Seafood and Beach Grills in Bali
Part of the Bali travel guide — see every topic in All Bali Guides.
Bali's beach grill is a specific and excellent institution: a row of tables set directly on the sand, a charcoal or coconut-husk fire, and a bed of ice from which you choose your fish by weight. It exists in a polished tourist version at Jimbaran and in a plainer, cheaper and often better version at fishing villages around the coast. The essential skill is the same everywhere — establish the price per kilo and the weight of your specific fish before it goes anywhere near the fire.
Jimbaran
The best-known version. Three clusters of warungs occupy the southern end of Jimbaran bay, each setting dozens of tables onto the sand at dusk, with candles, a guitarist and planes landing across the water. Snapper, grouper, prawns, squid, clams and lobster, weighed and priced per kilo, grilled over coconut husk with a garlic-chilli baste and served with rice, kangkung and sambal. A meal for two with beer is 350,000–700,000 rupiah depending entirely on what you choose. Arrive by five-thirty for a front row.
The better-value versions
Kedonganan, immediately north of Jimbaran, is where the fish market actually is and the warungs there are cheaper and more local for the same product. Amed and Tulamben on the east coast serve whatever the jukung boats landed that morning, grilled simply, with Agung behind you. Pantai Kelan near the airport is a local favourite. Muncan and the Sanur night market do it inland. In every case the fish is fresher the closer you are to a working landing beach, and the price is lower the further you are from a tourist strip.
How to order
Look at the ice, not the menu. Ask the price per kilo for the specific fish — snapper and grouper are usually 150,000–300,000 per kilo, prawns higher, lobster far higher. Ask for the fish you have chosen to be weighed in front of you and confirm the total before it goes on the grill. A one-kilo fish feeds two. Ikan bakar is grilled, ikan goreng is fried; sambal matah is the raw shallot-and-lemongrass condiment that goes best with it. Almost all of this is negotiable at the plainer places and fixed at the tourist ones.
What to eat and what to avoid
Best: red snapper, grouper, mahi-mahi, barramundi, squid, prawns and clams, all locally landed. Bali's tuna fishery is significant and yellowfin is excellent. Avoid: anything sold as reef fish from species under pressure, and be cautious about very cheap lobster, which is often undersized. Shark is occasionally offered and should be refused — Indonesia is one of the largest shark-fishing nations and the trade is exactly what the regional conservation effort is working against. Ask where the fish came from; a good warung will know.
Seafood and Beach Grills at a glance
| Classic location | Jimbaran bay, southern end — arrive by 5.30pm |
|---|---|
| Better value | Kedonganan, Amed, Pantai Kelan |
| Price per kilo | Snapper and grouper IDR 150,000–300,000 |
| Meal for two | IDR 350,000–700,000 with drinks |
| Order | Ikan bakar (grilled); sambal matah on the side |
| Refuse | Shark; be wary of very cheap lobster |