Ubud has a wide and varied selection of restaurants that cater to every taste. Ever since Julia Roberts put Ubud on the map with ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ tourists have been flocking to this small town in the uplands of Bali. I recently returned for my second visit to compile a list of the best restaurants in Ubud.
Visiting other destinations in Indonesia? Check out our other delicious guides:
- Best Things to Do on Bali Indonesia
- 7 Best Restaurants Seminyak, Bali
- Ultimate Guide to Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
While in Ubud, don’t miss out on activities that will help immerse yourself with the city (hurry while they’re hot!):
- Ubud: Romantic Dinner on a Forest Tree Deck
- Ubud: Monkey Forest, Rice Terrace & Tanah Lot Private Tour
- Ubud: 3-Hour Silver Jewelry Making Class
- Ubud: Hot Air Balloon Experience
8 Best Restaurants in Ubud, Bali
Blanco par Mandif
Jalan Raya Tjampuhan Museum Blanco Complex // +62 361 4792284
Blanco par Mandif rivals any Michelin star restaurant I’ve ever tried. The small restaurant serves a maximum of ten patrons per seating, so you will definitely need a reservation. The menu highlights Indonesian flavors using only the freshest local ingredients.
We opted for the nine-course dinner with pairings. It was fascinating to watch the dishes come to life before us from our seats, which all face the kitchen. The mixologist is an expert as well. I would have never thought to combine some of the complicated flavors in the way he did, but every one of the pairings worked.
An amazing concept is nothing without skilled chefs to advance the idea. The chefs in Blanco par Mandif’s kitchen are all experts. The delicate plating was done with expert precision. The dishes are literal artwork, and you wonder how something so delicate and perfectly presented could contain so much flavor.
Course after course, we constantly tried to reevaluate our favorite, but it was too difficult. Each course was truly incredible.
The service at Blanco par Mandif is also exceptional. Our servers were always nearby, but never intrusive. They would deliver plates with a short introduction to each dish. When the staff found out we were celebrating a friend’s birthday, they went out of their way to make the night truly memorable.
As it’s fine dining, the dinner was definitely a bit of a splurge, but incredibly worth it. It stands as not only one of the best meals I’ve ever had, but also one of the most memorable. definitely one of the best restaurants in Ubud.
Cafe Vespa
Jalan Raya Penestanan Kaja // +62 361 973034
Cafe Vespa is located beyond the main part of Ubud, but it’s well worth the visit. This was one of the few places I visited more than once during my stay in Ubud.
The large menu predominantly features healthy choices, but there are several burger and fish and chip selections to satisfy your less healthy cravings as well.
Looking for what to do between meals? Check out this guide detailing the best things to do in Bali!
Cantina
Jl. Dewisita // +62 361-908-1843
Of course, I was going to seek out Mexican food while in Ubud. Cantina has a small but phenomenal menu. All of the ingredients are fresh, and the tortillas are homemade, which is a rare feature to find in most parts of Asia. I also really loved the open kitchen concept. We were able to not only watch the chef prepare our meal, but also chat with him while he assembled dishes.
Black Beach Italian
Jl. Hanoman 5 // +62 036 197 1353
I was surprised to find a great Italian dinner in Ubud. This gnocchi dish was simple but had a ton of fresh flavor. Black Beach uses fresh, organic ingredients and prefers a light cooking technique. In addition, Black Beach makes their own pizza dough in-house daily.
Sayan House
Jl. Raya Sayan No.70 // +62 361 479 2592
The Sayan House features a Japanese/Latin American fusion concept. It was my first introduction to these flavor pairings, and I can’t wait to try more. My personal favorite was the sashimi tacos served with wasabi.
I always mention how I’m not a dessert person, but my friend was crazy for the churros they served at the end of our meal. They were served hot on a bed of ice cream with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top.
I also can’t fail to mention the insane view you get with your dinner at The Sayan House. The dramatic view overlooks the Sayan Gorge. Definitely come for sunset cocktails and stay for dinner like we did.
Spice by Chris Salans
Jalan Raya Ubud No. 23 // +62 361 4792420
Also featured in my ‘Where to Eat in Sanur‘ guide, when I learned Spice had a second location in Ubud, I knew I had to check it out. This location has a less formal, more modern cafe feel to it, but their food is just as great as their first location.
Applying French cooking techniques to fresh, locally sourced ingredients, the concept has been a hit in Bali. The group is currently expanding soon with a third location.
Babi Guling Ibu Oka
Jalan Tegal Sari No. 2 // +62 623 61976345
Don’t be mistaken by how simple this plate of food appears– looks can be deceiving. Babi guling is a typical local dish of spit-roasted suckling pig. This restaurant was made famous by a visit from Anthony Bourdain, who declared it, at that time, the best pig he had ever had. Since then, Mr. Bourdain has declared Lechon his favorite. Making Babi one of the best restaurants in Ubud.
Porchetta will always have the top spot in my heart, but babi guling is insanely delicious nonetheless. I love this restaurant because they serve flavorful meat with roasted skin, sausage, rice, and vegetables. Although this place is always crowded with tourists because of its international recognition, you’ll still find locals eating here too.
Kafe
Jl. Hanoman 44b // 62 361 4792078
Kafe was my first stop when I arrived in Ubud, as it was highly recommended by friends living there, and for good reason. Kafe’s menu is large and impressive, featuring many of your favorite dishes, only made slightly healthier. The restaurant prides itself on using local Bali-harvested and chemical-free produce and provides a wide range of both vegetarian and vegan, raw, gluten-free, macrobiotic, and world cuisine dishes.
The eatery sits in a prime location in the center of Ubud and has a tropical cafe feel to it. This is a great place to bring a book and lounge around as you work your way through the menu, or bring your laptop and catch up on some work.
