One of the reasons we were so excited to spend time in Ubud was the food and restaurants. There are so many vegan and vegetarian friendly places that we would never struggle to find something to eat. We tried lots of different Ubud restaurants and by the end of our two weeks, we definitely had a few favorites that we were repeat customers at.
If you are traveling to Ubud and looking for laid back dining with good vegetarian options, you’ve come to the right place. Here is our list of the best restaurants in Ubud along with some pictures. Remember, we are not food photographers.
Bali Bohemia
This was our second home while in Ubud. We ate here multiple times, enjoying their live entertainment twice and had a few writing mornings here. The menu has great options for vegetarians including the falafel wrap and the mezze platter (pictured below). We also loved their breakfast options. The space is beautiful and conveniently located right by gate 3 of the Sacred Monkey Forest. The service is amazing too. It is easy to say that this was our favorite place to spend time in Ubud.
Taco Casa
We were warned that it would be really hard to find good Mexican food across the Pacific Ocean, but we have gotten pretty lucky. We picked Taco Casa for birthday dinner and we found ourselves returning again before we left. The veggie tacos and veggie enchilada were fantastic – huge portions and great flavor.
Habitat
This spot is also located near the Monkey Forest, but on the busier side. They have a porch that you can sit and people watch. We enjoyed a few meals here including Justin’s favorite meal of May – the famous Jackfruit Banh Mi sandwich. They have a huge vegetarian selection so we were able to try multiple things – nothing disappointed. Our most memorable moment of our time in Ubud happened at this restaurant when a monkey decided to join us for lunch. The servers usually do a great job of keeping the animals away, but our sweet server was very busy during the lunch rush. A little rascal hopped right up on our table and ate my leftover tomatoes and what was left of Justin’s guacamole. Don’t worry – if this happens, they will replace your food.
Art Cafe
You could blink and miss this spot, but you would be missing out. This quiet little cafe has a beautiful little backyard with seating and comfortable spots in the front. We stopped in a few times for their apps and sandwiches. It was very convenient because it is right in the middle of the main stretch of Monkey Forest Road.
Swasti Beloved Cafe
This hidden gem was in Lonely Planet and we found out it was just down the street from where we were staying. They also have accommodations. We went for lunch the second day in town and discovered their variety of smoothie bowls. We couldn’t stop until we had tried all six so we returned multiple times. Surrounded by their beautiful organic garden, the cafe is tucked by off the main road. Their whole menu looked amazing, but we just kept going back for the smoothies.
Grandpa’s
I didn’t know if I should count this because we didn’t eat here. But the lattes are giant and served in a milk jug. It was just glorious. We would walk here and be pretty sweaty and hot so this was a perfect place to stop for a break and to cool down.
Fuzion Cafe
On the topic of coffee, I had to include this little cafe. It is located pretty far away from the main part of Ubud, BUT if you are doing the ridge walk, you may find yourself up here in need of a break. They served their lattes with ice cubes made of coffee and they were our favorites (even if they weren’t as large as Grandpa’s).
Jati Bar
This feels dirty to even mention this place because we stick to cheap and low maintenance places as much as possible. It’s the bar at the Four Seasons. The restaurant we originally planned on going to was closed when we arrived. We were exhausted and hot and decided we would just stop to get something cold at the next place we walked by. It happened to be the Four Seasons. The gate guards told us that we could head to the Jati Bar and take our own tour of the grounds.
This place was just beautiful. Greeted by a cold towel and a try of snacks, we felt welcomed. We ended up ordering one drink each – an Aperol Spritz and the famous Bee Sting. We spent an hour or so enjoying the views as the only people in the entire bar/restaurant area. It’s a secret worth sharing. You don’t have to stay there to visit, so you should probably go and see how the 1% lives.
Chili Cottage
Yes, this is the hotel we stayed at, but the banana pancakes here were my favorite. I can say that with confidence because I’ve tried them at every place we’ve stayed now and the others don’t come close. We loved staying here for a lot of reasons that we will share later, but the banana pancakes are definitely at the top of that list.
Honorable Mentions
These two are both Ubud Restaurants that we wouldn’t necessarily go out of our way to recommend, but we had great experiences and it is worth mentioning.
Cantika Zest Warung
We stumbled upon this place on a very long walking day. It isn’t worth a long trek to check it out, but if you happen to find yourself wandering the rice terraces and looking for a spot – they had great smoothies and a good vegetarian menu.
Warung Coconut
Located just down the road from our hotel, we also frequented this place. It was the cheapest Bintang price we found and the family that runs this place is wonderful.
A Final Word
I read a lot of blog posts about restaurants in Ubud and what I discovered after visiting a few of these places made me a little skeptical going forward. It seems to be a lot of Instagram worthy places making these lists. My opinion of a good restaurant is somewhere with great food and a welcoming environment. Sure these places are pretty to look at, but our worst food experience so far came from one of the places that a ton of bloggers recommended. Maybe we just had bad luck that day, but it has me really thinking about why places are “featured” on a Pinterest list.
It made me want to share the places that we loved because the food was great and the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. And now it’s definitely time for food because writing this made me hungry.
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