With its abundance of wellness centres, spas and yoga studios, it’s no wonder Ubud has such a vibrantly healthy, raw/vegan, and organic restaurant scene. And if you’ve been following us for some time, you’ll know that this is right up our alley! It is, in fact, one of the many reasons why we lingered around Ubud for so long.
Eating vegan in Ubud is generally more for the flashpacker’s budget (especially if you want to taste everything as I did!), but we were happy to splurge because very few cities in South East Asia cater to vegans as well as Ubud does. We spent nearly three weeks in Ubud and felt that we made the rounds enough to present you with our very own guide to the best vegan restaurants in Ubud. The options are seemingly endless though, and we still didn’t manage to chew through our whole wishlist. Let us know if you visit any of these restaurants and what you thought.
1. ZEST
One of the best vegan restaurants in Ubud is Zest which serves food that is prepared from locally sourced ingredients and offers amazing vegan options to the customers. They use local ingredients such as turmeric, cassava, moringa, etc. to prepare most of the dishes to give them a unique flavor while being healthy at the same time. But food is not the only thing that drives this place, the ambiance and the view of the restaurant plays a major role in making it a top vegan restaurant to visit in Ubud. Overlooking the lush jungles of Campuhan Ridge, you can enjoy your delicious view and not feel guilty about it. Moreover, the interiors of this restaurant have both Balinese and modern feel to it so you would really enjoy spending some time here. If you love breakfast, then you cannot miss out on the delicious vegan pancakes that you get here.
2. SARI ORGANIK
The one thing our Airbnb neighbour said to us as she checked out of her room and left is “go to Sari Organik”. A quick search online to validate that it was indeed worth a visit and we were on our way, galloping through rice fields so beautiful that I actually got goosebumps. Sari Organik is one of the best vegan restaurants in Ubud and possibly has one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen, set right amidst the rice terraces. They boast a mostly organic, mostly vegetarian (although there are loads of vegan options) menu. We tried the longtong, a curry made of vegetables, tempeh, tofu, and discs of rice cooked in banana leaf and the tofulafel platter. Both were delicious if maybe a little small. On our second visit, we tried the raw vegan Thai soup and the tofu tempura salad. The soup was very small and quite bitter, but the salad was crispy, fresh, and a pleasingly different take on the usually fried tofu. Food aside, it is a lovely place to be and definitely deserves a visit. Their daily special juices and smoothies go wonderfully with the gorgeous sunsets.
3. THE SEEDS OF LIFE
The Seeds of Life is an amazing raw food cafe and tonic bar that you can go and check out in Ubud. Here, you get a lot of healthy options such as superfood smoothies, fresh orange juices, raw pizza, hummus, sandwich with dehydrated bread, and a lot more. This is definitely one of the best raw vegan restaurants in Ubud and you should definitely try the cakes here.
4. WULAN VEGETARIAN WARUNG
A cute vegan restaurant in Ubud with floor seatings located a five-minute walk from our accommodation (we found ourselves there a lot!), and two minutes from the much-hyped Mama’s Warung. There isn’t really a menu, just a couple of items to chose from on a blackboard and a basket of exotic fruits on the counter for juicing. Food was prepared before our eyes by a lady while her daughter danced and sang along to the Bohemian Rhapsody. The place had won me over before I even saw the colour of the rice. We both ordered the tempeh curry with spinach and nuts and a watermelon juice, and it was more than we could have hoped for from such a simple location. The dish was served ‘nasi campur’ style, with a lot of yummy little sides such as corn fritters, spicy tomato salad, tiny potatoes in some delicious gravy, and a mandatory dollop of sambal. Really delicious and really cheap. We went back about 5 or 6 times and highly recommend this vegan restaurant in Ubud to fellow travellers as well.
5. WARUNG SEMESTA
It was quite dark when we visited, so no photo. Semesta is a large and airy two-storey restaurant with a mix of meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan dishes like so many others. It’s a very lovely quaint place to have dinner and is definitely one of our favourite vegan restaurants in Ubud for a quick bite. We both had a dish consisting of fragrant rice cooked in a banana leaf, tofu, tempeh, fritters, and sambal which was really good and felt very authentic. The only low point was the accompanying steamed greens in tomato sauce – fantastically healthy but it just felt a little bland. They also have a great menu of healthy green juices.
6. DAYU’S WARUNG
Very healthy. Like, the kind of healthy we cook back home but we have forgotten how to enjoy from an overload of MSG those past 10 months. The food here is made with quality ingredients and organic fresh produce that shines through with minimal seasoning. The menus were kind of confusing and took a while to figure out, in the end, we ordered from the “special today” vegan menu: we had the mungbeans spinach burger and the rice noodle beans Thai curry. The burger was especially plentiful. On our second visit, we had the tempeh pumpkin lasagna and the sweet potato veggie coconut sandwich and that was even more delicious than the first time if that’s even possible. Some might call this hippy food, we found it very homey. So, if you are looking for a healthy place to eat, then this is definitely one of the best vegan restaurants in Ubud that you cannot miss out on.
7. ACAI QUEEN
Personally, I loved that Acai Queen not only offers dishes from the menu but also allows you to create your own, customized dishes. Here, you can several home-made snacks such as avocado toast, peanut acai, and a lot more. It is a small place and can be hot at times with no parking and the portion is a little small too but the food offered here is quite organic and healthy.
8. LIVING FOOD LAB
Cyber-expat-raw-vegan-modern-barefoot-runner-superfood-yogi-laptop central. This is undoubtedly one of the most expensive vegan restaurants in Ubud and while I want to say bad things about this place, I actually really liked it. The portions are tiny and the prices steep, but we found the food to be superbly executed and the setting gorgeous, overlooking a rice paddy. We had the mango wrap (a bit like a fajitas, but the wrap itself was made of dehydrated mango and herbs, a bit like a fruit leather), the BLT sandwich with tahini ‘cheeze’ and basil rawmesan (a gigantic tomato slice made it a little difficult to eat, but the flavors were great) and some raw chocolate sweets. Minuscule portions, but very flavorful. There is a nice garden with bean bags out front if you fancy being a part of the cyber-flop posse.
9. CLEAR CAFE
*Edit: Clear Cafe has sadly burned down since I visited. They are currently based in a temporary location, so please consult their Facebook page for their most up to date information.
A bit of a posh cyber-twat joint again, this one felt like we had landed in Cafe del Mar. No matter, we really enjoyed the food and the upper level was a little more low-key. They make their own vegan cashew ‘mylk’ and have a wide selection of vegan milkshakes and smoothies. I had the passion fruit vanilla cashew mylk smoothie, which tasted like a very exotic creamsicle, and Richard had the chocolate maca smoothie, which tasted like Nesquick (in a good way). The raw lasagna was the tiniest, but most delicious fresh bite. But why so tiny? Seems to be a theme around town. Great raw vegan dessert selection though so would really recommend this vegan restaurant in Ubud.
10. WAYAN COCONUT JUICE BAR
Healthy fruit and veg juice bar that makes huge bottles to go. No water and no sugar added. Some combinations can be a little pricey, but 26k for 1.5 liter of coconut water is the best deal. Get your hydration for the day, or better yet, get it delivered straight to your hotel in the morning.
11. BELLA BY SAGE
Bella By Sage is another great vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Ubud that doesn’t serve any meat products. This is an Italian restaurant where you get delicious food like pizza, falafel bowl, salads, soups, pasta, risotto, and a lot more. Apart from the delicious food, the staff is really nice here too and the restaurant has a cosy atmosphere which you would definitely like. Make sure you try the vegan calzone here.
12. WARUNG SOPA
Note: This vegan restaurant in Ubud is temporarily closed so, you can check on their Facebook page for updates on the opening of the cafe.
Bright and airy restaurant with nice modern teak furniture, a great down-to-earth vibe, friendly staff, and a fully vegan menu. We went for the much-hyped nasi campur, which was excellent. Choose from as many 7,000RP dishes as you wish and have them served around red rice with two types of delicious sambal. We loved the kimchi cabbage rolls and the tempeh manis. The desserts looked especially yummy.
13. WARUNG FALAFEL
Note: This vegan restaurant in Ubud is temporarily closed so, you can check on their Facebook page for updates on the opening of the cafe.
Another popular vegan joint in Ubud, Warung Falafel is a small, vibrant roadside kitchen that serves delicious and organic meals such as falafels, wraps, salads, and juices. This colourful place specializes in vegetarian Middle Eastern chow and is a great place for a quick bite when you are travelling around. Although it a little expensive and the meal is slightly oily, it is a great place to have a quick dinner/lunch when you are in a hurry to explore around. And the best thing is that they use fresh ingredients to make all the dishes.
