Midrange
Bale Tajuk
Jl. raya senggigi. small but popular eatery offering a range of local and western dishes, including a fairly decent lombok style ayam taliwang rp 20,000.
The Office
A tourist and expat oriented restaurant and bar on the water behind the market near the sheraton. its barn-style building is attractive, but the food is hit-and-miss and rather expensive. the soto ayam and chicken sandwich are pretty good though. they have a pool table a nice view of the beach and cold beer.
Papaya Cafe
Jl. raya senggigi, not far from the perama office. worth a visit for their chinese or italian food. rp 35,000 to rp 50,000 will get a good main course. the restaurant has a rustic atmosphere with a spacious dining room open to the street. live music plays every night after 8pm. the sound level can be a bit excessive for dinnertime conversation and in later hours becomes quite loud.
Cafe Bumbu
Jl. raya senggigi. in front of papaya cafe. thai style food. rp 30,000-50,000 will get a good main course. during the night it provides candle lit tables.
Taman
Jl. raya senggigi, near the senggigi beach hotel. serves indonesian, western and indian food for a reasonable price. expect to pay around rp 30,000 upward for a main dish. they can disappoint at times, especially their breakfasts. they have an attached bakery selling rather ordinary breads and cakes. a hotel shuttle service is provided in the near senggigi area but the driving style may give considerable alarm to many passengers.
Yessy Cafe
Jl. raya senggigi, near the sheraton hotel. indonesian, western and thai food for a reasonable price. expect rp 30,000 for a main dish. friendly staff with complimentary hotel pickup and returns within the senggigi area. the tax surcharge may surprise as it is not mentioned on the menu but is added to the bill total.
Coco Beach
Kerandangan beach. just north of the senggigi township and hidden away near the beach at the far end of the kerandangan beach. look for a small sign on the beach side of the roadway as you travel along jl. raya, kerandangan. mixed menu with indonesian and european style food. cold beer and other refreshments available. choose carefully from the menu. may add a surprise tax surcharge to the bill.
Sunshine Restaurant
This restaurant has local Chinese Indonesian owners and provides a Chinese focussed menu. Beachside tables are available for dining or drinks and the kitchen serves good value and capably prepared meals. Table service is sincere but at times can be a bit too relaxed if someone is in a hurry, the kitchen however is normally very efficient. It is often overlooked by visitors but offers good quality food in a pleasant atmosphere at very moderate prices.
Top end
Asmara
Light meals, drinks, lunch and night time meals. Asmara has a European influenced menu and a full professional kitchen. A live seafood tank provides a choice of fish and lobsters however an advance order for lobster is recommended. European style bread is baked every day and available for purchase from reception or the kitchen. The open and airy restaurant is over two levels and includes a beer garden for informal drinks or coffee. A complimentary pick-up and drop-off is available in the Senggigi area. Free WiFi is available to customers.
Ye Jeon
Senggigi plaza 2f. korean restaurant. probably the only one in all lombok. single dishes are reasonable try the bibimbap, rp 35,000 but sets with a full spread of banchan appetizers are pricier at rp 80,000 and up, with 21% service/tax slapped on top. it may disappoint some people familiar with korean food. there is an eclectic range of souvenir items available on their ground floor level.
De Quake
Modern, minimalistic, lounge style interior on the beach with sunset view. Upstairs serving contemporarily styled Indonesian and Asian food, downstairs reserved for drinks and sunbeds.
Square Restaurant and Lounge
The most expensive and most stylish restaurant in town. Serves contemporary fusion style cooking in an airy and stylish upstairs terrace lounge overlooking the main road in the town centre. Dinner sets are good value and offer good mixtures. Vegetarians may have to get creative to find something other than pasta, noodles and tomato sauce, but adaptions to standard dishes are possible. Pay for service WiFi is available.
Cafe Alberto
Italian and Indonesian cuisine with a romantic beachside atmosphere. Restaurant, cafe with a pizza oven, light meals and drinks. The excellent location and stylish facilities may provide more satisfaction than the food served from the kitchen. Providing breakfast, lunch or dinner. Swimming pool, on-beach and poolside dining available. A complimentary shuttle is available servicing the Senggigi area from 6PM-9PM. Free WiFi for guests.
