The island's traditional ftira, from a family wood oven.

A Nadur family, a stone oven, and the real Gozitan ftira.

Tucked down a quiet street in Nadur, Mekren's is a hole-in-the-wall bakery in the truest, best sense — you park outside, place your order with the baker, and wait for something pulled hot from a wood-burning stone oven the family has tended for generations.

The ftira is the star: a round Gozitan flatbread, scored and topped and baked until the edges crackle. Alongside it come ftajjar, fresh pizza, qassatat and bread, baked fresh through the morning.