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Picks  DPS · Bali

Where I ate in Bali, and what I’d go back for

6 places I’d eat at again, from a café that knew my order by heart to a seafood dinner in Kedonganan.

Written and photographed by Ethan Ward
Went: 2 months

You only get so many days off, so every pick says how long I was there and when I last checked. Then you make the call.

All 6 are from my second trip: 3 around Ubud, then Mengwi, Kedonganan, and Sanur.

01
PENESTANAN, UBUD
Arum Coffee

Photo of Ethan Ward taking a mirror selfie outside Arum Coffee in Ubud, under the café’s round sign.
Photo of the counter at Arum Coffee, with pastries in a wooden glass case, a stained-glass panel of red flowers, and menus taped to the door.
Photo of a cook in a black T-shirt at Arum Coffee’s small kitchen counter, under a painting of a tiger.
Photo of a hand holding a small Balinese orange cut in half, green on the outside and orange inside.
ETHAN WARDSWIPE FOR MORE → 4 PHOTOS

Nothing is made ahead, so breakfast takes a while. The orange juice is pressed by hand after you order, and I went back most mornings for it and the açaí bowl.

Price · About 35,000 to 50,000 rupiah for a coffee

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

02
PENESTANAN, UBUD
Café Vespa

Photo of the street outside Café Vespa in Ubud, seen through its open window, with the café’s banner and motorbikes passing.

ETHAN WARD

I ordered the Greek salad and a green smoothie so often that after about 2 weeks the staff knew my order by heart. Some days I added the carrot cake.

Price · Greek salad 52,000 rupiah, smoothies and juices 26,000 to 45,000, carrot cake 35,000

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

03
SAYAN, UBUD
Pasar Sayan

Photo of vendors at a low market table serving sweets from platters of orange, green, and white rice cakes as a customer hands over money.
Photo of three vendors behind a low table at the Pasar Sayan morning market.
Photo of a platter of orange and white rice sweets beside squares of grey coconut cake, with a vendor’s hands spooning an order into a leaf.
Photo of fruit, flowers, and long green leaves for sale under umbrellas at the Pasar Sayan morning market.
ETHAN WARDSWIPE FOR MORE → 4 PHOTOS

Go early. A little after 7 a.m., 3 women at a low table were selling rice and coconut sweets from enamel platters, and I chose by pointing while one of them spooned my order into a cone of leaf. Bring small notes; it’s cash, and one of them counted out my change.

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

04
MENGWI
Pondok Genyol Sading

Photo of an open-air warung counter shaped like a small gold-painted temple, with food behind glass and a red menu banner.
Photo of a red plate of shredded pork, long beans with coconut, crackling, and a grilled skewer, with rice and a bowl of broth behind it.
Photo of the red menu board at Pondok Genyol Sading, listing the nasi be genyol plates from 10K to 55K.
Photo of a gloved hand serving pork and sambal from trays at the counter, onto a plate lined with a banana leaf.
ETHAN WARDSWIPE FOR MORE → 4 PHOTOS

My friend Agus, who grew up on Bali, brought me here and ordered for both of us. The food is cooked before you get there, so the plate came almost as soon as he asked for it, with shredded pork, long beans with coconut and chili, a grilled skewer, and crackling. Everything on the menu board was pork.

Price · Nasi be genyol biasa 15,000 rupiah, with broth and rice

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

05
KEDONGANAN
Aroma Restaurant

Photo of a table at Aroma Restaurant with lobster in a dark sauce, fried calamari, greens, sambal, and peanuts.
Photo of seafood on ice in glass tanks at the front counter of Aroma Restaurant.
Photo of Ethan Ward sitting on a bench on the beach under the Aroma Restaurant sign in Kedonganan.
ETHAN WARDSWIPE FOR MORE → 3 PHOTOS

My first dinner back in Bali was here, with Agus and his wife. You pick your seafood from the ice at the front and the kitchen cooks it, and we had lobster, fried calamari, greens, and sambal. Lobster is priced by weight, so ask the price per kilo before they cook it.

Price · Set menus start at about 300,000 to 400,000 rupiah a person

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

06
SANUR
Warung Lilicious

Photo of the wooden order board at Warung Lilicious on Mertasari Beach, with menu posters above a sign that says “Order here.”
Photo of sun loungers under a tree on Mertasari Beach, facing calm water and small boats.
Photo of the curve of the shore at Mertasari Beach in Sanur, with a boat anchored offshore.
ETHAN WARDSWIPE FOR MORE → 3 PHOTOS

A beach warung at Mertasari, on the south end of Sanur. I always got a coffee and a sandwich, and I liked stopping at places like this more than the restaurants built for tourists.

Price · Iced latte 50,000 rupiah, grilled cheese sandwich 55,000, from the menu board

Went · Yes, 2 months
Still good as of · April 2026

What I’d skip

The beachfront restaurant inside ICON Bali
The food was made for tourists, and it wasn’t good. I’d still go to ICON Bali, the first mall I’ve been to that opens onto the beach, to walk around, look at the shops, and people-watch. Then I’d eat at a warung.

KFC, if you’re going to see whether it tastes different
Agus said the chicken was locally sourced, so I ordered a few pieces. It tasted like KFC. He likes it, and I’d spend that meal at Pondok Genyol Sading.

THE STORY FROM THIS TRIP

A hand holding up a halved Balinese orange, its green peel around orange flesh.

What I missed while eating in Bali
From a café where I waited for breakfast to a warung where lunch arrived almost immediately, I kept finding more to a meal than I expected.

Everything from Bali

Each issue has new picks. When an old one stops holding up, the next issue says so.

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