Insiders’ guide to Canggu, Bali, home to some of the hottest beach clubs
Where to eat, drink and work out in Bali’s most popular beach town
To help us navigate these complex warrens, we asked for tips from three well-connected locals: Theodora Hurustiati, an Indonesian culinary instructor and consultant; Hasianti Deamita, a marketing and public relations specialist, also Indonesian; and Jeremy Louin, a real-estate agent from France.
Where to flex
Working out is part and parcel of the Canggu experience.
“At Soma the focus is on training but at Nirvana, it’s more about the healthy lifestyle. They have a co-working space, juice bar, kitchen, a pool and lots of equipment and fitness classes. It’s very popular with the influencers.”
Where to eat
For breakfast, Hurustiati doesn’t stray far from her home in Pererenan, an upmarket seaside village on the western fringe of Canggu.
“Emerson, a baker from the Philippines, honed his expertise in America. His cafe is called Baro,” she says. “I think he makes the best sourdough in Bali, though I also go there for the sausage rolls and empanadas.
“Right next door is another great bakery, called 7.AM, that has a wider selection of goodies. I love their goat cheese quiche and maritozzi, an Italian pastry made with brioche buns filled with whipped cream.”
When Louin grabs lunch, it needs to be fast, healthy and delicious. “There’s this popular place called Warung Dua near my office in [the satellite suburb of] Umalas,” he says. “It’s a gentrified version of your traditional Indonesian warung, where the food is pre-cooked and displayed behind a glass counter. You choose a plate of different things: rice, fish, curries, steamed vegetables. They have Western things, too: potato gratin, schnitzel, lasagne and Greek salad. It’s cheap. A big beautiful plate is like 100,000 rupiah.”
Most of Deamita’s culinary recommendations revolve around her sweet tooth, starting with her morning coffee at Projects Coffee, on Jalan Nelayan.
“They have this thing called a ‘dirty coffee’,” she says, “a glass of creamy chilled milk where they pour a shot or two of hot espresso over it. You don’t mix it, you just sip it slowly. The combination is so smooth and addictive.”