To us, Ubud was clearly the place in Bali, where we ate best. We love food. And we love to taste new things and have great experiences. We happily walk mange kilometres in the scorching heat, just for a taste experience. We don’t have enough money to go just anywhere, but occasionally we pick one of the more expensive places just because… yum… it’s just so delicious!
If you are crazy about Indonesian food, you can actually save money while travelling in Bali. You can get food from most of the world’s cuisine, men the Indonesian dishes were always the cheapest ones on the menu, whenever we ate out, and in our opinion, they are also the ones that gave us the greatest food experiences when we travelled in Bali.
Here are seven places we have had amazing food in Ubud
1. Alchemy
Alchemy is a nice, organic, vegan, raw café and juice bar. The café is light and airy, and there is a buzz of tranquil living, yoga people, travellers, and what we surmised are bloggers and “digital nomads” – living in Bali. The atmosphere is characterised by the many expats in Bali and at Ubud, attracting artists and those into yoga who usually enjoys and much prefers to eat vegan/raw food.
We had great taste experiences here. Vegetable and fruit juices in exciting variations and wonderful salads.
Learn more about Alchemy
2. Karsa Kafe
If you turn right at Jalan Raya and take “the Campuhan ridge walk” through the rice fields, you’ll arrive at Karsa Kafe after some time. Here, you can choose whether you want to enjoy your coffee (or food) on the top floor, which is breezy with a view of the rice fields, or in small islands, spread throughout their spa and pools – filled with beautiful lotus flowers.
Here, you can get fine Indonesian dishes, and particularly Kopi luwak – which is the expensive coffee from Sumatra, characteristic for the coffee beans having passed through the digestive system of a palm civet (toddy cat) and having been collected from its fecal matter before being further processed… yummy!
Learn more about Karsa Kafe
3. Clear Cafe
With a view of the river, you’ll find Clear Café (across the road from the Blanco Renaissance Museum). Clear Cafe serves organic food based on ingredients procured from local farmers. The menu also includes a children’s menu, which can be a bit of a relief when travelling with a 7-year-old in Asia.
Learn more about Clear Cafe
4. Warung Pulau Kelapa
Warung Pulau Kelapa is an Indonesian eatery, which has the most beautiful garden and the most beautiful Javanese building. The place faces a noisy road – Jalan Raya Sanggingan, but the lushness of the garden keeps out most of the noise, so you can enjoy the garden and the very savoury Indonesian food. We at lunch there and tried a few different things in order to open our taste buds. Among other things, we taste the “Wedang Uwuh” beer, which contains things like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Not quite our taste – but wonderfully different!
We also had the “Tempe Mendoan” appetiser, which, despite its size, was heavenly.
See what else you can enrich your senses with at Warung Pulau Kelapa
5. Warung Mendez
We returned to this eatery several times. The food was incredibly delicious, Indonesian of course, and the place was inviting with the traditional building and decor. There were times when we sat on large pillows on the floor and enjoyed a Bintang before our food was served. As in most other places in Ubud, the food is cooked from scratch, and here, Sebastian could fall asleep in the large, soft pillows.
Learn more about Warung Mendez here.
6. Sari Bamboo
Sari Bamboo is easily missed because they don’t have much signage for their restaurant. But the food is excellent! Indonesian – and not altogether irrelevant – insanely cheap! Another thing that deserves mention is their fantastic personnel, who are not only skilled in the kitchen but also incredibly hospitable and helpful.
Sebastian became sick while we were in Ubud, so we picked up food from Sari Bamboo, where they wrapped it carefully for us in banana leaves and nice plastic bags.
Learn more about Sari Bamboo
7. Bayu’s Kitchen
Not a really inexpensive place, but oh boy, they make delicious food. Their “Nasi campur” (Indonesian dish) is excellent, and the same is true for their dessert pancakes with coconut and palm sugar…
See how it looks and read more about the food they serve at Bayu’s Kitchen
A Few Facts about Ubud
Close to the centre of Bali, you find the town of Ubud, surrounded by rice fields.
Ubud is the town where you encounter Indonesian culture and art.
This is also where you find lots of cafes, restaurants, spas and yoga and wellness centres.
Inhabitants in Ubud: About 30,000
Links
-> Ubud Travelguide
-> Alchemy
-> Karsa Kafe
-> Clear Cafe
-> Warung Pulau Kelapa
-> Sari Bamboo
-> Bayu’s Kitchen
