Lovina & North Bali · 6 min read
The best restaurants in Lovina, Kalibukbuk and Singaraja
Seafood warungs on Jl. Mawar, a ten table French bistro, real Italian pizza and a pork dish Singaraja is proud of. Our pick of where to eat on the north coast.
Lovina does not do scenes. There are no tasting menus with waiting lists or beach clubs with door policies, and that is much of its charm. What it does well is honest food at fair prices: fish grilled the same afternoon it was caught, slow Balinese curries, a couple of surprisingly good European kitchens and, in Singaraja, a Chinese Balinese food culture you will not find in the south. These are the best restaurants in Lovina and around, the places we send friends.
Most of them are in Kalibukbuk, the centre of Lovina, along Jl. Mawar, Jl. Binaria and the main road. Anturan is a few minutes east, Kaliasem a few minutes west, and Singaraja about 20 minutes further along the coast.
The best restaurants in Lovina for dinner
The 10th Table
A small French and Belgian bistro in a garden off the main road, open for dinner only from 5:30 pm. Escargots, duck liver terrine and coq au vin, with the steak tartare and crème caramel finished at the table. It is the most expensive meal in town and worth it for a special night; book ahead in high season.
Warung Apple
A friendly family warung on Jl. Mawar where Apple herself walks you through the menu. Order the nasi campur special, rice with satay, vegetables, tempeh and crackers, or whatever fish came in that day. Open from 10 am to 10 pm.
The Damai
A boutique hotel restaurant in the hills above Lovina, with tables looking down over the coast. The house specialty is Babi Damai, its own take on slow cooked pork, and sunset cocktails here are a lovely, unhurried start to the evening.
Tanda Pizza
Run by Davide, an Italian chef, this is the closest good dinner to the Banjar hills and the best pizza on the north coast. The dough, pasta and tiramisu are all made in house; lasagna has to be ordered a day ahead. Open from 11:30 am to 10 pm.
Breakfast, lunch and cafés
Buda Bakery & Resto
European style bread and pastries downstairs, a breezy upstairs dining room with mountain views above. Come for a late breakfast or a chicken curry at lunch, and try the Mojitea. Open from 8 am to 9 pm.
COFFEENOSKY Coffee & Eatery
Wahyu roasts the coffee and his wife Kiki bakes the cakes at this café between Kalibukbuk and Anturan. The all day brunch menu has a Japanese twist, and the upstairs terrace looks over rice fields to the mountains.
The Global Village Foundation Kafe
A not for profit café on the main road whose team includes deaf and hard of hearing staff, with profits going to community projects. The curries, tempeh satay and mango lassi are all good, and so is the feeling of where your money goes. Open from noon to 9 pm.
At the best restaurants in Lovina, vegetarians are well looked after too. Akar Cafe on Jl. Binaria has a fully vegetarian and vegan menu, good for smoothie bowls at breakfast. In the evenings, Warung Jepun on Jl. Mawar serves affordable Balinese classics with a live singer most nights.
Singaraja: siobak and the old port
Singaraja was Bali's colonial capital and its main trading port, and the Chinese community that settled around the harbour left a food tradition of its own. The dish to try is siobak: pork, crackling and offal chopped together and served in a dark, sweet and savoury sauce, usually with rice. Combine it with a visit to the Ling Gwan Kiong temple by the old harbour, part of our North Bali temples day trip.
Warung Siobak Khe Lok
The best known siobak address in town, on Jl. Surapati in Kampung Baru. It is simple, busy and quick, with limited parking, so go at an off hour or have your driver wait nearby. Usually open from 7 am to 8 pm.
Getting around, and the night in
The villa is in the hills about 20 minutes above Lovina, and the last stretch is a small hillside road that is easier in daylight. For dinner out, book a driver for the evening rather than riding a scooter back in the dark. Most warungs in Lovina close by 10 pm, so plan an early dinner and you will be home for stars over the pool.
And some nights you will not want to go anywhere at all. The kitchenette at Baliwood Lovina is fine for breakfast and simple meals, and the teak table on the terrace looks straight out to sea. Buy fruit at the Lovina morning market, pick up bread from Buda Bakery and keep dinner for the evenings in town. If you are out early for the dolphins, our Lovina dolphins guide lists the places open for breakfast afterwards.
