One of the best things about my month in Mother Bali? Eating delicious, fresh, locally sourced foods made with love for every single meal. My yoga teacher training was a pretty full-on experience and I was so glad not to have to worry about where or what to eat during study days or on my days off. Since going plant-based, my experience of travelling varies so much depending on whether I can find decent food (or not) – Bali is such a haven for veggies and vegans as everywhere has veggie or vegan options, many traditional dishes can be customised easily and there’s huge awareness of different ways of eating.

On A Budget – Quick Local Spots

• Paddy Point – we had lunch here every day as part of my teacher training, but I also came back on my days off and in the evenings too! Neko, the owner, used to work in five star hotels and this is really clear from his cooking and presentation. He brings a lot of his love for Bali and his own energy (he is only 26!) to the food and vibe here and most of the mains cost less than £3. The views over the rice fields make it such a peaceful spot.
• Kopi Desa – this cosy cafe serves for breakfasts foods at any time of the day or night. The smoothie bowls were delicious and very Instagrammble (you can’t go to Bali and not post at least one smoothie bowl). The menu offers a mix of Indonesian/Balinese (nasi goreng, mie goreng, nasi campur) and Western foods (avocado toast, salads and pasta dishes) all very reasonably priced, the resident pooch is super cute too!
• Lala & Lili – I couldn’t not visit this warung, given its name – Lili turned out to be the very friendly and super soft resident black dog. I stopped by here every couple of days to stock up on their homemade kombucha, the ginger flavour was amazing and made me feel so healthy! The small store attached sells vegan cakes and cookies, Ubud Raw Chocolate and lots of local produce. The food is simple home-cooked Balinese fare with a fair few vegan options – tofu and tempeh (fermented soy bean) are your friends if you’re plant-based and wanting to try local dishes.

Vegan and Raw Vegan

• Alchemy – a huge cafe and store, Alchemy is catering to the raw vegan ex-pat crowd and so prices are slightly higher as a result (around £8 for a meal and drink). I loved the build-your-own soup and salad bars, the portions were huge and so fresh with really creative ways of preparing vegetables to make them beyond delicious. The raw vegan menu items were a little hit and miss across our two visits here, I’d definitely recommend sticking to the soup/salad bars which is what I did on both visits. I was really excited to see a coconut milk matcha latte on the menu here but I sadly didn’t love it.
• Zest – the steep uphill walk here is worth it! I loved the very zen feeling indoor-meets-outdoor space with views over Campuran Ridge, away from the constant traffic of central Ubud and with a mix of modern and traditional decor. There’s a temple next door and the restaurant feels like a natural extension of it despite being quite new. The raw vegan menu is very creative and adventurous, I spent a good fifteen minutes just reading it! I didn’t mange to visit until my penultimate day and only had a small meal here but the summer rolls (something I always order if they are on the menu) were delicious.

Weekends and Date Nights

• Moksa – my absolute favourite. The meals I had here with Harry and my two yoga friends, sitting cross-legged under a pagoda decorated with fairy lights, are some of my favourite memories of my time in Bali. Moksa is situated in the middle of the rice paddies and has it’s own perma-culture garden and a farmers’ market twice a week. Everything we ordered on both visits was AMAZING, the service professional but unobtrusive and the place had a really special atmosphere. A three-course meal was around £12 but in any other city food of the same quality would cost many times as much. Portions are generous (Harry and I shared the three course menu on both visits) and the mix of raw vegan and cooked dishes meant that my flexitarian dining companions were kept happy and full too. The vegan nigri sushi was so good I had it on both visits. 
• Room 4 Dessert – the only restaurant we visited that I’d recommend making a booking for.  The entire Room 4 Dessert experience takes around three hours and we felt so well looked after by the team. The menu changes every six months, everything is locally sourced with many items coming from their garden. I’d highly recommend watching Will Goldfarb’s Chef’s Table episode before your visit, and booking an early evening slot to get the most out of the experience (and to tour the garden in daylight). We opted to have one cocktail and one mocktail package between us as I don’t like the taste of most alcohol (and had yoga at 6.30am the next day). The mocktails were SO impressive and I loved that as much care went into them as did the cocktails (so often mocktails are just an afterthought). The menu was all vegetarian but due to the nature of the restaurant there isn’t the option to have a vegan tasting menu. I choose to make an exception for this meal as I felt like everything was made with love and care (and was still veggie). We started with eight “snacks” eaten at the bright bar area, before moving on to the more opulent dining room for our eight desserts and cocktail/mocktail parings, ending our journey in the garden with tea and petite-fours. Portions are on the smaller side with the desserts and cocktails (there are eight of them after all). Every flavour was layered and complex,  the food is designed to be slowly savoured rather than leaving you feeling absolutely stuffed or staggering home intoxicated. Room 4 Dessert is definitely an extravagance (our bill came to around £150) but I loved every second of our experience here.

Other Spots I Loved

• Yellow Flower Cafe – the walk through the rice fields to reach this cafe is in itself a treat! Yellow Flower is perched on a ridge overlooking Ubud and with views of Mount Agung on a clear day. The prices here a a little higher than a local warung, but the setting is lovely. After hearing mixed reviews we were actually really impressed with everything we tried and came here for brunch and dinner a few times. There are plenty of vegan options or dishes that can be made vegan on the menu. I loved the coconut milk coffee frappe, the house-made jamu, the Vietnamese summer rolls and the lush salads.
• Clear Cafe – a super peaceful oasis located on a side street in Central Ubud. After checking our shoes at the (giant, circular, Hobbit-hole-esque) door, we spent a couple of hours here away from the craziness of the centre of town. If felt so good to cool down and enjoy healing elixirs, fresh salads and Vietnamese summer rolls. This isn’t a vegan cafe but everything is super healthy and fresh. It would be perfect if your dining party are a mixed group of eaters. I wish I’d had time to re-visit as there was much more on the (absolutely huge) menu I wanted to try.

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I’m already desperate to go back to Bali to eat at all these locations again! The food really is the best. Let me know if you’ve been anywhere on this list, or if there’s anywhere I have to try next time! If you’re visiting Canggu, I wrote this guide to my favourite breakfast spots there after my visit last year!

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