The best restaurants in Ubud

The Best Restaurants in Ubud

Ubud is fast becoming the gastronomic capital of Asia.

This artist town attracts an extraordinary number of talented chefs from all over the world, delighting travellers and locals with amazing flavours. Read on for my take on the best restaurants in Ubud. If you are still deciding where to base yourself between dinners, I have also reviewed Capella Ubud.

Why Trust This Article?

Indonesia has been my home for the past ten years — not a destination I parachute into for a story. I’ve traveled the archipelago from end to end: more than 20 trips to Raja Ampat and Komodo, expeditions through Halmahera, Alor and the Banda Sea, road trips across Sumba and Flores, and countless journeys around Bali in every season, on every kind of transport from private drivers to the public bus. Along the way I’ve slept in everything from Nihi Sumba, once named the best hotel in the world, to remote island guesthouses with no running water or electricity — so when I tell you whether a place, festival or route is worth your time, it’s measured against the whole country, not a brochure. Everything in this article comes from my own visits, with my own photos, and I update it when things change on the ground. More on how I travel and review on my author page.

My personal list runs from the most casual spots to the fine-dining rooms that put Ubud on the culinary map. One rule applies to almost all of them: book ahead. In the July–August high season the best tables are gone weeks in advance, and a few of the tasting-menu restaurants below fill up a month or more out.

Tip: Planning your days around your lunch and dinner reservations? Make sure to check out the best things to do and top activities in Ubud to fill your itinerary with amazing experiences between your meals.

Taco Casa restaurant Ubud

Burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas are the kings here, everything made from scratch and free of flavourings and preservatives.

It’s cheap, cheerful and genuinely good for families: kids dig into nachos piled high with cream, guacamole, cheese and beans while the adults order margaritas with a proper kick. What’s a Mexican dinner without a little tequila to wash it down?

Batubara restaurant Ubud

For meat lovers, this is a must-go restaurant in Ubud.

Hidden just off Pengosekan Road next to the ARMA Museum, Batubara feels like the busy dining room of an Argentinian family home — and it might be the best place to eat beef in Bali.

Tip: order the Indonesian flap steak. It’s one of the cheapest cuts on the menu and also one of the tastiest.

Locavore To Go restaurant Ubud

For the best burger in Ubud, go to Locavore To Go on Jl. Dewi Sita — the casual little sister of the Locavore family, attached to the group’s own butcher shop, which is exactly why the meat is so good.

The menu is short and unfussy: smash and wagyu burgers, a proper Reuben, deli sandwiches and crisp fries, all built on the same all-local sourcing that made the mothership famous. It’s more expensive than a warung, but this is fine-dining technique applied to comfort food. Save room for the Basque cheesecake.

Sayan house restaurant Ubud

Twenty minutes from the centre, Sayan House perches above the dramatic Sayan Gorge with sweeping views over the Ayung River valley.

The kitchen does a fine-casual Japanese–Latin fusion — think tuna croquettes with wasabi mash, creative nigiri and tempeh tacos — and the staff are exceptional.

It earns its place on this list in large part for the view: come at sunset and you’ll get one of the most beautiful golden hours in Ubud from your table.

Merlin’s Magic Restaurant Ubud

Merlin’s is a favourite with influencers, but don’t let that put you off — chef Ben McRae’s food is genuinely good and the whole place is great fun.

The signature experience is letting the menu choose you: draw three cards (or seven, if you’re committing to the full journey) and the kitchen builds your courses from what fate deals. There are three distinct spaces on Jl. Raya Pengosekan, each with its own atmosphere, plus an à la carte menu if you’d rather stay in control. Book two to three days ahead — it fills fast.

Kaja by Numa restaurant Ubud

Kaja by Numa is Ubud’s newest opening, and it arrived in June 2026 making a statement.

Set inside sculpted, cave-like walls on Jl. Raya Pengosekan in Mas, the room is unlike anything else in town — warm, layered light against curved stone, dramatic but intimate. The menu is Mediterranean built on Balinese seasonal ingredients, from scallop ceviche with a coconut-yuzu tiger’s milk to slow-braised oxtail with crispy plantain.

The surprise is the pizza: the programme is overseen by Pasquale Mormile, the 2023 World Neapolitan Pizza Championship winner, and it shows. Open daily from 5 PM to midnight; walk-ins are possible but a reservation is the safer bet.

Nusantara Restaurant Ubud

Nusantara comes from the same team behind Locavore, and it’s the essential Indonesian table on this list.

The menu travels the whole archipelago — each dish tells you which province it comes from — and it’s as authentic as it is delicious. If you think Indonesian food stops at satay and nasi goreng, one dinner here will change your mind: this is a culinary journey through the heart and soul of a vast country.

