Gili Air is packed with wonderful options for food and drink, from traditional Indonesian to pizza, seafood barbecues and fruit smoothies, vegan wholefoods, all-you-can-eat salad bars and Spanish tapas. The interior lanes are home to dozens of family-run warungs, local eateries serving traditional dishes, while the beaches that surround the island are lined with beach clubs, cafés and sunset restaurants.
After dinner, there are places to stay out late all around the island, listening to live music, drinking cocktails and making friends.
This is BlueWater Express’s comprehensive guide to food and drink on Gili Air.
Where to eat on Gili Air
Warungs
Across Gili Air the locals serve nasi and mie goreng (fried rice and fried noodles), nasi campur (plain rice with toppings), curry, gado-gado salad, and tofu and vegetables in peanut sauce, for 25,000-35,000 rupiah, that is, from $1.60 to $2.25 USD, $2.45 to $3.45 AUD, £1.30 to £1.80 GBP per dish.
Some warungs, including Warung Parida and Warung Lalapan Saba detailed below, serve rice in a cone with unlimited toppings of fried vegetables, tofu, fish and chicken, for a set price of 25,000 rupiah, $1.60 USD, $2.45 AUD, £1.30 GBP.
Here are our recommendations for the best warungs in Gili Air, in alphabetical order, with links to their location on Google Maps.
Warung Aladdin
Very near the harbour on the south of the island, Aladdin serves great food at some of the lowest prices on Gili Air. Try the nasi campur with a selection of toppings. You can eat in or take away. The owners are very friendly people who also run the recommended homestay next door.
Waroeng Alam Damai
Just inland from Turtle Beach and Sunrise Point on the east coast, Alam Damai has rave reviews for its local cuisine. Not only does chef Dharma cook delicious local food, but he also offers cooking lessons! Try the chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce, yellow chicken curry, and seafood mie goreng.
Warung Aura Bowls
Near the harbour to the south-east of the island, down the road from Manta Dive, Aura Bowls is a basic warung run by a local couple, who cook everything to order one dish at a time. You may have to wait, but the fresh traditional food will be worth it.
As the name suggests, the owner and chef Yati sells great burgers here, in the interior of the island. But she also cooks good-value tasty local cuisine such as gado gado salad, and tofu with fresh vegetables in peanut sauce with white rice. The menu is varied enough that there’s something for everyone; try the vegetarian club sandwich or the pancakes. Eat in or take away.
Firda Warung
Just up the road to the interior from the harbour pier, Firda serves wonderful nasi goreng and nasi campur, fried rice with a selection of ingredients or plain rice with toppings. Vegetarians can try the tempeh burger and they sell baguettes and sandwiches to take away.
Warung Green Chili
Perfect if you’re looking for something spicy, Warung Green Chili serves a great variety of traditional Indonesian dishes, such as sambal goreng and ayam penyet. The food is full of flavour and the prices are good, the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed.
Warung Kampung
Kampung serves great traditional food, and caters especially for vegetarians and vegans, with vegetarian curry, tempeh burgers and more. Slightly more pricey than other warungs, Kampung has a bigger seating area than most, with a cushion floor as well as interior and open air table seating. Try their fresh fish perapek in a tomato garlic chili sauce and drink the lemon iced tea.
Warung Lalapan Saba
This warung is famous for its takeaway cones full of wonderful Indonesian food. Their nasi campur has loads of options for toppings, and they serve samosas and spring rolls. They offer vegetarian options, and you can also buy chocolate or banana doughnuts. Find them just down the road to the north from Manta Dive, on the beachfront.
Warung Parida
Just up the road into the interior from the harbour, Warung Parida is a place where the locals go to eat, with a wide variety of traditional dishes. Try the dessert dadar gulung, an Indonesian green pancake filled with coconut.
Warung Rainbow
Rainbow serves a great variety of Indonesian dishes, with meat, seafood and vegetarian options, and their speciality is grilled fish with vegetables and rice. Try the daging sambal, spicy beef in chilli sauce.
Warung Sunny
Sunny is one of the most popular warungs on Gili Air, with people constantly leaving reviews about “the most delicious local Indonesian food”. The staff are friendly, and they serve a wide variety of authentic local dishes – the nasi campur is very good here. Try the taliwang ayam (spicy grilled chicken) or the opor ayam (chicken curry with coconut milk).
