Sarah Douglas does cafes with shops and shops with cafes. Zing . . .
Biku
One of Bali’s landmark cafes, Biku does more than splendid afternoon teas, Asian favourites, salads, sandwiches, main courses (the pies are a hot favourite) and home-style breakfasts, it is also has a kind of Alladin’s cave allure. With a collection of tea-inspired bric-a-brac that casually fills every available corner, stacked up in old sideboards and the like; from twee little teapots to old-fashioned tea cosies, knitted by someone clever, somewhere. It is also a bookshop, so for those flying solo, you will never run out of things to look at, or to read. The Ganesha bookstore offers a lofty range of Indonesian-inspired books rather than the trashy John Grisham novels sold down the road. There are coffee table books, a great range of non-fiction and more. Customers are welcome to pull up a sofa and browse through their chosen tome, which sit alongside a huge pile of National Geographic back issues and local magazines.
Tel: 085 0057 0888 www.bikubali.com Yak Map. O.5
Peloton
This buzzy café picked up speed from the moment it opened. Peloton is the word used for the groups who gather together during a cycling race in order to conserve energy. The two Bali babies ( they aren’t babies any more), who launched Peloton, the café and bike shop, will need all of their energy to cope with the enthusiastic crew who show up here in droves. The menu is all vegan, the philosophy is to tread lightly and despite how nice it is, there’s enough naughtiness to attract the non vegans; like raw snickers bars and home-made Madpops. The coffee is served with a choice of coconut, almond or cashew milk, the cinnamon pancakes with grilled banana, strawberry, coconut yoghurt and coconut nectar are to-die-for. You could stay all day sampling the smoothies, kombucha teas and fresh juice mixes, and besides all that, you could buy a gorgeous bicycle and a range of accessories that will reduce your carbon footprint. It all adds up to delicious, healthy, vibrant fun.
Tel: 0859 5413 1451 www.pelotonsupershop.com Yak Map. O.1
Quince
It’s all going on in this little Canggu neighborhood and Quince epitomizes a new level of sophistication. Run by a husband and wife who both have hospitality backgrounds, it’s half café and half luxe homewares. With a counter overflowing with vibrant, fresh fruit and vegetables and a stack of beautiful looking sourdough baguettes, the scene is set for a little taste test. Open for breakfast and lunch, the plates are almost as appealing as the taste, and chances are you will find something similar in the homewares selection. The breakfast platter served on a board includes a bubble-crusted fresh roll alongside a home-style selection of fruits, muesli and yoghurt, a puff pastry gallette ( they make their own every day) and a tiny glass of spiced milk. Juices and jamu feature while a touch of Asian creeps in with Vietnamese-inspired salads, platters and sandwiches. The café sets the scene and opens to a beautifully presented home-wares shop, where co-owner Michelle features her own hand embroidered bed and table-wear, a hand-picked range of ceramics by Australian artisans and imported soft furnishings. It’s a little slice of heaven.
Tel: 081 338 522 529 Yak Map. O.1
Bungalow Living
Slipping into this neighborhood favourite is easy, getting out without buying the lot is a tad more difficult. Also in the neighborhood of Berawa, Canggu, Bungalow is a labour of love that began with a café and grew and grew. Owner Giovanna is the cushion queen who also has her eye on the kitchen, which turns out delicious, healthy salads, breakfast specials, home-baked cakes, falafels, healthy breakfasts and a menu filled with goodness. The café is home to the original shop, which proved so popular it spread to a gallery space across the road. A visit to Bungalow is like going to your favourite auntie’s house, the one who has travelled all over Asia and can pick the eyes out of a Goan marketplace. Bungalow Living is the home of Boho-chic and is filled to overflowing with great cushions, cane chairs you want to spend an afternoon in ( if you can move the pets, she has poodles that are part of the furniture), crocheted throws and bits and pieces to turn a house into a home. Customers stop for a coffee or fresh-pressed juice and walk out with half the shop, it is that kind of place.
Tel: 0361 8446567 www.bungalowliving.com Yak Map. O.1
Souq
Downtown Seminyak and Souq has carved out its patch in an abandoned nightclub, but you would never know. Filled with luxe must-haves from a covetable range of cashmere to some very fine designer clothing and home-wares that will put a dent in your credit card but are very hard to resist. Accessories and home-wares come in all sorts of sizes from gorgeous range ceramics to the most luscious linen sheet sets. Refreshing, though it escapes being precious because it is all such amazing quality, you can almost convince yourself that that little piece from Souq will last forever. It may well. The café is the other side of the coin, part French street-side café, part Grandma’s kitchen with recipes from owner Sophie’s own well-thumbed cookbooks. From a luscious range of home-baked cakes and pies to the simple things that make you smile like perfect toasted sandwiches, salads from the garden and specials of the day that taste like your best friend created them. Small tables on the street and large communal tables inside, vie for space amongst the luscious wares that are crying out for you to touch them and take them home.
Tel: 0822 3780 1817 www.souqstore.co Yak Map. V.8
Housewives On Fire
From punk princess to recycle queen, Housewives on Fire’s designer and creator, Patricia, has shed her leathers and turned her former factory into a funky café and shop on funky Jl. Mertanadi in Kerobokan. With the help of Grocer and Grind’s queen of cafes, Marie, Housewives on Fire is a little bit industrial, a lot bohemian and filled with an every changing collection of clothes, home-wares and accessories. The large part of the shop is the former factory, an industrial-stype space dominated by a big table down the centre lit by one of Patricia’s own creations, a recycled piece of timber she has turned into a light. Various designers from the former leather queen and friends’ collections of biker boots and jackets to a sweet grouping of children’s clothes, collections from designer friends and a unique set of funky homewares colour the space. Through the back doors a garden café is often home to locals picking up some wi-fi time while knocking back machiattos and chowing down on home-baked muffins, fruit-filled breakfasts and café specials. For those who like their cafes with a twist, Housewives on Fire is pretty much like coming home.
Tel: 0361 737374 www.housewivesfire.com Yak Map. W.6