Ubud Restaurants

This pretty little restaurant has the best iced butterscotch drink topped with whipped cream in town! They also tend to have special buffet nights with all-you-can-eat food for one small price tag. Nice service, good food and live entertainment on the weekends.

Favorite Dish: I had a nice, spicy siep pelalah (shredded chicken with chili sauce), a good cramcam udang (clear chopped prawn soup with Balinese spice) and had the all-you-can eat Thai buffet another evening for 70,000 rp. I returned in 2011 to find that they no longer offer the butterscotch drink and had revamped their menu, which meant no more siep pelalah or cramcam udang. Instead, I ordered one of my perennial favorites - sate lillit. The portion was HUGE and very tasty.

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Although they serve pizza and other mains, I've only eaten pasta and soup here. The pasta is always good and inexpensive, with huge portions. Though service is extremely slow, the restaurant has a very nice view from its top floor. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, they show French and Italian movies starting at 8:00 p.m. The bar is located on the second floor, as well as the restrooms (although these are NOT Western toilets).

Favorite Dish: The penne gorgonzola is my favorite pasta; the panbagnato is my favorite soup.

This somewhat large restaurant seemed to be frequented by large groups of tourists. Service was okay; food was mediocre.

Favorite Dish: I had a Coke (Rp. 7750), a small bottled water (Rp. 6750) & spaghetti carbonara (Rp. 59,750). The 15% tax & service came to Rp. 11,137.

So how did this most beautiful and romantic of restaurants - a favourite haunt of the locals, get its name...?

"One tropical monsoon morning, when the restaurant was very close to being finished ( we had the concrete floor down, and the tables in ), a flock of ducks from the rice field across the road ( yes, there were rice fields all around us then ) ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant and across the floor and tables. They left muddy webbed footprints all over the place. They were our first guests - those dirty ducks!"

Perhaps one of the most satisfying things when on holiday is discovering a fantastic restaurant that isn't even in the guide books!

Dirty Duck's is just such a place and just a few hundred yards from our hotel - such was the greatness of this place in all aspects that despite the plethora of mouthwatering restaurants all crying out to be sampled in Ubud, we simply had to eat here more than once!!!

Firstly it exudes characteristic Balinese charm in that it is an open air temple to food with several dining areas connected to a number of intimate private tables sheltered under their own individual thatched canopies.

Secondly the views are to die for as it is about the only place in the centre of Ubud that has unbroken views of rice paddies as your vista - they own them so despite the rampant developments surrounding the restaurant, this view is guaranteed (as well as being a source of the restaurant's rice!)...

Thirdly the staff are wonderfully friendly and the service is impeccable to a tee - right down to the umbrellas they carry to cover the food when it rains.

We came twice, once during a very rainy and highly enjoyable day - and once for an unforgettable night during a power cut, which only added to the romance of the evening when the candles came out...

Favorite Dish: Dining alfresco here is a wonderful experience and both times we had our own exclusive little table to while away our fantastic meals...

The menu is very eclectic with a lot of european dishes on offer - but of course we were going 'native'... ;-)

As well as the wonderful starters we had mains such as the ubiquitous Nasi Campur and Nasi Goreng, which were the best we tasted on the island! Our favourite drink was another Balinese favourite - the Iced Tea...

Other drinks included the local Indonesian firewater, Arak.

Come here!! You will NOT be disappointed! :-)

Check out the weblink for more great pictures!

Murni's Warung is probably the most famous restaurant in Ubud - it was the first restaurant founded by Murni, a local celebrity, who still runs it.

It sits on a gorgeous location above the meeting place of two rivers and is decorated with antiques and Balinese art from Murni's collection.

The food and service are delightful and there's a nice Lounge Bar on the second of the 4 levels. The last level is cool and romantic just above the river.

Highly recommended for its atmosphere and food and shop, where Murni's treasures are for sale.

Favorite Dish: The Balinese Smoked Duck is great - jus drops off the bone and beautifully spiced.

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Australian Paul Haig and his Sumatran wife Sonya have recently opened what I can only call a GREAT new addition to the seemingly endless choices in Ubud to dine, drink and hang out with friends.