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There you have it- the best restaurants in Ubud. Which one looked best to you? Let me know in the comments section below.
How to get to Ubud?
You can book your ground and sea transportation with Bookaway, so click here to book your tickets.
I had no idea of the vast cuisines in Bali! These pictures look so good i’m almost licking my screen haha! Everything looks so delicious.
If I ever get one person to lick their screen then I’ll feel like I have accomplished my mission, lol. Yeah, Bali has a bit of something for everyone!
You just gave me an idea how to enjoy food in bali and that’s awesome!
That’s always the first way that I enjoy a new country!
The last photo got to me, the lime, the chili, the spices. There are certain characteristics, from SE Asia to Latin America to West Africa, that tell you the people really jack their food up. There’s a mindset of people who just search for flavor to their foods. Even though your list above isn’t all Indonesian food (and why should it be), there’s a vibrancy theme to them. I’ve been to other islands in Indonesia but never Bali. I always skipped it thinking it’s too touristy. But perhaps i should go…and eat.
There are parts of it (Kuta and Seminyak) that are very touristy. But, you can find other lesser known parts that are way less touristic. For me, Canggu was a good mix. Just touristy enough!
It looks like you ate well in Ubud, that’s for sure! Really impressed with the range of cuisines in Ubud, from traditional Italian, to a Michelin-standard modern restaurant. Personally, I would head straight for the babi guling! I love suckling pig, and it may not be the prettiest dish, but I’m sure it would be one of the best tasting!
Babi guling was amazing! Have you ever had lechon from the Philipppines or porchetta from Italy? Those are actually my favorites but I loved babi guling as well. Roasted pork goes so well with beer also!
Oh gosh, I should not have looked at this before eating breakfast. I’m SO hungry now! It looks like Bali has some incredible places to eat. I think I would have visited Cafe Vespa multiple times too. And of course, I’m always up for Italian food… 🙂
Cafe Vespa was a great find. I’m glad I went off the main path to get to it. And yes, I’m always down for Italian also. Anytime, anywhere. Same with Mexican food.
I’ll save this for my plan to visit Bali, hopefully early next year. Thanks yet again for making me hungry. 🙂
That’s my goal so I’m glad it worked! I hope you enjoy your time in Bali! It really is such an amazing place full of great food!
The photos are making me so hungry! These places look great and I like that there seems to be a ‘healthy’ food movement going on in the town! I think you’ve inspired me to have gnocchi tonight – such a simple dish but so so tasty!
OH MY! that all looks so magical. I really love Indonesian food, both the fine dining and the street food is all full of flavour and just such great tastes. YUM!
I agree- everything from street food to fine dining is really great. I’m glad I was able to try a range of dishes.
Looks so fresh, tasty and sophisticated! I really envy that you ate all this!
Everything was so good! I’m glad you liked it. Now I need find a gym lol.
I always see that Ubub has the most colorful looking food. I would love to visit Bali and try out some of these dishes.
Colorful and delicious! I was so impressed with everything in Ubud. There’s such a huge range of options.
Gosh, you can get any kind of food you like in Ubud! Seems like a wonderful place, the more I read about it the more I want to visit. I’d be stopping at Kafe first as I like restaurants with lots of veggie options where some imagination has been put into the dishes.
Kafe was great! I will definitely be returning there when I’m in Ubud next.
Oh these all look lovely. I love the look of Cafe Vespa. When I was in Bali a few years ago there were not half as many restaurants to choose from. Think I will have to go back soon to try out all these places!
It’s worth a return visit just for the food alone! There are so many places I would like to go back to try or revisit.
Sign me up for that nine course dinner, please! Sounds like a dream. Also, I’m definitely adding Spice to my list. All great recommendations, thanks for sharing 🙂
Cafe Vespa gets my pick. It is so strange seeing all of those tiny meal portions seeing that I am from the US. They look like a snack compared to our meals.
I loved Ubud! It did have a lot of great cafes and restaurants. Cafe Vespa was one of my favorites. And I had babi guling a couple of times at different places. I love any kind of pig! lol
All of these dishes look INCREDIBLE. I love the idea of tapas so I’d definitely check out La Ramona. Who am I kidding, I’d go to all of these restaurants. Thank you for sharing and making my mouth water!
We always seek out the Mexican restaurants too. Expat problems! Cantina’s tacos look pretty yummy and it’s always a pleasant surprise when you find decent Mexican food outside of North America.
I’m always on the hunt for good Mexican food! I’ve found some surprisingly great spots around Asia.
I’m looking at visiting Ubud and it looks like there is wealth of great places to eat.
For sure! Please let me know if you go and you try any of these restaurants. I hope you like them.
WOW what great reviews. I will be visiting Ubud this July and can’t wait to try some of your recommendations.
Please let me know what you think of them after you try them!
Hi Nathan,
I love your article and I’d like to feature some of your recommendations on my Bali article:
https://angelinaroundtheworld.com/bali/
If you’re interested in collaborating just send me an email and we’ll make it happen!
Love,
Angelina DiGivanni.
I’m going to Ubud in a few days and am quite concerned about Bali Belly from the local water supply. Do you know if the vegetables are washed on filtered water or local water? I really would like to enjoy the food if the region to the maximum without the concern of illness
most of the nicer restaurants or restaurants aimed at Westerners will use filtered water. You can always ask your server. I never had any issues! Enjoy your trip!
Nathan, a great article and wonderful pictures, shame you don’t have a FaceBook share button!
Thank you! I used to have them but unfortunately they interfere with the ads I installed so I had to yank them down. Feel free to copy and paste the link if you like!
Wow, this place looks great. I am definitely gonna be there on my next visit.