Nelayan Restaurant
Located by the edge of the beach near town, quite popular with the foreign crowd, there are two levels. during the daytime it tends to be relatively empty. by western standards the food is very cheap and the service is quite good.
Safari
Cafe serving western and indonesian foods. has a plasma television for watching soccer. quite a nice little place to go if you long for a steak or a serve of crinkle cut fries.
Pizza Hut
A home from home amongst the local shacks, this pizza hut has the best chicken dippers in all of West Sumatra.
Rohana Kudus
One of the favorite places to buy snacks to bring home as gifts, including the snack the area is famed for, Kripik Balado or Kripik Sanjay.
Padang is famed throughout Indonesia for spicy Padang food masakan Padang. Ordering at a Padang restaurant couldn't be easier: just sit down at a table, and watch the dishes pile up. Eat what you like, as you'll only pay for dishes you've actually consumed. Famous dishes include:
rendang sapi, spicy curried beef cooked until the sauce is dry
soto padang, crispy beef in spicy soup
ayam pop, deep-friend vaguely popcorn-like hence the name kernels of chicken
sate, beef satay in curry sauce, served with ketupat rice dumplings
Padang dishes can use rather unusual ingredients though, including internal organs like hearts, lungs and even brains. All Padang dishes are Halal, due to the Islamic root of Minang people.
Some Westerner-friendly restaurants: