A Food Lover’s Guide to Amed, Bali

Amed is a great place to eat. What makes it even better is that you’ll have the time to really savour it since there is no rush ever in sleepy Amed. Besides stunning snorkeling sessions, long naps and rejuvenating massages, eating should take up a big chunk of your time in Amed. There is something for everyone, from simple warungs to resort-style restaurants. 

We visited Amed twice, both times in February, which is the rainy, low season, and we never had to wait to get a table. Perhaps it gets busier in season, but how busy can a sleepy fishing village really get?

In the real world, most places to eat in Amed are described as boutique eateries or artisanal food, but here in Amed, it’s simply small, friendly and good food places. The seafood here is fresh off the boat, and the service we had everywhere was relaxed and friendly. We liked how the food was beautifully presented and colourful wherever we ate in Amed. 

So enough with the small talk: Let’s tell you about the best restaurants, warungs and our favourite places to eat in Amed. In no particular order…

Update: We are back in Amed for the third time, this time in August, and it’s still as good as ever. It’s definitely busier than in February, but not crowded. Just a nice little buzz. There are quite a few new places in town that we’ll add to our list of restaurants in Amed as we eat our way through them.

Life in Amed

Our go-to place in Amed is the stunning Life in Amed. We still get excited every time we drive by, saying, ” Look, there is Life in Amed!

While some might think we come back here for the calm atmosphere, friendly service or the sound of the trickling water fountains, the real reason we keep on coming back here is the focaccia. And the decadent chocolate cake. And the fresh fish, and the pork ribs, and the tempeh manis. In fact, we love everything here.

It has always been very quiet on all our visits here, with us being the only guests or one other table only. We’ve been here a few times over the last two years, and Life in Amed has never disappointed.

The classic Balinese music and wind rustling through the palm and Frangipani trees made for the perfect setting.

We ordered a seafood basket to share, and it was fantastic. It comes with grilled fish, fried calamari rings, shrimp, fish skewers and a nice side salad. The fish and squid skewers with the roasted pineapple were fantastic.

We had the dadar gulung (pandan pancakes stuffed with coconut and palm sugar) for dessert. The dadar gulung was the best we’ve had to date. It hit the perfect balance between sweet and slightly savoury.

I’m definitely coming back for the genuine smile and tasty food.

Warung Enak

Di Lipah Warung

While reading the menu, the owner played the guitar, belting out some amazing Blues and Reggae tunes. It was such a cool vibe. Then, in the middle of a song, he paused, went outside, and returned with a local fisherman who had three massive mahi-mahi.

The owner introduced the fisherman to everyone, praising him as the fishing champ of Amed. Then he hopped right back into his musical groove while the mahi-mahi made their way to the kitchen.

We started with corn fritters as our appetiser and man, they were incredible. We went with the Catch of the Day (Tuna that day) and fish curry for our main course. The food at Warung Agung blew us away, which totally explains why it’s always packed.

And for dessert, you’ve got to try the caramelised pineapple with ice cream or the black rice pudding. Trust me; you won’t regret it.

Bukit Segara

If you have a special occasion to celebrate or simply when you feel like you deserve something special, go for dinner at Bukit Segara. And not just any dinner- get the slow-roasted duck. 

Jin read about Bukit Segara’s famous duck on a Korean blog, and her mind was made up. So I jumped on our scooter one morning and rode out to Bukit Segara to make a reservation for a slow-roasted duck. The duck takes its time to reach nirvana (about 4 hours), so you must let the chef know in advance if you want the duck.

We scootered in around sunset to claim an enlightened duck with our name on it, and man, have we ever felt like royalty!

Wyan, our waiter for the night, greeted us by name as we walked in. Our table overlooked the infinity pool to the sea while the fans stirred the tropical afternoon air. While we were ordering drinks, Wyan told us that we could have a portion of duck rendang on the house if we were still hungry after the duck.

The chef came out to introduce us to our duck. She told us how she took care of the duck for over four hours. Then she explained that the best way to eat it is with our hands, as the Balinese. By eating it with your hands, you taste more of the spices and flavours. She didn’t have to invite us twice! It was indeed finger-lickin’ good.

The sides of fries and vegetables were terrific too. Wayan brought us another portion of the sides while the duck was disappearing not so slowly. We had to turn down Wyan’s offer of a free dish in the end. We were stuffed! I didn’t even order dessert, and that rarely ever happens.

Asli Amed

The prize for the prettiest food we had in Amed goes to Asli Amed. I had a great beef rendang, but the mixed satays that Jin had were even better.

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We had dinner around 7 pm at Natnat, and the little bamboo restaurant with its wooden tables and colourful lanterns was full, filling it with chatter in Dutch, Italian and English.

For starters, we had crispy fried spring rolls with a delicious sweet-sour dipping sauce. 

