Ultimate Vegan Guide for Ubud, Bali (2019)
We'd heard that we would have no problem finding vegan options in Ubud, Bali but what an understatement that was! Vegan Ubud has so much to offer!
Since we were in Ubud for almost a month, we were able to try many of the vegan options there. Honestly, we didn't have bad food anywhere.
We tried to stick mainly to local and regional foods. If you're a fan of tempeh, lemongrass, curry, peanut sauce, galangal and trying new things you will love it! Scroll on down to see all the vegan options we found in Ubud.
Our Ultimate Vegan Ubud Guide
Ayo Vegan
Our first restaurant visit in Ubud, Bali was Ayo Vegan. We winded our way through the Yoga Barn community to get there.
The menu has traditional Indonesian food as well as fusion dishes.
For beverages, Kevin ordered the cold coconut and it was huge!
I got the frozen coconut milk frappe.
For food, I went 100% traditional and got the Nasi Goreng. It's an Indonesian fried rice. It was full of veggies and came with crispy tempeh.
Kevin saw someone else with the Wulan Tacos so he ordered them too. They might look like tacos in flour tortillas that we're used to seeing in the U.S. but the inside was full of Indonesian flavors.
Our second visit I tried the watermelon juice and Kevin got another cold coconut. They ask if you want it sweetened or not. I got it without sugar.
We tried an appetizer this time, the Martabak. They were like little crispy pan-fried dumplings filled with tofu, soy protein (Proteina), and pumpkin. It was served with ketchup and hot sauce.
I had the Tasty Curry with red rice. It was full of veggies and steamed tempeh. The curries here are very light and won't weigh you down. They're also full of flavor.
Kevin got the Wrap Star. Think of this as a fusion burrito with a big rice pancake instead of a tortilla. The insides were full of local flavors and it was served with hot sauce and some curry to pour over it.
Earth Cafe
After a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest and lots of walking around, we needed a refreshment! We're also still jet-lagged at this point and fighting the urge to take a nap. So we popped into Earth Cafe for beverages and to sit and relax for a bit.
They have a small market and a cafe. We sat upstairs in the cafe and had a nice view of the street.
I had a mighty need for coffee, so I got a cappuccino and a smoothie, the Shakti. And Kevin got the Samsara.
And then Kevin had a mango lassi. Vegan mango lassi isn't easy to find!
You'll see an aside further down this page about Paradiso. It's a theater connected to Earth Cafe. Try it out while you're there. It's a unique experience!
Kokolato
We stumbled upon this little stand while walking around.
Kokolato has vegan gelato that's also non-gmo, organic, gluten-free, and fair trade when possible. What? And for sweetener they use coconut sugar. The result is a smooth, delicious frozen dessert that is lightly sweet. What a perfect treat in this climate!
The Moringa Mint Chip and Rocky Road were especially yummy. Oh, and their cones are also gluten-free.
As you can imagine, we visited a few times. And this isn't the only treat vegan Ubud has, either!
Siboghana Waroeng
It turns out, our rooms were right next to a vegan restaurant! We popped into Siboghana Waroeng after passing out from jet lag and waking up hungry. Good thing it was a few steps away from the room.
Siboghana Waroeng also happens to have delicious traditional Indonesian food made vegan.
For drinks, we got the ginger and the lemon tea.
And we ordered the Siboghana Salad.
The Nasi Campur, a traditional plate filled with 5 or 6 different dishes and rice, was really good and filling at a great price. You'll see many more Nasi Campur as you look at this guide. It's a great way to sample an assortment of different dishes.
The Kare Siboghana was a flavorful, light curry with both tofu and tempeh and some crispy mushrooms on top.
Cafe Beras
Cafe Beras is a cute little place with a really nice owner/manager.
We both started with mango drinks. You'll notice that no one uses plastic straws here. They use plant stems, paper, bamboo, and steel.
I had the Nasi Campur. We really love trying Nasi Campur at the different spots. They're always different!
Kevin got the tempeh burger. It was planks of delicious tempeh layered on a bun with a side of potatoes.
Acai Queen
So, this place is dangerous.
If you don't believe me, head on over to Acai Queen's website and have a gander at that all-vegan menu. Oof.
But, we were good and stuck to acai and smoothie bowls.
Kevin had the True Brazilian acai bowl. Yeah, that's coconut whipped cream on top.
I had the Rise & Shine smoothie bowl. Man, we can't get enough of the fruits here!
Sage
When we were in the neighborhood checking out what would be our new accommodations, we popped into Sage for lunch. It's an all vegan spot with more of an assortment of dishes. This is about the most western place we've eaten here.
We both decided on nice, healthy bowls. But first, I was intrigued by the Orange Julius. The original Orange Julius contains milk and egg so it's definitely not vegan.
This one was made orange, banana, and coconut milk and tasted kind of like a creamsicle. Yum!
The bowls were as tasty as they were beautiful. This is Kevin's Nourish bowl.
And this is my Vibrant bowl.
Our next visit, Kevin got the Nourish bowl again and I tried the Teriyaki bowl. Also delicious! The sauce was not cloyingly sweet like it is often served in the U.S.
On another visit, Kevin got the Hula Burger and I got the tempeh tacos. Actually, the Hula Burger was Kevin's other goto order.
We ate at Sage a few times because it was near our room and right across the street from our co-working spot. The food was also reliably good.
Our 3 Favorite Restaurants in Ubud
We each share our favorite spots. It's so hard to choose!
Kevin
Laura
Warung Sopa Garden
We arrived at Warung Sopa Garden close to closing so we weren't sure they would be able to serve us. But it was no problem.
We got drinks. Kevin had the house made ginger ale and I got a tamarind lime drink. Both were refreshing.
Both of us ordered Nasi Campur and at Sopa you go up and choose what you want from dishes on a bar and then she cooks them up for you. I'm not sure if it was because it was the end of the day but she gave us some extras.
By the way, some of the dishes in a Nasi Campur will be served room temperature. Even fried things.
We also got some boiled dumplings.
I feel like a broken record, but everything was delicious. I'm not sure bad food exists in Bali.
Onion Cafe
While we were staying in our first spot, we got a 3-day pass to The Onion co-working spot. They also have rooms and a cafe and it's called The Onion Collective.
A couple of the days we worked at The Onion we also ate lunch at the cafe.
I started with this refreshing frozen lime & mint drink.
Kevin got these jackfruit satay with peanut sauce. The local cuisine uses jackfruit regularly and tastily.
I had the Gado Gado. It's a well-known Indonesian dish made of vegetables, some blanched and some raw, with a peanut sauce. This one had cabbage, carrot, green beans, sprouts, some green leafy vegetable, tofu, and crispy tempeh bits on top. I might be missing something else that was under the peanut sauce.
For our next meal at The Onion, we tried some vegan breakfast items.
Kevin got tempeh on toast with coconut bacon and I got a smoothie bowl.
We also shared these salsa and rendang cups.
Jani's Vegan Corner
First, I need to introduce Jani's Vegan Corner with this sign that sits outside.
In case you're wondering, 150 IDR is about $10 USD. Sadly we never took advantage of the massage and vegan food special.
Everywhere we've been has had English menus. Jani's Vegan Corner is no exception.
I got the Mie Goreng and I think Kevin's dish was a special. The vegan meat was cooked over coals in a banana leaf packet. And it was delicious!
Jani's didn't make it to our favorites list, but we really enjoyed the food. Again, no bad food here!
6 Foods You Need to Try in Bali
- Pakis - fern leaves in garlic, often part of a Nasi Campur
- Tempeh - fermented soy cakes that originated in Indonesia
- Banana flower - it's delicious, trust us! Sopa has the best!
