Lombok Restaurants

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While we stayed at the Oberoi we wanted to try out the other two restaurants in the area. The Lombok Lodge is in walking distance from the Oberoi.

The Lombok Lodge is a Boutique Hotel with a quite unique architecture. Not so much my taste, the hotel rooms and the main building with it's square shape doesn't look to appealing. Nevertheless we gave the restaurant a try.

The menu has the usual suspect, with a few specials as well.

Favorite Dish: We settled for the Nasi Goreng and the Mie Goreng in the absence of other local (and non spicy) dishes. The dishes were tasty but come with a hefty luxury hotel price tag of 95'000++.

Coke was 25k, small Bintang was 35k and the Water Melon Juice came at a whopping 55k. All of which do not include Tax & Service yet.

If you stay at the Oberoi it's a good place for a change, but if you stay anywhere else on the island, don't bother to make it all the way there. You get the same cuisine somewhere else, and probably cheaper.

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There is an ever expanding choice of eating establishments on Gili Trawangan catering to every taste and budget. During the backpacker heydays in the 90s all you could hope for on Gili T was a plate of Nasi Goreng or fried fish but nowadays there is an eclectic mix of food from local specialities to western favourites. The food can be cheap and cheerful such as the place backpackers refer to as the ‘kitchen’, a small local eatery in the village square by the jetty or it can be expensive and high class such as at Vila Ombak and Ko Ko Mo. Somewhere in between lies the majority of the eateries on Gili T. Our favourite was Rudy’s bar and restaurant which we ate at quite a bit. Good value and good service, especially when the waiters get to know you! Food was pretty standard Gili T fair but never let us down and was great value for money. Of the several dishes we tried at Rudy’s we were impressed with the Chicken Satay and Tuna Steaks even if a little dry at times but at these process you can’t complain. Tir na nOg is a very popular spot to go for some western comfort food such as burgers, pies and Irish breakfast but the quality of the food varies from day to day and service is pitifully slow...staff really need a shake at times.

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Ambience in this restaurant is western but upmarket. We ordered escargo, caesar salad, steak and a special dessert for my brothers birthday. The whole meal was delicious !

Favorite Dish: The steak (aussie) was so good

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The Astari restaurant is perched high on a hill about 2km west of Kuta, South Lombok. The views across the fields and down to the ocean are incredible. Even more impressive are the delicious, healthy meals on offer in this 'out-of-way' place. Most of the food is vegetarian, everything is fresh, and their are unique combinations of juices to try. The owners are quite happy to have you lounge around reading as you enjoy home-made dips or a light meal. I seriously couldn't believe how good the food was, especially given how far away the place is from a large city.

Favorite Dish: There are daily specials of main meals, but also delicious focaccias or sandwiches.

We were supprised to find such a nice looking restaurant amid the shambolic main street of Senggigi so decided to have a meal there and we were glad we did as it was very nice. They do a mix of local and international dishes so we were all pleased as us adults like Asian food while our children usually opt for the more Western style (or anything that comes with chips or on a pizza!).

Prices were towards the high side for Indonesia I guess, but compared to the resort restaurants they were lower.

Another bonus was that they're willing to come and pick you up from your hotel and take you back again so it doesn't even cost anything to get there. I'm sure this practice will stop if tourism picks up again, but at the moment it's a useful thing to know about and it isn't just the Square who'll do this so it's worth speaking to the receptionist at your hotel and finding out which other restaurants will pick you up.

We enjoyed the Square so much that we went there twice and both times the food was excellent.

Favorite Dish: Lumpia (spring rolls) were good, also the black pepper beef and warm beef salad and the black pepper tuna was excellent. Our children also loved their chicken nuggets (home made).

The price for four of us was around 500,000 IDR (US$44) and that included beers and soft drinks

The restaurant at the Vila Ombak on Gili Trawangan is amazing. It rivals some of the best restaurants on Bali. The restaurant is actually open air right on the beach. Each table is nicely set with table cloths and candles. They often have a BBQ buffet (including desserts).

Favorite Dish: Everything I had there was fantastic. I especially loved the prawns in a fragrant curry sauce. Dessert lovers will be in heaven.

4 of us had drinks, starters, mains and desserts and the total was ~500,000 rupiah.

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We went there for a dinner with clients actually but it became more of a private event after all. Just a great, relaxing atmosphere and great italian foods.

Favorite Dish: We had some italian Bread with black olives for an appetizer, pasta and some strawberry frappee for desert. All very delicious and home made as we heard.

This little hotel was next door to the Holiday Resort where we were staying, so we walked up there one night for dinner.

The food was OK, nothing fancy, but cheaper than our hotel and it was more local (not all ponced-up like it was next door!). The staff was friendly and welcoming and they were the proud owners of one of the biggest geckos I've ever seen (slightly worrying when he's running about on the ceiling right above your soup!)

I'd recommend it if you're staying up that way and want a change of scene from the Holiday Resort and I'm sure the owners would be pleased to see you (as there was only one other group dining there when we went).