Biasa
Warungs and small eating houses
Many roadside warungs sell local food to local people and visitors can join in. some have very good food at a very reasonable price. look for the busy ones and make sure you understand what you are buying. watch and see how popular a warung is with the locals and you will have a strong indication of value and quality. the taxi driver rule is a good one to apply and it works in lombok as well as anywhere else and they generally know where to eat and where not.
The Senggigi strip including Batu Bolong and Mangsit have many warungs and small eating houses.
At the far northern end of Mangsit Warung Saibi offers a reasonable example of a village food outlet and the food is always fresh. Saibi sells to the local villagers, hotel workers, beach vendors and students from the "Belindo" school opposite. It is a good place to buy something to eat on the drive north or to eat on the beach which is just a short walk down a little alleyway opposite that leads directly down to the sandy beach in front of Holiday Resort and Windy Beach Cottages.
At Kerungdangan there are many traditional warungs all along the beach and the area is most popular on Sundays when local villagers and people from the city and elsewhere will go there to visit the beach and eat traditional foods such as Satay. You need to look for the entrance running toward the beach from the main road. A token entrance fee is charged for cars and motorbikes on the way out and the normally quiet and pretty beach is worth a visit anytime. Sunday is the big day.
Klui beach is the next bay north from Mangsit beach and as with nearby Kerandangan it is a popular destination on Sundays. On weekends often till late at night Warung Tahur is open on the beach for snacks, local coffee, tea and sometimes light meals and satay. Very laid back and very basic. The warung attracts an interesting and eclectic group of locals from the nearby village and elsewhere, and sometimes some adventurous tourists from the nearby local JeevaKlui hotel. It offers an alternative to the tourist haunts of Senggigi. Have a coffee sitting on the beach or in the warung.
On the hilltop between Klui beach and Setangi beach you can find Warung Manah and Adil right on the coastal highway on bend at the top of of the headland. Laid back and very basic, tea, coffee, other drinks, light snacks and sometimes light meals. Occasionally tourists will stop there, normally it is just frequented by locals from the nearby village or passing by. Great place to break a dive up the coast and enjoy the view to Bali or the sunset over Mount Agung.
The roads and kampung lanes of Lombok are often lined with such places to eat. Some are better than others, and then there are the ones that are plain scary and that no sane person would ever eat anything from. They are always a good place to meet the locals and have a snack, light meal, a class of tea or coffee. Best to ask for no sugar tanpa gula unless you like it very sweet.
Budget restaurants
Santai Beach Inn
at the far southern end of mangsit beach, (http://www.santaibeachinn...). established in mangsit before the road even reached that far. has a book exchange and dining in a large traditional berugak seated at a long communal table. bookings in advance are essential as they have a set daily menu and cater to a set number of diners. vegetarian and seafood based indonesian food, fresh juices and cold beer available. lunch rp 30,000, dinner rp 50,000 for all you can eat, cheaper for children.
Windy Beach Cottages Restaurant
Jl. raya mangsit, at the far northern end of the beach, (http://www.windybeach.com). varied menu with many indonesian dishes and a full bar. dining is in the restaurant dining area or at barugas doted about the hotel grounds overlooking the beach. lovely beach with great sunsets viewed from the gardens
Pak Ismail's eating house
Jl. raya, montong, south of hotel jayakarta but before the turn off to sandik/gunung sari and on the opposite side to the beach. pak ismail is from bandung in central west jawa and he has a distinct sundanese influence to his food. it is a traditional indonesian eating house or restaurant and has a very good menu of traditional indonesian food. prices are very reasonable but are not stated on the menu, you have to ask. some staff at this restaurant can be a little unfocused but pak ismail is an attentive host with a passion for good food.
There are plenty of eating options in Senggigi, with a surprising array of Western-style dishes on the menu. Alas, local chefs are often better with the names than the recipes for Western favorites, and seem to follow a philosophy of "when in doubt, add more butter." Promotors will follow you along the street offering business cards, 10% discounts, and free "cocktails" to draw you in. Beware of discount offers, and before you bite, ask if VAT and service will be added to the bill. A promised 10% discount can quickly become a 10% surcharge after they hit you with tax and service.