Sanur Restaurant Reviews

Firstly I need to make a disclaimer.  The following reviews are completely subjective, based on my experiences at the time.  So please keep that in mind if I shoot down your favourite restaurant or if my recommendation fails to meet your expectations.  I can only call them as I see them.   I didn't always remember to jot down prices either. The majority of restaurants added 10-15% tax on top of their listed prices.  BTW, I don't eat red meat other than mince/sausages/bacon so if you are looking for steak reviews you are in the wrong place, sorry.

Benno's - on the beach, north end

Mostly dappled shade from lush foliage, this beachside cafe is easy to spot with it's blue tablecloths and captain's chairs with blue cushions.

I ate here for lunch and enjoyed my meal.  The food came quickly.

Hamburger with egg - juicy hamburger pattie with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and egg on a hamburger bun.  Served with chips. Rp 30,500

The toilets were clean here.

Bobby's - on the beach, south end.

One of three restaurants in a row, under the shade of the canopy of a tree, giving dappled shade.  Tables closest to the ocean have beach umbrellas.

My chair sank into the sand here, so move in close to the table before you sit down. I ordered a bakmi goreng which was very tasty and filling. Cheap and cheerful.

Caesar's - on the main road, south, between Santrian hotel and the roundabout.

I liked the atmosphere here.  There is a long bar in the middle with blue neon lights and a large screen TV with sports, no sound.  There is an a/c room, a large indoor room open to air with water feature and many outdoor tables, some under umbrellas.  You can also see into the kitchen should you wish.

The staff are extremely attentive, greeting patrons with a cold flannel and a small welcome drink, clearing finished dishes quickly and keeping lookout to assist. My only criticism is their complimentary garlic bread which consists of 2 smallish slices, oven baked so they are so hard that they are not enjoyable to eat.

Cosmic Colada Rp 49,000

Smoked Salmon and Melon salad.  The melon was not quite ripe, however the smoked salmon was divine, not too salty and nicely presented.

Grilled chicken breast with choice of sauce - I chose black peppercorn.  Accompanied by your choice of potato - I chose mashed, which was yummy, and ratatouille.  My chicken was perfectly cooked and delicious.  This dish was almost on par with a similar dish Cafe de Artiste in Ubud. I returned for the same meal another night. The toilets here are lovely and clean. 

Cafe BaturJimbar - on the main street, midway, opposite Hardy's.

Yuppy heaven. This is a trendy looking cafe, with a large cake display cabinet indoors.  Most of the tables are outside, under beach umbrellas.  I had lunch here. Service was poor - I felt invisible.  I had to wave a waitress down to get a menu after being ignored for 10 minutes. It was not on a table tucked away out of sight either. Large range of juices, like a juice bar.  I had a combo of tangerine juice, pineapple juice and ginger Rp 25,000.  I ordered the prawn pesto wrap with roasted bell peppers.  The wrap had been baked and was filled with roasted veggies and not much bell peppers.  Three king prawns were grilled and lying over the top of mixed lettuce with a pesto sauce.  Expensive @ Rp 90,000. It tasted good, but lightyears from what I was expecting.  Wi-fi is available here, at a cost.

Cafe Jepun - on the main street, just after the roundabout if heading north. Closed at lunch whenever I passed it - looked dingy in the daytime. I had dinner here. Very popular. Restaurant is quite pretty, lit up with lights and water features in the outdoor section. Inside, under cover are marble-topped tables and cushioned captain's chairs.  Staff were attentive.  Cosmic colada Rp 48,000. I ordered chicken kiev. Rp 62,500. It came with limp, undercooked shoestring chips and a small pile of finely chopped fresh vegetables reminiscent of Birdseye frozen 3 veg mix.  Presentation sadly lacking. The kiev was cooked well, but chocked full of crunchy garlic.  I would have like something to mop up the garlic butter, such as bread, rice or mashed potato.

For dessert I ordered the parfait, which came in a tall soda glass.  It consisted of cubed papaya and watermelon topped with cubes of chocolate brownie (it was either a brownie or stale cake) with a crushed cherry sauce, cream and ice-cream and a chocolate cigar wafer.  My wafer fell out onto the table, so I didn't eat it.  I am undecided whether this dessert was a hit or miss.  Unusual. There was a resident band playing - they were very good.

Casa Luna - on the main street, midway, just up from CharMing on opposite side of the road.

I came here because CharMing was booked out. This restaurant was very busy. I read a review after I visited that said it is part of a chain and it showed.  Food by numbers.  The staff were surly and not interested. They didn't come near me after I'd received my meal. I nearly had to throw myself in the path of a waitress to get the bill. I enjoyed my Bali Moon cocktail but found my dinner to be very ordinary. I had chicken breast stuffed with salami and cheese with a strawberry fruit sauce.  If you think it sounds like a weird combination, you'd be right.  It was odd.  No more experimenting.  I can't remember how much it cost.  There was a band there taking requests.  Quite a few of the patrons were three sheets to the wind, so I imagine it could have gotten rowdy after I left. BTW, this restaurant is not associated with the Casa Luna restaurant in Ubud.

Cat & Fiddle - on the main street, south end near Santrian and Sanur Beach hotels.  Sister restaurant to the Wicked Parrot. Irish style pub/restaurant with resident band you can sing along to, if that's your thing. Can get very busy here. I chose this restaurant because of its vicinity to my hotel, as it was raining.

