Must-see restaurants in Java

  • Holliday Restaurant

    Semarang

    It's easy to see why this two-storey restaurant is permanently packed: the food is exceptionally good! Earning the unreserved recommendation of the local…

  • Patio

    Borobudur

    For a magical hilltop setting enhanced by traditional music, this vintage restaurant, 4km west of Borobudur, is hard to match. Eat in the formal dining…

  • Interior of OKU

    OKU

    Jakarta

    Inside Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, OKU is an outstanding Japanese dining experience. Its Zen-like minimalist dining room allows the food to stand out. Chef…

  • Interior of Common Grounds

    Common Grounds

    Jakarta

    Common Grounds is a pioneer of Melburnian third-wave coffee culture in Jakarta. Its award-winning baristas brew fine coffees roasted in-house, while the…

  • De Soematra 1910

    Surabaya

    Put on your posh frock to come to this highly regarded restaurant. It's set inside a renovated colonial mansion with 6m-high ceilings, chandeliers and…

  • Kunstkring Paleis

    Jakarta

    High tea or cocktails? You can have both, plus a divine Indonesian dinner in between at this alluring re-imagined Dutch colonial mansion, once Batavia's…

  • Melati

    Malang

    The Tugu hotel's poolside restaurant is a romantic setting for a meal, with attentive staff to guide you through the delicious Indonesian and Chinese…

  • Pasar Ikan

    West Java

    Pangandaran’s terrific fish market consists of more than a dozen large, open-sided restaurants just off the east beach. Karya Bahari is considered the…

  • Mediterranea

    Yogyakarta

    This lively French-owned kitchen is a delight in every sense and comes highly recommended by expats. Everything is homemade, including crusty baguettes…

  • Lewis & Carroll

    Jakarta

    There are more than 70 types of artisanal tea on offer at Lewis & Carroll. The tea lounge serves locally sourced teas with names like Batavia Grey and…

  • Java Banana

    East Java

    Set off the road up to Ijen from Banyuwangi, this restaurant, inside the upmarket Jiwa Jawa hotel, is a stunner, with a massive ground-floor gallery and…

  • Historia

    Jakarta

    Served in a hip Kota warehouse with soaring ceilings, big art murals and a retro-industrial vibe, Historia's dishes hail from around the archipelago. Try…

  • Omah Sinten

    Solo

    Sharing space with a heritage hotel is this attractive restaurant offering home-style Solonese specialities. While the menu makes good reading, giving the…

  • Yam-Yam

    Central Java

    This stylish beachfront restaurant is the indisputable top choice in Jepara. Dining is in the garden, around a pool or on tables so close to the sea that…

  • Citrus Lee

    Surabaya

    At Citrus Lee the food is art, and every dish is delicately painted onto a plate. The chef-owner trained in Paris, and the French influence seeps into…

  • Soto Bujatmi

    Central Java

    This is the very best place to try the famed chicken soup of Kudus. Cooks stir up cauldrons of the brew over a log-fired oven and diners pack round simple…

  • Plataran Menteng

    Jakarta

    This excellent restaurant in a grand, old, light-and-airy mansion has plenty of ambience. There's a live pianist, birdcages and reminders of a bygone era…

  • Kopi Mpat

    Borobudur

    A true 'Garden of Java', this idyllic cafe is well hidden away in a stunning location among landscaped rice paddies, natural springs and dreamy mountain…

  • Por Que No

    Jakarta

    A tucked-away, uberhip rooftop tapas bar with terrace in the De Ritz Building in Menteng, this spot is popular with those in the know. Try the grilled and…

  • Toko Wingko Babad

    Semarang

    A wonderful, anachronistic bakery and store that hasn't changed in half a century. The delicious wingko (coconut cakes served warm) are the signature…

  • Tjikini

    Jakarta

    On one of the best coffee strips in Jakarta, this appealing cafe has an alluring vintage style with bentwood chairs and tiled floors. Coffee drinks are…

  • Kaum

    Jakarta

    One of Jakarta's more tasteful dining options is this midcentury Dutch house set in a leafy neighbourhood that offers respite from the surrounding mayhem…

  • Grand Garden Café

    West Java

    The cafe-restaurant in the botanical garden is a wonderfully civilised place for a bite or a drink, with sweeping views down to the water-lily ponds. It's…

  • The Library

    Malang

    With industrial-chic furnishings, shelves of books and graffiti wall art, this eye-catching cafe-restaurant, which is super-popular with local students,…

  • Braga Art Cafe

    Bandung

    Bringing some style to Braga's brazen nightlife strip is this colonial terrace restaurant that exudes old-world European ambience mixed with the elegance…

  • La Rucola

    Surabaya

    A delightful Italian bistro serving upmarket Surabaya with homemade pastas, imported steaks, wood-fired pizzas, Italian sausage, oyster mushrooms and more…

  • Cimaja Square

    West Java

    You not only get solidly prepared and presented international dishes (think pasta, burgers, pizza, seafood and some standard Indonesian dishes) at this…

  • Interior of Plan B

    Plan B Spanish Resto

    Jakarta

    Plan B is a humble Spanish eatery serving authentic delicacies courtesy of Basque chef Oskar Urzelai. Locals love this out-of-the-way-but-buzzy…

  • Lara Djonggrang

    Jakarta

    It's easy to think you've stumbled across an enchanting lost temple at Lara Djonggrang. Its dimly lit, incense-filled space is decorated with traditional…

  • Crystal Jade Palace

    Jakarta

    Expand your culinary palette at this branch of the acclaimed Michelin-starred Singapore chain, located at Grand Indonesia mall. The high-end Chinese…

  • Six Senses Kitchen

    Yogyakarta

    Yogya's fanciest place to dine is this renovated restaurant that offers a grand first impression with its palatial-like entrance, opulent baroque…

  • Waroeng Tugu Blitar

    East Java

    With an elegant colonial ambience, the in-house restaurant of the Tugu Sri Lestari is a fine place to delight in well-presented, upmarket versions of such…

  • Ikan Bakar Cianjur

    Semarang

    Occupying a sensitively restored building (Semarang’s former courthouse), this character-filled restaurant with its yellow roof tiles sports art deco…

  • Green Garden Cafe

    West Java

    Run by welcoming owners Asep and Rini, this popular, unassuming warung has been cooking great local dishes since 1997. Try the delicious batagor (crispy…

  • Spiegel

    Semarang

    Housed in a converted old general store (circa 1895) and once patronised by Dutch colonists, Spiegel has become a pivotal point of the old quarter. The…

  • Warung Daun

    Jakarta

    This re-imagined warung (food stall) attempts a modern and healthy take on classic dishes. Expect delectable Sundanese and Chinese Indonesian dishes,…

  • Soga

    Solo

    This stylish Indonesian and fusion restaurant is part of the Danar Hadi complex, next to the batik museum and showroom. Mains include meat and pasta…

  • BU Kris

    Surabaya

    With simple tiled walls, plastic-coated menus and chipped tables piled with plates of food, it's not the looks that bring crowds of noisy locals to eat at…

  • Wanderlust Coffee Division

    Yogyakarta

    This Dutch-owned cafe is a cool little hang-out, with awesome coffee, cold beers (happy 'hour' is from noon to 7pm) and an interesting menu of vegetarian…

  • Maple & Oak

    Jakarta

    With modern, Scandi-esque design incorporating pastel tones and plants in terrariums, this cute spot around the corner from Barack Obama's old school…

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