Kuta Restaurants

a new restaurant by kuta galeria simpang siur mall.
it has bright green wall with old black and white pictures.
the ceiling is full of white lampions and empty birdcages.
indonesian style homemade food serve with white or yellow rice. you can have free crakcers (kerupuk) if you have your meal there.

Favorite Dish: try everything...

it's new and it's open for 24 hours!
in oberoi area where there are restaurants along the road.
it looks a grey box made of concrete with windows from outside. and inside, it got built in sofas and tables and waitress dress up like you see in hollywood movies.
water is free and will be refil continuesly.

I have here a great tip. I am not even sure if it's fair to post it . Even other indonesians are not familiar with this.

Kuta is one of the worse places to eat. Price/quality it's atrocious.Finding good food is difficult and finding good food at fair prices is nearly impossible.
Being a tourist destination and an island getting the right/best ingredients is always hard and only the best can afford getting them. As a result for great food you must pay a premium .
Other places are just touristtraps just places that have adjusted to the tastes of the lowest common denominator....the tourists.Thanking there popularity because they are mentioned in the guides.
Ku De Ta is a deservedly famous restaurant and is an example of the former.
Warung Made is example of the latter. Low quality food for premium pricing. Sure compared to Ku De Ta or the west it's cheap....but don't think what you are eating is authentic. Worse of all they dare to ask 10 times the price of what the same dish would cost you at a real warung for locals.
Ku De Ta at least delivers great food ...the best what Kuta can offer..relatively high quality and in a beautifull ambiance and setting.

Another infamous tourist trap is the seafood diners at Jimbaran Beach. We paid 750.000 rups for 4 persons. We didnt take any lobsters(would have gone over the million), but it was a seriously sumptous feast. It comes doen to 20€ a person. By western standard it's OK, but by indonesian standaard it's SO expensive. My uncle who's indonesian was shocked when he heard what we paid.

Have you noticed the lack of streetvendors and stalls near kuta?!? It's no coincedence. Around kuta is a cordon sanitair...forbidding such stalls to establish themselves. Forcing the tourists to eat in the kuta restaurants. A totally understandable act.
Thanks to my diveguide I learned where the locals eat there seafood.(certainly not at kuta strip or at Jimbaran) A few streets behind Kuta there are areas where stalls are allowed to open. One such area or street is Jalan Iman Bonjol.

Favorite Dish: To get to this area it's just a shorttaxi ride from the kuta area.
Just drive around with a cab. What these streetstalls serves is painted on the tarps of the tent. Just look for one that has seafood painted on it and stop there. Ask them what they have on offer.
No lobsters , but they should have Fish, Squid, Prawns, Crabs etc. All fresh, even if they are much smaller than the ones in Jimbaran. But most important they taste the same and are cooked with the same skill as the beach. All u miss is the beach ambiance(roadside) but the plus side is the price. A truly sumptous dinner for 3 we ended including a generous tip at 100.000 rups. One seventh of the price we spent at Jimbaran just a few days before.

People this is one of my best tips. And maybe it's unfair giving it out...but as a foodie this is a must. A quid pro quo for all the excellent advice I have gotten.
This tip is even for thelocal non bali residents an unknown.I just love the way the balinese cook there fish. A salt and sour redpaste. They basically use it on all the seafood. Crab, Shrimp, fish....I love it.
Instead of this local marinade you could choose to just fry them and eat it with ketjap.
But i suggest the former..it's delicious.

And best of all..a seafood banquet for less than 3 €!!

And again walk around and look at the other stalls. They will bring it to where you are sitting. Every stall has it's own speciality.

Only downside is...we are intruding into local territory and it's pretty decadent to see the difference in wealth. We ate multiple crabs per person, while just a table across a local family was sharing 1 crab as a family.
So when you are here try tot be unobtrusive as possible. This is a family place. Local families come here to enjoy seafood and if you eat here you should try and blend in.
I can't think of nothing worse than to have a bunch of obnoxious demanding tourists flaunting there wealth coming into your favourite eatery and messing up your dinner and family nightout.

Take a break from the chaos of Kuta and check this place out. It's upstairs, but in typical Bali style it is all open. It was quiet when we were there, but it was mid afternoon. We were having a very late lunch!!

Favorite Dish: Make sure you try the Chimi Changas. They are very nice, price was good too, only rp29,000. Serve was large so it was value for money. Their lime juice was pretty good too, only rp10,500.

My favourite place to hang out sipping drink and waiting for sunset.

It's directly in front of the beach... and you can actually leave your belonging in your seat and go swimming in the beach. The waiters will keep an eye for your belonging. (I've actually done it as I came there by myself for the first time)

The place is always full at sun set tiem and you can't reserve for such timing. So it's best to come at 4 pm

La Lucciola was located in Seminyak Far end of Kuta Beach.
It's set in the same complex as one of a Pura (where Balinese pray). The restaurant was 2 storey overlooking the beach.
Very romantic at night.

Do book in advance - they're very busy esp on weekend

Favorite Dish: I forget the name (it's something with fish) and their spaghetti

When you want a taste of real Indonesian food go to the several Warungs opposite the Main Entrance of the Bakung Sari Hotel. It can be crowded with locals eating their lunch/ dinner, but isnt that a sign that the food is really tasty?

Favorite Dish: just choose all the things you want from the counter. Fish, chicken, vegtables, egs combined with white rice.. real yummie...

Very nice food, a lot of people and that is a good sign for quality, low prices, fast service.
All that makes a visit to this restaurant a nice feeling.
At Mades Warung You could also look at some art exhibitions.
Click at the link to their restaurant and discover, check the menu and asked prices.

Favorite Dish: Noodles soup, vegetable soup. It was delicious, and one of the things - you wont get overfilled with a soup.