Bali at the table: tasting menus, warungs and the grill on the beach

About Bali at the table: tasting menus, warungs and the grill on the beach

By the ULTIMATE Bali Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Bali has no MICHELIN guide, and it doesn’t need one to be one of Asia’s great places to eat. Around Ubud, chefs cook tasting menus from Indonesian produce: Locavore NXT at Lodtunduh, Mozaic, Apéritif at the Viceroy, and Will Goldfarb’s dessert counter Room4Dessert. In Seminyak the Petitenget road is a restaurant row, from Merah Putih’s Indonesian cooking under a glass roof to Sardine’s seafood over the rice fields. At Jimbaran, tables are set on the sand at sunset for fish grilled over coconut husks.

The tasting menus of Ubud

Locavore NXT, at Lodtunduh just south of Ubud, is the successor to Locavore: its team works with its own farm, lab and growers. Mozaic serves French technique with Indonesian produce in a garden in Sanggingan, and Apéritif, at Viceroy Bali, sets tasting menus in a 1920s-style dining room. Hujan Locale, on Jalan Sri Wedari in central Ubud, cooks modern Indonesian dishes all day.

Seminyak’s restaurant row

Along Jalan Petitenget and the lanes of Kerobokan you will find Merah Putih, with its glass-roofed hall and Indonesian menu; Sardine, a bamboo pavilion over the rice fields; Sangsaka, on Jalan Raya Pangkung Sari, cooking from Indonesia’s regions over charcoal; Mama San, an Asian brasserie; and Bambu, an Indonesian dining room beside ponds.

Book the tasting menus well ahead, especially in July, August and over Christmas.

Jimbaran on the sand

At sunset, the beach at Jimbaran fills with tables for fish, prawns and squid grilled over coconut husks. Sundara, the Four Seasons’ beach restaurant, takes the same view a step up.

The Balinese table

Look for babi guling (spit-roast suckling pig with spices), bebek betutu (duck slow-cooked in banana leaves), sate lilit (minced fish or meat wrapped round lemongrass) and nasi campur, a plate of rice with small dishes. Sambal matah, raw shallot and chilli with lime and coconut oil, comes with almost everything.

Our advice: tip as you would at home only if service isn’t already on the bill; most restaurants add tax and service.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Bali at the table: tasting menus, warungs and the grill on the beach before you go.