Warung zZz
To the north-west, right next to Bambu II, zZz serves big portions full of flavor at cheap prices. Try the vegetable soup with coconut milk, spring rolls, chicken satay and fried noodles.
Western restaurants
There’s a great variety of non-Indonesian food to be had on Gili Air, including lots of vegetarian and vegan options. There are beachside barbecues, serving seafood, fish and chicken with all-you can eat salad bars, pizzas, pasta and Spanish tapas.
Expect to spend 80,000-100,000 rupiah, $5.15-$6.40 USD, $7.90-$9.90 AUD, £4.10-£5.10 GBP, for a meal at a western-style restaurant on Gili Air. Wine is expensive though, and only available in the more upmarket resorts, for 75,000 rupiah, $4.80 USD, $7.40 AUD, £3.80 GBP a glass. Cocktails on the beach all round the island cost about the same as a glass of wine, or slightly more.
Here’s a selection of places to eat non-local cuisine on Gili Air.
Located at the western tip of the island, Pink Coco is famous for its pink, fuschia and magenta theme. The restaurant offers a variety of international dishes, including Spanish tapas. Pink Coco is great for breakfast or brunch, serving poached eggs on toast, smoothie bowls and pancakes, but it’s a perfect place to watch the sunset while eating Spanish food and drinking sangria. Its Tapas del Mar restaurant serves classic dishes such as ceviche, calamari and patatas bravas.
Found at the south-western corner of the island, Mowie’s is where the divers and ex-pats go for sunset. It has both an indoor seating area and tables and bean bags on the beach, with a beach bar. The food is mainly western, and all delicious: fish and chips, tuna burgers, pumpkin gnocchi, jackfruit tacos, chicken haloumi, and also chicken or fish curry. They are open for breakfast and have a full breakfast menu, but the place really comes alive at night, with a great holiday atmosphere.
Just along the beach to the north of Mowie’s, Gili Lumbung has a beach bar and restaurant that’s perfect for watching the sunset from. Meat-eaters can enjoy chicken pesto pasta or burgers, while there are vegetarian and vegan options such as vegan Buddha rolls. It’s a great place to stay longer after dinner, as they have live music most nights, and a cocktail bar.
On the south-eastern corner of the island, Chill Out is always busy, with a barbecue on the beach and a steak and pasta restaurant. You can also choose your own fish and seafood at the counter for cooking, with a wide variety available, paid by weight, and an unlimited salad bar.
Right on the south-eastern tip of the island, just metres away from Chill Out, Scallywags is one of the more upmarket restaurants on Gili Air. They have a wonderful beach barbecue serving fresh fish and seafood. The set menu is extensive and includes burgers and salads. Try their seafood platter, a medley of fresh fish, mussels, prawns and calamari.
D’Maiq is part of Mola Mola Resort Hotel. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, D’Maiq serves western pasta, pizzas and burgers. There are always several fish and chicken options for the barbecue, and tofu or vegetable skewers for vegetarians and vegans. There’s an unlimited salad and sauce bar, and also potato wedges, soup, and bruschetta, all at very good prices.
On the north-eastern beachfront, Legend is a party bar that serves great food, including chilli con carne, prawn fettuccine, beef burgers, grilled fish of the day, seafood pizza and chocolate cake. Every Monday is roast night, serving traditional roast chicken and lamb with roast potatoes and vegetables, with live music from 6pm.
For a bit of upmarket luxury on Gili Air, you can’t go wrong with Sunrise Resort & Beach Club. On the east coast, the morning café is open at 6 am to watch the magnificent sunrises over Mount Rinjani on Lombok. In the evening their Fusion Restaurant offers western and Indonesian dishes, tapas and barbecue. Main courses include Moroccan lamb chops and teryaki chicken. Unusually for the Gili Islands, they have a wine list of French and Italian wines, including champagne. With lantern-lit tables on the beach under the stars, this is the perfect place for honeymooning couples!
