Uluwatu is becoming one of Bali’s most-visited spots, with many expat Canggu and Seminyak residents making the move there in the last five or so years. As a result, the area once popular only among locals and visiting surfers has upped its restaurant offering.
These days, new venues open every week, many of them, in the case of Mason, BB52 and Alchemy, second or third locations of popular spots in other parts of the island. Choose from burger joints, healthy eats cafés and wood-fired grill restaurants. Or, if you’re craving something else, opt for Indonesian food at local eateries, called ‘warungs’, or Japanese at pumping cliffside beach clubs.
Ahead, we round up some of the best Uluwatu cafes and restaurants to fuel up at ahead of a day of surfing, swimming or shopping. Let’s dive into it, shall we?
Mason
Mason is a popular woodfired-focused restaurant in Canggu, and in 2022, it opened in Uluwatu, too. Dine in its breezy indoor-outdoor area, surrounded by tropical plants and sounds from the open kitchen. On the Mediterranean-inspired menu is lamb kleftiko, seared swordfish and woodfired bread pudding. Many of the dishes if not woodfired are pickled, cured or fermented.
Banana Lounge
Banana Lounge in Bingin is an elegant pool club, adjacent to villa accommodation. The lounge opens at 7am for breakfast of poached eggs, salmon or bacon and homemade muffins. For lunch, choose from kingfish skewers, grilled eggplant with labneh or a warm lamb salad. Head to the deck upstairs to tuck into your dish while taking in the Indian Ocean.
BB52
BB52 first opened in Canggu, but now has locations in Ungasan and Uluwatu. It serves up craft burgers with classic ingredients and creative, like a recently special Pork Gangnam Burger, with pork belly, Korean BBQ sauce and kewpie mayo. Wash your burger down with homemade kombucha or a fizzy margarita.
The Cashew Tree
Chilled-out surf café The Cashew Tree is known in the area for its colossal salads, made entirely with organic fruits and veggies. Tuck into one in its spacious garden. Or order a breakfast bowl, sandwich or curry. The venue is open from 7:30am to 10pm daily, with live music on Thursday nights and most early evenings, happy hour specials.
Sundays Beach Club
Dining at Sundays Beach Club is a bit of a mission as you do need to pay an entry fee. Admission includes a ride on a cable car from Ungasan Clifftop Resort, down to the beach club, as well as some credit towards food and drink. On the menu are bites like jalapeno poppers, pork belly bao and prawn toast, as well as wood-fired pizzas, burgers and bowls. The beach club is open daily 10am to 4pm, and visitors can take advantage of the club’s kayaks, stand-up paddboards and snorkelling equipment.
Suka Espresso
Suka Espresso opened its first location in Uluwatu in 2016, then in Ubud in 2019 and Canggu in 2021. The Australian-style café prides itself on its coffee, though it also serves burgers, sandwiches and salad bowls. It’s open 7:30am to 9:30pm every day and until 10:30pm on Saturdays.
Karma Beach Club
Karma Beach Club serves Indonesian dishes like chicken satay, sop buntut goreng and cap cay, as well as western meals, like salt-baked whole fish, fish and chips and local bamboo lobster. The club accepts walk-ins, but it’s recommended you make a reservation as it can get packed. To get to the beach club, visitors take a steep cable car, with views of the lagoon’s blues and greens. The ride is part of the club’s entrance fee, which also includes a food-and-drink credit.
Alchemy
Plant-based restaurant Alchemy opened in Ubud in 2011 and then in Uluwatu in 2023. The menu is mostly gluten-free and with ingredients little cooked or heated above 43 degrees. You’ll find on the menu wraps, burgers, pizzas and salads, as well as smoothies, juices and tonics. The Uluwatu location also has an air-conditioned co-working space.
Kelly’s Warung
You’ll find Kelly’s Warung at the bottom of the cliffs on Bingin Beach. The restaurant is one of the only locally-owned cafés in the Bukit and is somewhat of an institution among locals. Dine on Indo dishes overlooking the crashing waves just beyond. The venue is open from 9am to 8pm daily, with a happy 3pm to 5pm. It’s the sister café to The Cashew Tree.
Nourish
Nourish, an all-day café and pizzeria, has two locations in Bali’s Bukit Peninsula, one in Ungasan and the other in Bingin, as well as a third in Berawa. The Bingin location has a wholefoods store attached to it. All food is made with locally sourced and nutrient rich ingredients. Choose from juices with names like The Detox, The Glow and The Energiser or a drink from its cocktails, wine and beer list.
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