Mozaic Restaurant Ubud

Mozaic is the grande dame of Ubud fine dining — Chris Salans opened it more than two decades ago and pioneered the marriage of Indonesian ingredients with French haute cuisine on the island.

It closed during the pandemic, then came back in late 2022 with a new concept, Salans now partnered with former executive chef Blake Thornley. The philosophy remains ‘Cuisine du Marché’: seasonal Indonesian produce meeting contemporary French technique in both cooking and presentation, served in an elegant garden setting with impeccable service.

Tasting menus currently run around IDR 1,700,000++ per person. After ups and downs, Mozaic is firmly back among the best restaurants in Ubud.

Blanco par Mandif restaurant Ubud

Any self-respecting Bali gourmet knows Blanco.

What began as a ten-seat chef’s counter serving ultra-refined Indonesian fine dining has been expanded by celebrity chef-owner Mandif Warokka (also behind Teatro in Seminyak) to seat twenty-eight lucky guests.

The kitchen works with produce from local farmers, the tasting menu takes centre stage, and the plating is extraordinary. Don’t skip the drinks either: the mini cocktail counter at the chef’s table shakes and stirs classics right in front of you.

Locavore restaurant Ubud (now NXT)

Locavore made history at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, representing Indonesia and rocketing an unprecedented twenty-seven places up the list in a single year.

Chefs Eelke Plasmeijer and Ray Adriansyah have since reinvented the restaurant entirely as Locavore NXT in Mas Village — a purpose-built home for their hyper-local, sustainability-obsessed cooking, where even the plates and cutlery are made locally.

It remains the hardest reservation in Ubud: book at least a month before you arrive in Bali. And once dinner is over, head back to the centre for a nightcap at their cocktail bar, The Night Rooster.

Syrco BASÈ

Syrco BASÈ arrived in Ubud as the most anticipated opening the town had seen in years, and it has more than lived up to it. The chef, Syrco Bakker, comes from the Netherlands and was the head chef at Sergio Herman’s Pure C restaurant in Zeeland for 13 years. He earned his first Michelin star within a year, followed by a second star in 2019, and was named Gault&Millau’s Chef of the Year in 2022. His restaurant in Bali is set in a beautiful, spacious garden.

The fixed menu includes 6 courses that are just as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to look at. Syrco guides guests through a culinary adventure in Bali, fusing European dishes with Indonesian influences. He works closely with local suppliers and is passionate about highlighting his network of farmers and producers. It’s a truly amazing dining experience and definitely one of the best restaurants in Ubud.

The beverage pairing offers a variety of options, including beer, wine, and cocktails.

In addition to the restaurant, the bar occasionally hosts special events. On the night I went, they collaborated with Stay Gold Flamingo, the best bar in Singapore. Jerrold Khoo created his best cocktails for us. Add a great DJ playing disco music, and you have the perfect fun way to end a night.

Make sure you go soon before it becomes too well known, as I can already anticipate that it will become harder to get a table.

You can read my full review of the Syrco BASÈ experience here.

Room 4 Dessert Restaurant Ubud

Room 4 Dessert may be the world’s most fabulous remodelled warehouse. Will Goldfarb — named the World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2021 — runs a constantly evolving tasting experience here: a 15-course menu that opens with five savoury tapas before diving into ten desserts, moving you through different rooms as the meal progresses.

Grab a seat at the bar if you can and watch world-class technique up close. The menu changes two or three times a year, so you can keep coming back — and like Locavore NXT, you should book well ahead.

This is the latest menu:

Frequently Asked Questions: Dining in Ubud

Where is the best restaurant in central Ubud?

Nusantara sits right in the heart of town, and Merlin’s and Batubara are both on Pengosekan Road within easy reach of most central hotels. Locavore NXT has moved out to Mas Village — a short drive, and worth every minute of it.

Are there Michelin star restaurants in Ubud Bali?

The Michelin Guide hasn’t published a Bali edition yet, so no restaurant in Ubud officially holds a star. But the pedigree is here: Syrco Bakker earned two Michelin stars in the Netherlands before opening Syrco BASÈ, and several other kitchens in town cook at a comparable level.

Where can I find the best Indonesian food in Ubud?

Nusantara is hard to beat — it focuses entirely on authentic regional recipes from across the archipelago rather than western fusion. For Indonesian fine dining, Blanco par Mandif is the other essential table.

Where can I get the best burger in Ubud?

Locavore To Go on Jl. Dewi Sita. It’s attached to the Locavore group’s own butcher shop, so the smash and wagyu burgers are built on exceptional meat — and the Reuben is just as good.

What is the best restaurant in Ubud with a view?

Sayan House, overlooking the Ayung River gorge — go at sunset. Kaja by Numa doesn’t have a view, but its cave-like interior is the most striking room in town.

Have you been to a great restaurant in Ubud? Let us know in the comments below.