Jin had the tempeh Pad Thai, and I had the pork Panang curry. The Pad Thai was good, but my Panang curry was GOOOOOOD.

You MUST get the maprao kaeng, Thai coconut ice cream, for dessert. The decadent coconut ice cream is served on sticky rice and caramelized nuts. It’s a festival of flavours and textures!

For hipsters and lifestyle-conscious people, all the usual suspects are on the menu, from smoothie bowls and granola bars to cold-pressed juices and kombucha.

We felt a little out of place since we arrived without our laptops or Kindles, and the chatter of benchmark market shares while maintaining a carbon-neutral footprint from the table beside us went straight over our heads.

The food, though, was solid and beautiful. We loved the food at Good Stuff and think it’s one of the tastiest spots in town.

We ordered an iced americano and Kombucha Love which were great.

Jin ordered the Sunrise Power Smoothie Bowl, packed with bananas, pineapple and coconut shavings.

I ordered the pork ribs, which were falling-off-the-bone tender and perfectly seasoned. I even finished the entire portion of coleslaw – the first time in history,

Give Good Stuff Cafe a try and decide for yourself if it’s worth the hype.

For our appetiser, we ordered croquettes and opted for a combination of spinach, bacon, and cheese, or so we believed. However, there was a mix-up, either due to a misunderstanding or the menu needs to be clearer. Instead of the intended three croquettes, we received nine. It’s advisable to communicate clearly with your waiter when placing your order. Nonetheless, the croquettes were great, and we made them all disappear.

Our waiter suggested the mahi-mahi and mashed potatoes for me, while Jin decided on the tomato penne. Both dishes were tasty. We finished off our dinner at Zaitun with a decadent brownie and ice cream.

Aquaterrace

We stayed at the spectacular Aquaterrace and had dinner a few times at its bistro. With the owners being a Japanese/Indonesian couple, the food here is a wonderful mix of both countries.

If you’re feeling tired of Indonesian food, Aquaterrace has crispy katsu, tempura, tataki, dumplings and good sushi. Otherwise, the seafood or veg curries were really tasty too. The fish and chips are as fresh as anywhere else in Amed.

Warung Pantai

Warung Pantai (Pantai means beach) is just how a good warung should be: small, friendly and cheap. I can’t remember how we ended up here, but I’m glad we did.

We arrived at the warung exactly at the same time as three huge and fresh mahi-mahi. I didn’t even have to look at the menu. I simply pointed at the fish, which was all that was needed to convey my dietary needs, dreams and aspirations.

We watched as the fish was grilled over a coconut husk fire. Soon after, my mahi-mahi steak arrived, fresh off the grill with fresh spicy sambal and lime, while Jin had the chicken satays in peanut sauce.

Need to chill?
All the Amed beaches are here.

Taman Bebek Hita

The covered rooftop of this duck joint has a great view of the lush green mountains. Not only are the views great, but so is the food. Duck, prepared in various ways, is the main thing here, but the menu has a few other choices. I had the crispy, spicy Angry Duck, while Jin had the Balinese chicken. Both were really good.

The place looked closed as we parked our scooter, but someone came out to greet us. Immediately he put on music, rolled open the bamboo blinds upstairs and handed out menus.

Ibus Sea View Warung

This little warung with only six tables overlooks Ibus Beach. It’s situated right next to Amed Dream, where we are staying this time in Amed, so we decided to go check it out for lunch.

The small menu features seafood, Indonesian food, pasta and a few specials of the day.

For drinks, we ordered fresh pineapple and watermelon juice, which came with a small plate of tasty salted peanuts. The views over the beach and the cool breeze kept us distracted until our food arrived.

The owner recommended the mahi-mahi, which I had while Jin had the seafood curry. Both dishes hit the spot, and I might sneak back later tonight for the banana and arak flambe.

Ibus Sea View Warung is just around the bend from the Japanese Shipwreck, which makes it perfect for those post-snorkeling munchies.

Trattoria overlooking Ibus Beach might just be the best Western food in Amed. We went there for lunch, and Jin went with her go-to pizza order, the Margherita. I was undecided between the cheese gnocchi and the ravioli…so I went with the Capricciosa pizza in the end.

Trattoria’s pizzas have thin crusts with that perfect crust-to-topping ratio. Service was warm and friendly, and we didn’t have to wait for our food.

Trattoria is also just up the road from the Japanese shipwreck, so give in to that craving and pop in after your snorkelling or diving session.

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The Bottom Line: Where to Eat in Amed

We did not have a single bad eating experience in Amed. We are sure that all places to eat in Amed will have something special going for it. Good food is, in fact, one of the main reasons we like Amed so much and the reason we came back here again and will return again. Amed, and Bali in general, is a place where you live to eat.