Pizza and Italian food
Just inland from the harbour, Classico Italiano is a dedicated pizza restaurant, with a traditional wood-fire pizza oven. The owner Alex is Italian, and they make truly authentic Roman thin-crust pizzas, with homemade Italian dough and sauces. They also serve good coffee. The tiramisu is great. Try the chorizo and squid pizza.
On the south-western beach in between Mowie’s and Gili Lumbung, Mama Pizza’s Italian chef serves sourdough pizzas from a traditional brick oven, as well as classic Italian dishes such as pumpkin and parmesan ravioli, ravioli with potatoes and octopus, tagliatelli and spaghetti alla chitarra. They serve their food on the beach, where you can lounge on sunbeds and bean bags or have a candlelit dinner at night.
Right by Sunrise Point on the east coast of Gili Air, Biba Beach has a great range of seafood pasta as well as pizzas, and also Indonesian cuisine. Try the tagliatelli with clams, mussels and garlic or with fresh tuna and olives, Greek salad, and seafood nasi goreng.
Chill Out and Legend Bar, already mentioned above, serve pizza and pasta as well.
Cafés
At the harbour, just next to the BlueWater Express office, Alegria is the perfect spot for coffee while waiting to board your boat, or for refreshments after the crossing from Bali. It’s also popular with divers from next-door Oceans 5 Dive School. Try the eggs benedict and lemon tart. Dinner options include red snapper, and they have paella nights as well.
Located right in the centre of Gili Air, Gili Coffee Roasters is a special place for lovers of fine coffee. They source their coffee beans from the slopes of Mount Rinjani on Lombok, and call their variety Rinjani Gold. They make a point of buying coffee from local farmers at a fair price, and the same is true for their chocolate, vanilla, spices, and speciality teas. All of this is served in a lovely garden environment, together with great local food. Check out their website here.
A short way up the road from the harbour, Barefoot Blondie is a lovely little café on two floors, serving great-tasting coffee, chocolate and peanut shake and smoothies as well as food such as smoked salmon bagels, salads and cinnamon rolls. It’s a very popular place with a relaxed vibe.
Slightly inland from the north-east coast of the island, Pachamama is a much-loved vegetarian café with a wide range of food, including all-day breakfast, tapas, sandwiches, salad bowls and sweets. The décor and atmosphere are upmarket and the food and service are excellent. They serve a range of coffees, teas, smoothies, and juices, as well as bottles of Bintang beer, cider and Guinness.
In the centre of the island, charming Gili Bliss is owned and run by a local woman called Suki, and she and her friends serve up great breakfasts and lunches with large portions. The colourful pink-themed café is small but on two levels, and, unusually for Gili Air, it’s air conditioned, making it a great place to go to cool down on hot, sticky days. As well as smoothies and salad bowls, Gili Bliss serves pasta, falafel burgers, avocado toast with poached eggs, omelettes and pancakes.
This is a little beach café on the south-east coast that serves homemade ice-cream, milkshakes and sorbets, as well as coffee. There’s an upstairs seating area from which the sea views are amazing. Try the waffles or French crêpes with ice cream toppings.
Owned and run by Manta Dive diving school on the east beach, The Waterfront serves great iced coffee, cakes, and crumbles.
If you carry on up the road into the interior past Barefoot Blondie, you’ll find this cute little café where you can put together your own breakfast or lunch platter from a range of tapas-style options; you choose five of them. They have a lovely garden with a nice atmosphere, and the staff are friendly.
This great little café-restaurant serves a fusion of eastern and western dishes, all made by Ruby herself. As well as Asian cuisine, including nasi lemak with beef rendang, Indian butter chicken, Indonesian lumpia spring rolls and green chicken curry, Ruby’s also serves pasta penne with meatballs, jalapeno pepper calamari, and every Friday is Friday Pieday!
Vegetarian and Vegan
Gili Air is a paradise for vegetarians and vegans. Most restaurants serve a range of plant-based options, and many are dedicated meat-free zones. Here are some of our favourites.
Flowers and Fire Wholefoods Cafe
Flowers and Fire is a lovely yoga shala in the heart of Gili air that also has its own designer café. It serves all day breakfasts, including avocado toast, pancakes and middle-eastern shakshouka eggs, and a lunch menu with vegan soup of the day, lentil burgers, pesto gnocci, and mushroom risotto. Create your own salad bowls, or try out the Warrior Goddess Power Smoothie Bowls, including the Danaerys Mother of Dragons dragon fruit, banana, goji berries, mixed berries, chia seeds, flaxseeds and coconut flake shake!
