Food is a big thing for me, like a real big thing. Trying out new restaurants can become the highlight of my week so obviously it is always a huge part of my travel experience as well. Whenever I visit anywhere, I always do my food research before and continue it whilst I am there. Google is all well and good for full on reviews but Instagram is my number one this sort of thing. I love that you can see exactly what food looks like and what people think of it. I also like to see what photos people post of the actual place, who they are there with and what the vibe is and I get that best through instagram.
We were in Seminyak for five days and of course we ate out a lot. There were so many unique places out there, and as well as some amazing food we had, there were also some pretty incredible locations. Here are a few that stood out for me.
Cafe Organic
I had been following Cafe Organic on instagram for months and fell in love with their colourful and carefree feed. They opened last year and are all about the super foods but whilst what they serve is healthy, it also looks amazing. Five minutes after leaving our resort in a cab, we arrived in instagram heaven. Before we even saw any food; with white wall and a glass store front, inside was full of bright, natural light. The specials were written in coloured chalk on chalk boards, the table tops were white marble and there were cactus scattered around everywhere.
Andrew doesn't do fruit or vegetables so he went for eggs on toast. I ordered a juice and The Acai Coco smoothie bowl which was full of all sorts of berries, passion fruit, mango,
oats, granola, coconut, cacao nibs and bee pollen and served in a
coconut, obviously. The only issue here was that the service was
pretty slow but honestly, that didn't bother us. It was bright,
comfortable and air conditioned so we didn't mind sitting there for a bit
longer than we would have liked.
The total came to around about £7.50 and for me, it was the perfect healthy afternoon snack. The food was very refreshing in the bali heat and whilst I love a smoothie, eating fruit isn't usually as fun as eating chocolate but here it was; they made it fun. The food looks good and more importantly it tastes good.
Woo Bar At The W Retreat
From 4-6, Monday to Thursday, The Woo Bar at the W does two for one signature cocktails plus you get a complimentary pizza so obvs we popped along one afternoon. We spotted two big comfy chairs which was a bit of luck because the place was packed and buzzing with people so we grabbed them and settled down there for a few hours.
I ordered a pretty Peach Strawberry Mojito and Andrew had a Strawberry & Champagne Martini which both looked great when they arrived at our table. They had a little more alcohol in them than I would have liked but that didn't bother Andrew and I loved how fruity mine was; I sat there eating it with a fork when I'd finished my drink. Whilst they were quite expensive for Bali at around £7 each, living in London meant that for us, it was rather cheap. Along with our cocktails we got our complimentary cheese pizza, a duo portions of truffle fries and I ordered chocolate milkshake afterwards as well. It was poolside pizza and chips but it was good! The fries were my favourite.
Moving on to the reason that we actually went there in the first place - the sunset! We had heard that The W hotel is the place to be and by 6 o'clock, we agreed. Sunset anywhere along that beach would have been pretty but the palm trees, lanterns and the famous W around the hotel made for an extra special silhouette.
Sisterfields
Whilst I'd been following Cafe Organic for a long time, I only spotted this little gem on Instagram once we were out there, then when we were out, we spotted it very close to where we were staying so we went back for lunch the next day. Obviously, the next day there was a queue outside but we were happy to wait because everyone online seemed to be raving about it plus we were pretty sure that we were going it love it after reading through the menu. I think you'd agree #BrunchGoals.
According to their Facebook, it is supposed 'represents the iconic café culture of Australia' but for us Brits, it had a very Shoreditch vibe so we felt right at home too. There was all sorts of delicious brunch style things on the menu from banana brioche french toast to berries & bavarian cream but after eight days away, I was craving a portion of my beloved avocado toast which I ordered on gluten free bread. I love how easy it is to get gluten and dairy free in Bali, its so readily available.
My smashed avocado arrived with semi-dried cherry tomatoes, popped capers and feta and seriously, it was so good. I wish we had found out about this place a little sooner into our trip as we would both have definitely have come back and ordered the same thing all over again. With brunch, I had a mango madness smoothie, made with their house made nut milk.
Whilst I was happy, Andrew also loved this place because it has a good selection of meat dishes as well. He went for the dirty burger and thanks to instagram, I knew he was in for a bit of a treat but I just couldn't pass up the avocado opportunity although admittedly when it arrived I was a little bit jealous.
So these next two definitely deserve a mention but it was was totally dark by the time we got to both of them so you're going to have to bear with me when it comes to photos.
Breeze At The Samaya Hotel
Breeze was a very last minute decision for us, we had spotted it on Google before we left and at
the time, decided not to book because the menu was very western
and to be honest, I thought it was going to be a bit gimmicky, playing on being at the sea front and not actually being very good. We
were on our way back from Tanah Lot Temple and didn't have any dinner
plans, it was getting late just decided we'd try Breeze because after a
week of eating rice (and loving it might I add), Andrew wanted some
western food and we knew we could get it there.
When we arrived though, my mind changed instantly. All I'd seen of it before was the beach front but as we walked though the hotel to their pool and dining area, I fell in love with the place. It was dark by this time so sadly no sunset views but instead we had candle lit walk ways, lanterns and fairy lights winding up the trees.
We originally wanted to sit right at the sea front, like the photos I'd seen but the waves were really loud and over powering so we moved back to a little candle lit hut. As it was so dark, I didnt get any good photos of where we sat but I found this on Trip Adviser (Thanks Derekneo21) and it shows exactly where we sat.
Here are the few that I got
Bambu
Bambu
was our last night and probably our favourite meal in Bali! It was
pretty surreal being dropped off on the busy road to then turn into
Bambu and be greeted by candle lit stepping stones across to a
restaurant floating in the middle of a pool. Big thanks to TripCanvas for this one:
Whilst the setting was super romantic, the food was all delicious as well from the ceviche I had for a starter to the amazing seafood noodle both we had for a main and even the steamed coconut rice we had as a side. We couldnt find the menu for this place anywhere online so maybe they change the food quite often but I would 100% recommend giving it a visit if you're in the area!
