8 incredible eating spots you need to sample in Bali
Bali is not short on good eating venues, from top-notch Indonesian to street-side Balinese warungs. And when you’ve savoured the local flavours, there are menus to take you on a culinary trip around the planet, and back home again.
1/8
Sangsaka, Kerobokan-Seminyak
Murals depicting Balinese folklore cosy up against stylish velour studded seats, polished wood tables and sparkling glassware at this intimate 40-seat eatery down a quiet lane. The interior reflects Sangsaka’s modern take on long-cherished traditions. With an emphasis on seasonal market produce and a charcoal grill, executive chef Kieran Morland mashes traditional Indonesian flavours with modern trends and cooking techniques, often from around the globe. The result is tantalisingly good. The menu’s best-shared small and large plates run along the lines of fried chicken rendang bun with hot sauce, barbequed squid with cauliflower and sambal matah, and lobster dumplings with red peppers in a coconut laksa. Or relinquish decision-making with the five-course set menu.
2/8
Warung is the Indonesian word that translates as shop but usually refers to Indonesia’s ubiquitous roadside eateries and restaurants. These little open-sided venues range from dirt-floor basic to cosy and comfortable, and they’re always intriguing. In Ubud, you will catch a delicious whiff of the smoke wafting from the chargrill before you set eye on Naughty Nuri’s. Loosely themed on an American diner, Nuri’s is known for its house specialty spare ribs, which are slathered in homemade Balinese-spiced barbecue sauce, sizzled on the grill and served drizzled with fresh lime. Pair with crispy thin sliced potato, an old-fashioned side salad and a selection of similarly retro condiments.
3/8
Even the most diehard fans of Balinese fare might find themselves yearning for a menu that feels like home. Mason, in Canggu, is that go-to. This sleek and stylish hipster hangout with a long bar, wood-fired pizza oven and indoor-outdoor tables wouldn’t feel out of place in Collingwood or Coogee. The menu has all the feels – burrata with basil oil and bubbling pan fried grilled haloumi for starters, wood-fired barramundi and rib eye with Cafe de Paris butter for mains. For greens, add an asparagus and parmesan salad or a baby gem lettuce green and vinaigrette. Little Creatures beer and Aussie wines an option too.
4/8
Food adventurers will love this warung oft described as being “in the middle of nowhere”. That is to say, it’s in a sea of green rice paddies off the main roads, away from the beach. Babi guling is suckling pig, an Indonesian favourite, and this restaurant housed in a sturdy established pitched-roof pavilion with tables indoors and out, is the place to eat it. You’ll need to get there well before midday to beat the crowds for lunch - and bring an appetite. There’s not getting away from pork, and excitable little piggies should order babi guling campur, a tasting plate including pork satay, pork salad, roast pork and, wait for it, pork crackling.
5/8
Sitting on Sanur’s idyllic beachfront, where coconut palms, soft white sand and reef boats abound, Tandjung Sari hotel’s eponymous restaurant has prospered since the ’60s. Chef Wirata’s Indonesian menu satisfies with dishes favoured by first-time guests – sate ayam (chicken satay) and mie goreng (fried noodles) among them. But it also inspires more adventurous palates. Don’t go past martabak sapi, a dish of crispy pastries filled with curried beef, egg and baby leeks. Ikan pepes, local spiced fish steamed first, then grilled in banana leaf, should be next. Round off the meal with pavlova – this is one of the few places in Bali that does it like home.
6/8
Owned and run by a Korean-Canadian expat couple Insook Park and Tim Fijal, Soogi Roll is the kind of place you keep returning to even when you’re only in town for a week. It’s close to the beach at Pererenan in a contemporary shopfront set back off the road (so there’s room to park the scooter). The handful of tables are the domain of a local crowd – both expats and Balinese, who appreciate the casual dining atmosphere combined with excellent homemade-like-your-mamma-would Korean dishes. There’s kimchi rolls, bibimbap and a popular K-wrap - Soogi’s own chicken katsu, with mayo and vegetables wrapped burrito-style. Also keep an eye on the specials where Insook’s creative home cooking gets a look-in.
7/8
Yema Kitchen is a beautifully conceptualised restaurant on one of Canggu’s cool and quieter back streets. It’s a shrine to all the things we love about Bali - wholesome, local, sustainable and creative food and drink, and an aesthetic that marries natural materials with exquisite design. There’s a lovely big open kitchen and cafe – perfect for sampling eggs benedict rosti, avocado focaccia, latte and the like. Towards the back, the seating spills in and around a serene decked courtyard, just the place for cocktails and balmy lamplit dinners. The menu is global-gone-local with the likes of Mediterranean salads, mezze share plates, whole grilled fish and Italian pastas. The courtyard’s small central swimming pool is lit up at night, adding to the villa vibe. There’s also a boutique, so you can purchase artisan ceramics, handcrafted jewellery, bathers and linen clothes between courses.
8/8
In 2021, Room4Dessert head chef and founder Will Goldfarb joined the likes of French macaroon guru Pierre Herme to be named World’s Best Pastry Chef in the World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards. If that’s not an invitation to dine at his dessert-led restaurant in Ubud, then you’re not paying attention. In a pretty red brick and bamboo shopfront skirted in by an edible tropical garden, Room4Dessert would normally require booking three months in advance and a commitment to a degustation menu. But times have changed. It’s not openly advertised, but now Goldfarb sets aside a couple of tables for walk-ins who can savour an a la carte treat from the seasonal menu. Long may that reign when the crowds return.
- Penny Watson