The other main yoga shala on Gili Air, H20 Yoga and Meditation Center, also has a vegetarian café serving all day breakfasts and a lunch menu. For breakfast, try their ‘grounding’ cinnamon porridge, smashed avocado and cashew toast, ‘deluxe goddess’ muesli, or the vegan pancake with banana and peanuts. For lunch choose the pumpkin, red onion, chickpea and pineapple salad, pesto pasta, vegetable curry, falafel bowl, vegan nachos with tortilla chips, and the chocolate bliss smoothie bowl.
We’ve already mentioned Pachamama Organic Café above. On the menu here you can find watermelon gazpacho, seaweed bowls, eggplant burritos, spicy corn on the cob, roasted beet and halloumi salad, and hummus and olive sourdough sandwiches. Try the special roast eggplant bowl, with a steamed organic red rice cone, cumin soft roast eggplant, fresh side salad drizzled with papaya seed-infused balsamic dressing and sides of vegan basil pesto, feta cheese and spicy raw sambal.
Found a bit inland to the north of Gili Air, Musa Cookery is a dedicated vegan and vegetarian restaurant set in a traditional Indonesian house. The owners are friendly and attentive and the food is tasty and well-presented. They make a point of never using palm oils or MSG, and source all their fresh ingredients locally. We recommend the pumpkin soup, jackfruit gyro, quinoia burger, spring rolls with peanut sauce, and the spirulina dragon bowl, washed down with fresh juices or the local jamu, an Indonesian traditional herbal drink.
In the heart of the southern interior of Gili Air, Mama’s Garden is famous for serving huge portions of wonderful vegetarian food at prices lower than elsewhere on Gili Air. You can also refill your water bottle with safe water here for free. The super-friendly owner is dedicated to a zero waste plastic-free environment. Try the dragonfruit and tofu curry, green goddess spinach pesto noodles, tempeh burger, falafel chickpea wraps with cassava chips and vegan ice cream.
On the beach to the far north of the island, Ra Healing Food is a small vegetarian warung offering vegan and raw dishes, as well as vegetarian food such as sweet potato hash with rosemary eggs. They are open early for breakfast. We recommend the zucchini stack, vegetarian nasi campur, lasagne and salad, pad thai, jungle salad bowl and the decadent double chocolate cake and banoffee pie.
On the north-east beach, Pituq Café is a dedicated vegetarian and vegan restaurant serving plant-based dishes on the sand with amazing views to Mount Rinjani over the sea to the east. Try the soto and mushroom steak, tofu ceviche, hola hola and zucchini salad, olah olah, and their specialities, the jackfruit and mushroom gyro and the beefless beef rendang.
Not far from Pituq Café, just inland in the north-east corner of Gili Air, Dharma Kitchen is an all-you can-eat vegetarian self-service buffet restaurant, serving local Indonesian food. Sourced fresh every morning, the menu changes daily according to what’s available. You pay by making a donation of what you can afford, and you also help by washing your own dishes and putting them away when you’ve finished!
JUJU Zero Waste Store & Vegan Cafe
Head inland up the road from the harbour to find this small vegan-only café. Try the speciality hash brown stack, pineapple pancakes, scrambled tofu, salted caramel apple smoothie bowl and pulled mushroom bao bun, while drinking coffee shakes or butterfly pea kombucha.
Where to drink and party on Gili Air
True to its reputation as the Goldilocks Island, half way between Gili Trawangan’s party vibe and peaceful Gili Meno, Gili Air has a good party scene that’s more laid-back and chilled out than the nightclubs on Gili T.
That doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to party till 3 am: it is, and there are several places to go to experience the late night holiday dance club atmosphere. Like on Gili Trawangan, late parties tend to take place at different venues each day of the week, and there is always an all-night full moon party once a month. Check out at the party bars for more information when you are staying on the island.
Here are our recommendations for drinking and partying on Gili Air.
