facing the Carmelite church across Balluta Bay
Darts team, quiz nights and football on the terrace

Visiting

City of London Bar is in St Julian's, Malta, at Balluta Bay, St Julian's. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.

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