We've found the best under-the-radar restaurant in Bali - International Travel

by Kerrie McCallum

Head of Food, Travel and Health at News Corp Australia

Jul 27, 2026

Kerrie McCallum has eaten at breathtaking destination restaurants the world over. But on a recent holiday, it was a farm-to-fork restaurant outside of Ubud in Bali that took her completely by surprise.

Bali has long had a reputation for food that runs the gamut: from backpacker pub grub, to pricey but banging beach clubs, and Mexican, Italian or Mediterranean fare and everything in between. Everything but Indonesian food, that is. But a new wave of local chefs, producers and hoteliers are quietly driving cultural change, embracing heritage cooking techniques beyond the warungs and transforming Bali into one of the most exciting food destinations Australians can visit.

Begawan Biji is a standout. This magical and immersive social enterprise and farm-to-table restaurant is located in Bayad Village, 20 minutes from the heart of Ubud. Surrounded by permaculture farms, three hectares of rice fields and more than 180 coconut trees, and supplied by its regenerative vegetable gardens, it is the latest initiative by Begawan, an organisation founded in 2001 and known in Bali for its work with the community, regenerative farming and conservation.

Begawan Biji sits surrounded by rice paddies.

Arriving on site invokes an immediate sense of calm, as the sounds of chaotic Bali traffic recede. Farmers tend to freshly planted mulberry bushes (the fruits of which I later drink in a cocktail), amazonian lily pads ripple gently in the light breeze and chickens scratch and cluck in their coop. We follow the path winding through the farm, and spot a pair of endangered Bali starlings residing in the sanctuary on site.

“We’re gradually trying to release the birds safely back into the wild,” explains Rebecca Khoo, my host from the Begawan team. “The owners, Debora and Bradley Gardner, have run the sanctuary here since the 1990s, and are trying to scale back so they can focus on the restaurant, which funds their other initiatives that give back to the community.”

Farm-fresh produce finds its way to the plate at Begawan Biji.

The menu focuses on clean, nourishing food and features heritage Indonesian dishes, inspired by chef Andrew Fahludza’s grandmother. Everything is served family style, with 70 percent of the produce used sourced from what is grown in the grounds. “Ideally it would be 100 per cent, however the climate doesn’t allow us to grow certain things, such as onions, but it’s not for lack of trying,” explains Khoo.

Fahludza cooks over fire, favours traditional slow-cooking styles such as smoking, stewing and steaming, uses line-caught fish from a Balinese fisherwoman, and creates delicate plant-forward meals designed to showcase the organic vegetables from the regenerative farm. The star is the farm’s chemical-free, single-origin Mansur Heritage rice (an endangered short brown grain), which is highly nutritious and grown metres from the table. The rice is milled to order, and also sold to select local restaurants and hotels.

“Rice is very labour intensive” explains the operations manager Joshua Gardner. “We only harvest twice a year, instead of the usual four for rice, and it’s probably the hardest thing to grow. Root vegetables are also difficult here, due to the soil type, which is why we have created mandala-shaped gardens to support them.”

Farmers tend the rice fields at Begawan Biji.

The menu changes with the harvest. We eat line-caught Tuna Satay Gorantalo, smoked over coffee wood and coconut husk, learn that banana stems are highly nutritious via the Banana Trunk Urap and wolf down Brenebon broth, a slow-cooked combination of kidney beans, diced beef, vegetables and nutmeg.

“This is my grandmother’s recipe,” smiles Fahludza. “She would cook this for me when I was sick as a child, so it reminds me of a warm hug.” A palate cleansing Asinan Bogor combines pickled seasonal fruits with a fresh but spicy sorbet and mixed seeds with surprisingly fresh results.

Light dishes like Sissoo Spinach, a variety of water spinach, come dressed with soybean mousse, red hibiscus gel, sesame dressing, tomato and cashew; while cod cooked with tomato, chayote and dabu-dabu sambol is served with three kinds of rice, mixed with turmeric and coconut, ginger and garlic or aromatic pandan leaf. There are showstoppers such as the signature dish of Mansur Raja Nasi Goreng, with smoked Wagyu short ribs, grilled slipper lobster, Bali moon scallops and sambal matah.

The desserts, such as Tangerine, which is a Balinese orange mousse with kaffir lime ice cream, and a Begawan Biji honey number using freshly made honeycomb, are wonderful and the cocktails unique. Starring Karusotju arak, a local spirit, and mixed with mulberries or passionfruit and even tumeric, they taste good enough to be health tonics. Ultimately, it’s all very ‘soil to soul’; even the kitchen trimmings and fish bones go to the chooks, to create “eggs with integrity”. This is Ubud, after all.

Modelled on a Balinese wantilan, the breezy, elegant setting is hard to beat. Designed by architect Conchita Blanco from Blanco Studio, the Environmentally Sustainable Designed (ESD) open air pavilion offers natural ventilation and is built from sustainably sourced or recycled materials – such as ironwood, stone and bamboo rescued from a mix of demolished local hotels and temples. Art and antiques (including the bar stools) from the owners’ private collection, combined with colourful ikat soft furnishings and rugs, results in an enchanting and relaxed feel.

The open-sided dining room at Begawan Biji.

The pavilion boasts 360-degree panoramic views overlooking the rice fields and gardens, which are filtered with subak, or traditional irrigation water, through porous volcanic lava rock to create a chemical free and natural irrigation system that is the largest of its kind in Bali. The Gardners spent four years enriching and preparing the soil before planting in response to growing concerns with Bali’s agricultural landscape. The goal is to educate the community about the importance of agriculture, and increase outcomes for local farmers through the sale of high-quality produce.

The Gardners also founded the nearby award-winning Begawan Giri estate, which became the renowned Como Shambhala. The farm and restaurant is now managed by LHM (Legian Hotel Management), parent company of The Legian Seminyak hotel, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026. Designed by the late Jaya Ibrahim, the ‘grand dame’ of Bali has long celebrated Balinese heritage design and partnered with local artists and craftsmen to showcase talent on the island.

Mansur Heritage rice, organic eggs from the chicken coop, and fruits and vegetables supply the hotel’s busy kitchen, which offers a condensed Begawan Biji menu on site, while guests can book day trips via the hotel. Guests can opt for a farm tour, take an intimate cooking class (the maximum is six people), bring their own wine if they choose, and host a private event in the space upstairs. To experience and taste Bali as you’ve always dreamt it is the kind of day trip you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Find Begawan Biji at Melinggih Kelod, Payangan, Gianyar Regency, Bali; vbegawanbiji.com; and Como Shambhala at Banjar Begawan, Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan, Gianyar Regency, Bali, comohotels.com