Coffee and cake is just so good in Malta. I mean, just soooo good. Look at salmon-head here, keeping his eyes firmly trained on the ball.
It's interesting the small differences you notice when engaging with another country. Whenever I got change and a receipt at some store, 9 times out of 10, they would not put them in my hand, opting instead for the counter. Whether this was to minimise contact with me, I have no idea, but it seemed like a Maltese tradition.
Tips are a way of life in Malta, although its nothing like India, where you breathe, eat and drink tips. You can end up paying a tip on top of a table "cover charge", for example, but food is so cheap you can almost forget about it. Food is really cheap in Malta. And its good. Just look at the cake here, come on, you can't turn a good cake down.
Service is generally adequate, but sometimes a bit rough, like our oh-my-god-please-don't-fall-apart tour bus which was full of flies. And you're not excessively taunted by local vendors; you will be asked if you want a ride on a Karozzin, or if you want a trip to Sicily. Say no, they won't trouble you any more. (Unless you walk past them again later, of course)