On the south-western beach, Cheeky Monkey is one of the main destinations for nightlife on Gili Air, with live music most nights and late-night parties on Tuesdays and occasionally on Sundays as well. The DJ plays house music and sometimes an eclectic mix including Middle Eastern tunes, and there’s a dance floor. They often host the monthly full moon party on the beach.
The bar serves chilled beers, spirits, cocktails and mocktails. Happy hour is from 5 till 7 every evening, when it’s perfect to watch the amazing sunset over the sea to the west.
Check out what’s on for any particular night on their Facebook page here.
Just a short walk south from Cheeky Monkey, Lucky’s Bar is one of the ones that holds a late party on one day of the week, although which one it is varies. You’ll have to ask them when you’re there. The DJ plays trance and techno, and there can be hundreds of people dancing on the beach.
On non-party evenings the atmosphere is chilled and relaxed, with far fewer people. There are cocktails and mocktails, with two for one served at the sunset happy hour. They have romantic swings and bean bags on the beach.
Another party bar on the south-western Sunset Strip, My Happy Place serves cocktails at happy hour from 5 to 8 pm on the beach as the sun goes down, then hosts a DJ or live music until late in the evening. The ambience is really chilled and friendly. Check out the passion fruit daiquiri and the dragon fruit mojito!
The most southerly of the party bars on the south-western Sunset Strip, Safari has the most recommended live music on Gili Air, played by a talented band. The atmosphere is relaxed and laid-back, the cocktails are good, and it’s a great place to meet people and make new friends.
A rare party bar that’s not on the beach, Space Bar is a psychedelic trance bar famous for magic mushrooms, including mushroom cocktails and shakes. Perfect for those who like to take mushrooms and dance to trance music, but not for those who don’t!
They hold a party every Wednesday, and magic mushroom afficionados like to start here before heading to the late party at Legend.
Check out Space Bar’s Facebook page here.
Located at the northern corner of Gili Air, Mirage Bar is a wonderful place to experience the sunset, with views of both Bali’s Mount Agung to the west and Lombok’s Mount Rinjani dominating the eastern skyline.
Mirage hosts the weekly late-night party on Friday nights, playing blues and rock ’n’ roll. On other nights you can chill out drinking cocktails in hammocks or on bean bags on the beach.
Just a few metres along from Mirage Bar at the northern corner of the island, Legend is a vibrant reggae-themed bar owned by Australians. As with Mirage, this is a perfect spot to catch the amazing sunset views to both the east and west, while drinking chilled beer or cocktails. They serve wine, and every Saturday is ladies’ night with a special offer for sparkling wine by the glass.
The DJ plays a selection of music including Afro-Brazilian electronic tunes, and there are live bands. Legend hosts the late-night party on Wednesdays, playing house music. Check out their Facebook page for details.
Right on the north-eastern tip of Gili Air, Pelangi Beach Bar has great live music, with good-quality singers, playing electro-pop and pop-rock. The cocktails are very good, and of course the sunsets are wonderful.
Right in the middle of the eastern coast, not only does Chili Bar serve spicy hot chili food, but they have two for one cocktails all day, as well as cold beers, and in the evening the staff light a bonfire on the beach. The ambient music is not at all loud, and overall it’s a great place to chill out.
On the south-eastern corner of Gili Air, Zipp Bar and Restaurant is known for its fun ambience. They have live music from a cover band, with everyone dancing and singing along.
Right next to Zipp Bar, Chill Out is an unpretentious bar and restaurant with some of the very best cocktails on Gili Air, and stunning views from the beach. Unusually for the island they also serve wine by the bottle. Happy Hour is from 4.30 to 6.30 pm.
Already recommended as a wonderful place to stay and eat on Gili Air, Pink Coco is also a great place to drink and party. Cocktails and jugs of sangria on the beach as sunset turns to dusk and the DJ plays mellow tunes – what’s not to love?
Another place already strongly recommended for their food, Gili Lumbung is a great place to drink beer and cocktails and meet other people. The staff are friendly, they serve a wide range of great cocktails which can be quite strong, and there is live music most nights. Happy Hour is 5 to 6 pm, the time to chill out on the multi-coloured bean bags on the beach and watch the sunset. The bar doesn’t stay open late, so it’s not the place for late-night partying. Enjoy the laid-back vibe, then move on later to another Sunset Strip bar if you want to continue your night out!