Located just outside of central Ubud on Jalan Cok Gede Rai in Peliatan, this wonderful little niche is a favorite among local Balinese and Indonesians as well as long residing expatriates. The why behind that is simple…outstanding Indonesian delicacies and favorites with a Medanese flair and prices not seen in Ubud for almost 10 years.

For less than the cost of a single entree in many Ubud restaurants, a couple can fill their bellies and satisfy their driest thirst to their complete satisfaction and delight. In addition to a wonderful assortment of Indonesian culinary favorites, the drink menu offers a variety of juices, wine, beer and of course, Paul’s famous rabbit punch. Be careful with those rabbit punches because they have a kick more like a kangaroo than a rabbit!

Decorated around a Vespa theme, (a collecting passion of Paul), this delightful spot is spotlessly clean and well staffed by ladies who know their trade very well. Their well fitted kitchen includes a barbeque grill.

Most unique however is Paul and Sonya’s dedication and commitment to offer their customers the best of Indonesian cuisine, made from the freshest ingredients and at a very modest cost.

Favorite Dish: On our first visit, my Balinese wife Eri and I decided to try a bit of several dishes which is the Dutch coined tradition of multiple courses called reistaffel, which we shared.

We started with Sonya’s deservedly famous Soto Ayam Medan. This means Medanese style chicken soup, but this ain’t the chicken soup made by Jewish moms…not by a long shot. Beautifully blended with curries, coconut milk and spices, heaped with generous amounts of shredded plump chicken breast meat and vegetables, this glorious take on this famous Medanese dish is nothing short than a delightful assault on one’s sense of smell and taste. Sonya doesn’t add any noodles to her interpretation of this classic dish, rather she prefers to offer it with generous amounts of chicken. I’ve had some great soups in my 14 years of full time living in Indonesia, but this one went straight to the top of my list. Even Eri, who is difficult to impress, and is no less a great cook herself, nodded in constant approval as our spoons battled each other to consume as much as possible.

Next on the list was Ayam Bekar Bumbu Pedas. This is a plump chicken leg and thigh, not the scrawny kampung or village chicken, grilled with Medanese style bumbu which is a thick marinate of various local spices. Pedas means hot, as in spicy hot, and for me it was right at my desired level of heat with awesome flavor. Forget your knife and fork, as you’ll want to pick this baby up and enjoy every bit of the tender and gloriously flavored meat. Sorry Eri! She only got one bite of that!

So, what’s next? OK, we decided on one of the most classic of Indonesian dishes, Mie Goreng and a bowl of Bakso, both served Medanese style and both with unique signatures that are hallmarks of Sonya’s mastery and culinary expertise. Once again, Sonya’s creations were awesome and the servings incredibly generous. There was simply no way that Eri and I could possibly finish all we had ordered which came to a grand total of IDR 51,000, or roughly $5.50!

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Casa Luna is consistently one of my favorite restaurants when I'm in Ubud. It is owned by the owners of Honeymoon Guesthouse, which means it is also associated with Indus. The restaurant is beautiful (with both upstairs & downstairs seating) and the food is delicious and reasonably priced, though service can be slow.

Favorite Dish: I love everything!

A friend of mine told me about a new restaurant/bar that opened up last month. It used to be called Exile Bar a few years ago, and had a reputation as the place to be on Saturday nights. The location is a few blocks from Monkey Forest Road, and there was lots of parking out front which is a rare thing in Ubud.

The interior is very beautiful and comfortable, and I especially liked the garden in the back. At night there are lights under the trees, it could be a very romantic setting for a couple. We just had a few beers and listened to the music. The night we went was really cool, one guy playing acoustic guitar with an incredible voice, & another guy on a square drum box. They sung a variety of cover songs.

I want to come back in the day because there is free wi-fi but I didn't have my computer. We ordered guacamole and chips, and also the pulled pork sandwich, both were delicious and nice presentation. We highly recommend it to Ubud's night owls...The Grotto stays open until 2am.

Favorite Dish: Pulled pork sandwich, guacamole