14. KAFE
Busy and bustling with tourists at all time, we were going to give Kafe a miss because it just seemed too noisy for our taste, but then realized that the upstairs area was a nice little oasis of peace from where you can observe the mayhem below. Like several restaurants in Ubud, Kafe serves meat and fish as well as vegetarian, vegan and raw vegan options, which I think is brilliant. We had the steam veggies with tofu and tempeh and the vegan burger which were both nice and fresh, bursting with newly-picked herbs. The raw vegan moringa peppermint ice cream was out of this world.
15. DEWA WARUNG
Note: This vegan restaurant in Ubud is temporarily closed so, you can check on their Facebook page for updates on the opening of the cafe.
Cheap and bustling warung with large communal tables filled with backpackers – tell ’em where you’re from, where you’ve been, and how long you’re travelling for! There is an OK selection of vegan and vegetarian dishes to chose and, though tasty enough if a little forgettable, the main draw here is the dirt-cheap prices – a welcome relief in central Ubud. You can expect a long wait for your food but all the better to get acquainted with your neighbours.
16. ALCHEMY
Large and airy raw vegan restaurant in Ubud, this place is filled with health-minded travellers, expats and yogis. We came here for the salad bar, but the rest of the menu looked super appetizing (especially the quiche) and relatively affordable. The salads were big and there is a huge selection of inventive toppings and dressings to choose from. There is also a breakfast bar with fruits and all sorts of raw food toppings like nuts, granola, vegan yoghurt, coconut cream and superfood powders like maca and spirulina, though sadly we missed that. Alchemy also has a huge drink menu and a selection of raw vegan desserts. Dat goji berry mint chocolate square, tho.
17. VEGAN HEALING GARDEN
If you are looking for a purely vegan restaurant in Ubud, then you should check out Vegan Healing Garden too. We loved that this was a 100% vegan place that served no meat or dairy products and has a small and cosy setup for you to enjoy. You will find both Indonesian and Western dishes here and the ingredients used in these dishes are often plucked freshly from the adjacent garden. The homemade kombucha and smoothie bowl were too good here.
18. WAROENG BERNADETTE
Vegan and non-vegan Javanese specialities such as karedok sunda (mix raw veggies in peanut-tamarind dressing), ketoprak Jakarta (glass noodles and tofu) and, the main reason why we came here, jackfruit rendang, a slow-cooked curried jackfruit with rice, soup and pickled veggies. Ask for no egg. Beware, Javanese food is rather sweet. The rendang was as delicious as the one we had in Yogyakarta.
19. BALI BUDA
We came here on our last night, so apologies there is no photo. I swear the kombucha at Bali Buddha got me drunk! To a point where I can’t quite remember what I thought of the food. Richard had the nasi campur which was OK and I think I had some kind of macrobiotic plate. I’m told I thought it was “a bit bland”! It’s one if those places you come to because it can accommodate several diets and tastes (very extensive menu) and because the ambiance is great. The food was secondary. We went to the Buda Mart every single day and loved that – raw vegan sweets, jamu, organic fruits and vegs, natural cosmetics, freshly baked goods, etc.
20. DOWN TO EARTH
Note: This vegan restaurant in Ubud is temporarily closed so, you can check on their Facebook page for updates on the opening of the cafe.
I was reluctant to put this one in the guide because I wasn’t super impressed with my food on the first two times I went, but here goes anyway. I really loved the concept here, and the menu looked so promising. I wanted to love this company so much (they also have two restaurants called Zula in Seminyak and Sanur and Earth Café in Seminyak), and I think I did in the end. On the first two occasions, I found myself with an OK dragon bowl, a very bland and oddly frothy gazpacho (they just whizzed everything on high speed), and a soggy, unmemorable sandwich. On both occasions the drinks and the raw vegan sweets were great and I really enjoyed the ambience and the little shop attached. And on both occasions, Richard really enjoyed his food (tempeh tuna sandwich and falafel plate). So I wanted to give Down to Earth one last chance. Take three, and I went for something a little more traditional: the seitan ikan. Thank god, it was absolutely delicious. So… I don’t know.