- Jackfruit - used extensively here
- Nasi Goreng/Mie Goreng - traditional dishes here, rice/noodles
- Gado Gado - another traditional dish in a peanut sauce
Pumpkin & Beetroot
Pumpkin & Beetroot is a vegetarian spot but vegan items are clearly marked on the menu. If you eat here, sit with a view of the street. It's fascinating watching the scooters and cars navigate that intersection.
We started with rainbow summer rolls that were a little messy but tasted great. They came with a peanut sauce.
Kevin got the protein bowl.
And I got the chickpea and lentil curry. I was craving beans and Kevin was craving veggies so we both were taken care of well here.
Kismet
Kismet is a bit pricier than most places we dined in Ubud, but it's a nice spot and conveniently located. They were also okay with us working there for a while as long as they weren't busy.
Their coffee machine was down so we had chai lattes while we worked.
And then for lunch we both ordered their dragon bowls. The bowls were really nice but at 89 IDR were about twice what we've been paying for meals. Again, the atmosphere was really nice and their tempeh satay was one of our favorites.
9 Angels Warung
For dinner one night, we trekked south of our room to hit up 9 Angels Warung.
9 Angels Warung is buffet style. You serve yourself and each dish has a price tab. You take a tab each time you take a dish. At the end, you add them all up and drop money in a pay box. You also wash your own dishes.
Again, the food was really good and it was an interesting experience. We both ate for about $5 USD.
Sawobali
An all-vegan all-you-can-eat buffet including soup, salad, about a dozen mains and dessert for about $3.50 USD? Sign us up! Oh, everything on the buffet except the bread was also gluten-free.
We went to Sawobali a few times, of course. Thankfully it was a healthy walk from our room so we earned our trips to the buffet.
You can also order dishes off of the menu but when the buffet is 50k IDR it just doesn't make sense to do that.
Here are a few sample plates from our visits.
Yes, they had mochi on the buffet a couple of times when we visited. Yum!
Bali Soul
After moving to our new spot in Ubud, we start trying different restaurants in the area. We've already talked about Sage which was between our room and our co-working spot. We also passed by Bali Soul every day.
Bali Soul isn't vegetarian, but they do have nice vegan items that are marked on the menu. And the staff is very nice.
We tried a few different dishes and they were all delicious. We loved that most dishes came with a side of greens and mixed veggies.
Veggie Serapah
Satay Veggie
Nasi Goreng Gado-Gado
Banana Flower & Tempeh special
Balinese Curry
Nandini Vegetarian
The one restaurant in Ubud that we frequented the most was Nandini Vegetarian. The spot was just a couple of doors down from our co-working spot and we had lunch here multiple times. It doesn't get much more local than this.
The food is amazing and probably the best value in Ubud. For 20,000 IDR or about $1.41 USD, you'll get a Nasi Campur with that day's dishes and a bowl of soup.
The dishes change regularly so we never had exactly the same thing twice. Everything we got was vegan. They may do some non-vegan dishes but we didn't have any.
We're not sure the exact hours of Nandini Vegetarian but they were reliably open from around noon to 2:30pm.
Warung Sopa
We also visited Sopa's other location, Warung Sopa. This location seems much busier than Warung Sopa Garden and we liked it a little better.
Warung Sopa is where Kevin discovered his love of sugar cane juice. It's not as sweet as you might think. Mine is a tamarind soda (also tasty.)
The meals here were really good. Just like the other Sopa, if you order Nasi Campur, you go up and pick out what you want in it.
And even when you think you've chosen fewer dishes to keep it light, they'll just pile more food on. So bring an appetite.
Warung Sopa also has vegan desserts. The key lime pie on the left was outstanding! The coconut chocolate pie was pretty good but not as chocolaty as I wanted it to be.
Warung Falafel
Looking for something a little different, we sought out Warung Falafel, a plant-based and organic stand.
