How to Order at a Bali Warung: Dishes, Prices & Phrases

Some of the best food in Bali is not served in the beach clubs or the restaurants with the designer menus. It is in the warungs: small, often family-run eateries with a few tables, a glass cabinet of dishes and a menu painted on a board, if there is a menu at all. Eating at them is cheaper, more local and usually more delicious. It can also be a little bewildering the first time. Here is how it works.

What a warung is

A warung is a small, informal place to eat. It can be anything from a roadside stall with a bench to a busy family kitchen with plastic stools and a television in the corner. Many serve the family's own cooking, made fresh in the morning and sold until it runs out, so the best time to eat at a local warung is often late morning to lunchtime. In the tourist areas you will also find "warungs" that are really casual cafés, with printed English menus, smoothie bowls and higher prices. Both are worth your time; just know which one you are in.

Most warungs are relaxed. You can walk in, sit wherever there is space, and nobody will rush you. Families eat together, workers drop in for a quick plate, and the person serving is often the person cooking.

Ordering nasi campur: point and choose

Nasi campur (literally "mixed rice") is the warung staple: a plate of rice with your choice of small portions from the dishes on display. There is rarely a menu for it, because the menu is the glass cabinet in front of you.

1. Find the cabinet. It is usually at the front, stacked with trays of vegetables, tempeh, tofu, eggs, curries, shredded chicken, fried fish and sambal.
2. Point. Say "nasi campur" and point at what you would like. The server will add a spoonful of each to your plate. "Ini" (this) and "itu" (that) are all you need.
3. Say when. "Sudah" means "that's enough" (literally "already").
4. Ask the price. The price depends on what you chose, as meat and fish cost more than vegetables. Ask "Berapa?" (how much?) before you sit down if you want to be sure.

Dishes you will see

Bali is predominantly Hindu, so pork is common here in a way it is not in most of Indonesia. If you do not eat pork, "tanpa babi" means "without pork".

Reading the prices

Warung prices are almost always written in thousands of rupiah with the zeros left off. A board that says "Nasi goreng 25" means Rp 25,000. You will also see "25K" or "25rb" (rb is short for ribu, thousand). Local warungs are often very cheap by Australian standards, while tourist-area warungs can charge several times as much for similar dishes. Both are fair for what they are.

For a quick conversion, rupiah has, at the time of writing, hovered roughly in the Rp 10,000–11,000 range per Australian dollar, so dropping four zeros gives you a rough figure in dollars. Our guide to paying in local currency has more mental-maths shortcuts. Check a live rate too, as it moves.

Spice: the most useful word is pedas

Pedas means spicy, and Balinese food can be very spicy indeed, especially the sambal. You can ask for it to be left off or served on the side.

Tidak pedas "Not spicy" (often said as "nggak pedas" in casual speech)

Sedikit pedas "A little spicy"

Pedas sekali "Very spicy" (only if you mean it)

Sambalnya dipisah "Sambal on the side, please"

Be aware that "not spicy" is relative. A dish that a Balinese cook considers mild may still have a kick, and in nasi campur the spice is already in the dishes rather than added to order.

Bahasa phrases for warung life

Selamat pagi / siang / malam "Good morning / good afternoon / good evening"

Saya mau ini "I'd like this one"

Ini apa? "What is this?"

Berapa? "How much?"

Makan di sini / Bungkus "Eating here" / "Takeaway" (literally "wrap it")

Es teh manis / Air putih "Sweet iced tea" / "Plain water"

Enak sekali! "Really delicious!"

Terima kasih "Thank you" (in Balinese, suksma will earn you a smile)

Paying: cash, small notes and tipping

Most local warungs are cash businesses. Carry small notes (Rp 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000) because handing over a Rp 100,000 note for a Rp 20,000 lunch can leave a small business short of change. Some warungs accept QRIS, Indonesia's national QR payment system, but it mainly suits local banking apps and wallets, so do not rely on it. Tourist-area warungs are more likely to take cards.

You usually pay at the counter or to the person who served you when you have finished. If you are not sure, "Saya mau bayar" means "I'd like to pay".

Tipping is not expected at local warungs. Leaving the small change or rounding up is a kind gesture and always appreciated, but nobody will think less of you if you do not. In tourist restaurants that already add a service charge, you do not need to tip on top unless the service was exceptional.

Warungs vs restaurants: the "++"

One of the pleasures of a warung is that the price on the board is generally the price you pay. Restaurants, beach clubs and hotel dining in Bali are different: their menus very often show prices with "++", meaning a service charge (commonly around 10%) and a regional restaurant tax (commonly around 10%) are added on top. That is typically about 21% all up, because the tax is usually calculated after service. Some of the more polished tourist warungs also add tax and service, so glance at the bottom of the menu. Our guide to tax and service charges on menus walks through the maths.

How swap.menu helps in Bali

For the classic glass-cabinet nasi campur, pointing really is the best method. There is no menu to photograph, and that is part of the fun. But many warungs have a painted board or a laminated menu in Indonesian, and that is where swap.menu earns its place. Photograph the board and each dish is translated and explained, so you know that sate lilit is minced and sate ayam is chunks of chicken, and the shorthand prices are converted to Australian dollars, with any "++" surcharge added at restaurants that print one.

Tap the dishes you want, add a note like "not spicy, sambal on the side" (typed or spoken) and it is translated into Indonesian. Show the bilingual order at the counter, or let staff scan the QR code to read it on their phone.

Then put the phone away, pull up a plastic stool, and eat. The warung will take care of the rest.