I ordered the chicken pie, which came with mashed peas, gravy and chips. I enjoyed it.  I also had garlic bread which was nice too. Reasonable prices, friendly and attentive staff.

Coriander - on the main street, midway, near Hardy's.

I had lunch at this restaurant.  Their menu claims they use organic ingredients. I was the only patron whilst there. I ordered nasi goreng and a pineapple juice.  The prawn cracker was stale, I don't care how organic it was, it was as tough as army boots. The rest of the meal was edible but nothing extraordinary.  Very disappointing.

Donald's - on the beach, south end, the middle one of three restaurants. Dappled shade given by tree canopy, beach umbrellas shade tables closer to the ocean.  Cheap.  I ate here twice for lunch.  The first time I had nasi goreng for lunch, which was OK, but the serving was huge.  I couldn't finish it.  After sitting there for awhile I ordered dessert - banana pancake.  The mushy bananas were wrapped in an anaemic looking rubbery pancake. I didn't like it.  The ice-cream accompaniment was good, but melted quicker than I could eat it.

The second time I ate here I tried their lumpia with satay sauce, which was nice and a serve of garlic bread, which was delicious.  They make their own bread here, so maybe that is their secret.

Kasuma Cafe - south, on the Mertasari beach, past the Mercure Hotel if heading south down the beach path. A basic looking warung, unpretentious, rustic. Chair sank into the sand.  Angle of chair back a little too far back to be comfortable for me to eat, so put a cushion behind my back. I ordered the garlic prawns which came stir fried with vegetables and rice.  They were delicious, but there were only 4 prawns in the dish, so I would class it more along the lines of an entree serve. You can't beat the price - Rp 35,000.  I didn't want to look like a pig and order another serve, so left a little bit hungry!

Service quick and friendly.

Massimo's - on the main street, south end between the roundabout and the Hyatt hotel if heading north. Italian restaurant with a counter selling home-made gelato out the front.  I ate at this restaurant twice - I loved the food. A warning - if you are seated inside, it gets very hot as heavy floor length tablecloths restrict the flow of air around you. The overhead ceiling fans don't help much.  They give you complimentary 'bread' - small balls of deep fried pizza dough, reminiscent of doughnuts with their moist yeasty interior. I found them delicious, and had to be careful not to spoil my appetite by eating them all.  At dinner I had a small carafe of Hatten's dry white wine and an entree of prawn cocktail, which was very nice. I had the deep pan pizza with chicken breast pieces and mushrooms both times I ate here.  To die for.  Fantastic. My only complaint was that it wasn't precut, so a little more effort involved to eat it. Service quick until you want to get your bill. On the way out I bought a gelati in a cone Rp 20,000 - Bailey's flavour the first time, banana flavour the 2nd time. Yummy! Eat fast, they melt so quickly.

Mezzanine - on the main street, south end, in front to The Santrian Hotel.

This is a posh-looking restaurant, but the cost of the food is surprisingly reasonable.  There is an outdoor area at the front and the indoor area is divided by a lowered central bar. I had dinner here. Unfortunately I was seated inside next to a table of smokers, which spoiled an otherwise lovely experience for me.  I was not asked at seating if I preferred smoking or non smoking.

Attentive staff brought a cold face flannel and a welcome drink.  I was also given complimentary bread.  Very good service.

I had a glass of Hatten's dry white Rp 55,000 which was very drinkable. I'm a fan of sauvignon blanc, and this wine was not far off the mark. I ordered the Pad Thai Rp 60,000 (it was not called this, but that was what it was) which was very nice. It only had 2 large prawns for the whole dish. I asked for spicy and was given a small dish of chilli soy sauce. OMG it was hot! I couldn't resist dessert and ordered the Toblerone chocolate mousse. Very generous serve, very rich and I'm ashamed to say I could only manage to eat half of it. It was superb. Warning - they charge 21% tax on top of the listed prices.

Sale e Pepe - set back from the main road, south end, past Sanur Beach Hotel if heading south.  Italian.  I had an early dinner here and was the only patron.  I was given complementary bread - small ovals of sliced baked bread - tasted odd so I didn't eat it. I ordered a ham and pineapple pizza.  I've got say, it was OK but nothing to rave about.  Too much cheese and too big for one person.  Not as good as Massimo's.  Not as good as Pizza Bagus in Ubud either.  I felt uncomfortable with all eyes upon me while I ate.

Trophy Pub - south, on the main road. Opposite the Cat and Fiddle. Busy place with a bar with sports TV.  I was given a table way out back and virtually ignored for a good 10 minutes before I could catch anyone's attention.  I ordered a seafood platter. Rp 70,000. There was 3/4 plate of fruit and salad and the remaining 1/4 had grilled tuna (yuk- I should have asked), grilled squid and a few grilled prawns. Disappointing.  The spicy pineapple salad was very nice. Cosmic Coladas were good. They had a live band. Their kitchen backs onto the lane to Villa Puri Ayu and always smells fantastic as I walk past.

The Village

Warung Mama Putu's - south, on Jl Mertasari, close to the main road end.  An unpretentious cafe where I stopped in for lunch.  I ordered a pineapple juice and chicken satay Rp 25,000. I would have preferred my satay sauce hot, but it was delicious and the chicken cooked perfectly. Very nice. Cheap. Clean toilet.

Wicked Parrot's Mie Goreng Ayam - piled higher than it looks.