And finally, here are a few places we didn’t get to visit, but that are on my wishlist for next time:
All that food looks absolutely delicious. Although we’re not vegan, we eat a vegetarian diet the majority of the time. Ubud seems like a vegan’s dream come true!
Ubud definitely makes up for the rest of Indonesia at catering for vegans! It’s food heaven for any diet really! Is Indonesia part of your itinerary?
Yes, we’ll be visiting early next year. I’ll be referring back to this list when we get there 😉
Awesome list! One place we LOVED was Melting Wok. Run by a French lady, she serves french/indo fusion food with only a few options on the menu. The coconut vegetarian curry was incredible. The prices are no expensive, about 39k for a dish!
P.S. Here is our veggie food guide to Ubud. I can’t believe how many we missed, next time we go I will be looking at your list!
Oops. Here is the guide: http://awardtravelwisdom.com/ubud-vegetarian/
Ha! I haven’t heard of the Melting Wok! I will have to add it to the list for next time! Thanks!
Melting Wok is right next door to Warung Bernadette
That all looks delicious! I notice that the Yoga Barn is in your wish list – I had an amazing raw vegan lasagne there in April. I definitely recommend a visit! Great post 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation Rachael! I will definitely be checking it out next time I’m in Ubud! 🙂
Yummy! The food looks superb and I’m happy to see that there is plenty of choice for vegans, it means we can easily travel there without worrying too much about what to eat. I wish I could have at least one of this meal for dinner tonight, I miss Asian food so much.
There isn’t a worry to be had in Ubud! Vegan galore all around! 😀
It was such a joyous time for us in Indonesia. So much delicious Vegan food and you never had to go very far to have it. Some of the best food we have had while travelling was during our time in Indonesia. Thanks for reminding us 🙂
🙂
Hey, I was just reading through this again now for inspiration on what to eat for lunch, and have to say I laughed SO hard at the ‘post cyber-twat joint’ description. LOL! Sums up quite a few places here 😉
haha! I do miss it though! 😉
[…] 15 Delicious Vegan Restaurants To Try in Ubud – Mostly Amélie […]
Hello Amelie, great reviews! We would like to feature one of your review on our website (Goldsgym.co.id). If it’s okay, we will mention your name and website which directly linked to your website 🙂
n.5, which you have listed as dayu’s warung, is really a discription and photographs of food from Fussy BIrd. We went there last night – it was quite good and I had the lasagne in your photo.
Hmm, so they change the name? Are they in the same location as Dayu’s Warung? Thanks for the heads up!
Wulan’s Vegetarian Warung was soooo good aND filling. Having vegan food cooked with indonesian flavors and spices is a real treat. Another thing,It’s nice that she can prepare some menu items without garlic and onion and her soups are cooked on the spot. Looking forward to trying some of the other places here.
Sweet! Yes, I miss that place a lot. Let me know if you visit any other places on the list and if anything has changed, that would be super helpful! 🙂
Add to your list Moksa Plant-based resataurant www.moksaubud.com
[…] 15 vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants to try in Ubud [Mostly Amélie] […]
[…] 15 vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants to try in Ubud [Mostly Amélie] […]
[…] We regretted slightly not being able to include Bali (and Indonesia more generally) in our trip to Asia last winter, but we really prefer to travel slowly, and adding more and more destinations to a trip isn’t conducive to that! Nonetheless, next time we go to Asia, I’d love to visit Bali if for no other reason than to eat all the vegan things, especially in Ubud. […]
You missed out on Seeds of Life!!! I went so many times on my last trip. And you have to visit Sage! The best vegan restaurant in Ubud! Try the burger, it’s to die for. Oh and the bowls!!! I would fly to Ubud, just to go back to Sage.
Hey Dominique, that’s amazing, thanks for the tip! Will update the guide asap! 🙂
[…] visit the palace and pick up beautiful handcrafted woodwork and be sure to sample all the delicious vegan restaurants in Ubud, this is one of the best spots in Asia to dine out as a […]
[…] good restaurants in Bali that serve all kinds of food, from local fare to fusion dishes, as well as vegan Ubud restaurants to choose from. These areas also have international fast food chains, as well as […]
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A new place which I’ve become actually obsessed with is Pizza Cult in Ubud. Amazing food, great service, such a cute venue and really affordable. Also a great place to bring your laptop and work from!