We both opted for falafel bowls, but Kevin upsized his by ordering the Royal which comes with three more falafel balls. The bowl comes with falafel, hummus, tahini, and pita, then you get to pick three things off the bar to add.
The falafel tasted authentic and the pita was of the fluffier variety which we don't mind at all.
Kevin also had a kombucha.
We enjoyed everything and it was a nice break from our mostly Balinese food diet. If you eat here, sit looking out towards the alley and you might get to see a big bat chasing people through the street.
Wulan Vegetarian Warung
Wulan Vegetarian Warung is an all vegan spot that's a sister restaurant to AYO Vegan. The menu is a little different though so it's worth going to both.
Kevin got the Peanut Veggie Heap. I think it's kind of Gado Gado adjacent.
And I got the Savory Veg-stuffed Pancakes. We never get tired of peanut sauce and curry!
You see that red dab on the side of the plate? It's a chili paste that's not super hot. The dishes here are often served with a little pile of it on the side of your plate or a separate bowl will come to the table. That way you can make it as spicy as you like or avoid it entirely.
The Spell Creperie
If you had told me that I would be eating vegan crepes (or galettes in this case) in Ubud, Bali I wouldn't have believed you. But, I've got photographic evidence!
The Spell Creperie serves galettes and crepes with vegan and gluten-free options for both clearly marked on the menu. And keeping with the theme, they play Celtic music like Loreena McKennitt.
We started with beverages. Kevin got the Ginger Bell which is ginger kombucha. And I got The Green Forest which is aloe vera, ginger and mint.
I tried the Rhiannon galette: sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, tomatoes, Balinese vegetables, nut cheese and sunflower seeds.
Kevin had The Balinese Secret galette: jackfruit Betutu (jackfruit marinated and cooked in Balinese spices.) Both came with a small side salad.
Okay, they do both look the same from the outside. Both were light and tasty. We skipped dessert crepes because we were saving room in our dessert stomachs for Paradiso, an all-vegan movie theater in Ubud. When you buy a ticket you get credit to spend on food there. Sadly, we have no photos because it's dark in there.
Bonus tip - vegan movie theater!
Paradiso is a vegan theater in Ubud that shows English language movies, hosts improv, dance, and more. When you buy your movie ticket, you get credit towards the vegan menu that comes from Earth Cafe next door. Perfect for dessert! We'd share photos of the delicious things we had there but it was dark in the theater when we got them.
Urban Jungle
We saw Urban Jungle on Happy Cow and finally got to try it shortly before we left town. It's a tattoo shop and a vegan cafe. The tattoo shop is downstairs and the cafe is upstairs.
Urban Jungle has recently expanded their menu and now serves lunch and dinner. Many of their savory dishes are from Java not Bali so we tried a few of them since we wouldn't be visiting that part of Indonesia.
That said, I got the Tropical Thunder smoothie bowl because I was craving one.
Then we had an assortment of things. This is Cilok which are tapioca balls with a peanut sauce.
These are the Combro and Misro. One has sweet insides and the other savory. Of course I can't remember which is which.
And then we had the Tahu Original. It's a fried tofu dish.
Other than the Cilok and the smoothie bowl, it was a bit more fried than we usually like to eat. But it was all really good and we're glad we got to try some Javanese foods.
If you go at sunset, you can get this beautiful view from the cafe.
We hope you've found our ultimate guide to vegan food in Ubud helpful! The food here is so amazing we're sure you will find something you like. Ubud also has quite a few western-style vegan food options like pizza, pasta, burgers, taco, etc. If that's more your style, check out Happy Cow to find those options.
On a scale from 1 to HELL YEAH, how badly do you want to be eating Balinese food right now?
Hi. Some of those restaurants are already closed like warung sopha or clear cafe.
There are new ones like Wild Vegan which is first medicinal restaurant or Sayuri 😉
Thanks for the update! Sadly so many restaurants all over closed due to the pandemic. But restaurants also come and go all the time. Hope to get back and try some of the new spots!