Warung Nikmat: Kuta Bali

Indonesian cooking and methodology combine, in a popular local warung in Kuta. Warung Nikmat serves Javanese style food, which includes beef rendang, in thick brown coconut sauce, light curry sauces and plates of vegetables, meats and types of fish. Warung Nikmat is located close to Hotel Bakung Sari (along Jl. Bakung Sari, which leads to Kuta Square / Jl. Kartika Plaza). The way things work is you line up / form a mob, around the horseshoe-shaped seving area. There are so many bodies inside that area pointing and serving, the only way to see what food you want, is to push in further. Pure madness, but why change if it works for you?

Today I arrived after the main lunchtime rush. Most of the outside tables were full, but I got a streetside table that had been recently vacated. In the warung environment, sitting next to a stranger is fine, and expected when seating is scarce. My lunch consisted of steamed rice, a chicken leg, beef rendang, beans sprouts mixed with green beans, and a fried corn cake. Total price, 13,500rp. I asked for some hot sambal, to wake my tastebuds up, which was perfect.

While sitting I was joined by an American guy and his Indonesian wife. We swapped stories and she told me at Warung Nikmat, they serve items that are not available in Jakarta, because the owners are from East Java.

Best time to go to Warung Nikmat is at the start of lunchtime, maybe 11.30am-12.00rp, before the place is flooded with people. When the food runs out around 2.30pm, that’s pretty much it.