Semarang
It's easy to see why this two-storey restaurant is permanently packed: the food is exceptionally good! Earning the unreserved recommendation of the local…
Must-see restaurants in Central Java
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Borobudur
For a magical hilltop setting enhanced by traditional music, this vintage restaurant, 4km west of Borobudur, is hard to match. Eat in the formal dining…
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Yogyakarta
This lively French-owned kitchen is a delight in every sense and comes highly recommended by expats. Everything is homemade, including crusty baguettes…
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Solo
Sharing space with a heritage hotel is this attractive restaurant offering home-style Solonese specialities. While the menu makes good reading, giving the…
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Central Java
This stylish beachfront restaurant is the indisputable top choice in Jepara. Dining is in the garden, around a pool or on tables so close to the sea that…
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Central Java
This is the very best place to try the famed chicken soup of Kudus. Cooks stir up cauldrons of the brew over a log-fired oven and diners pack round simple…
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Borobudur
A true 'Garden of Java', this idyllic cafe is well hidden away in a stunning location among landscaped rice paddies, natural springs and dreamy mountain…
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Semarang
A wonderful, anachronistic bakery and store that hasn't changed in half a century. The delicious wingko (coconut cakes served warm) are the signature…
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Yogyakarta
Yogya's fanciest place to dine is this renovated restaurant that offers a grand first impression with its palatial-like entrance, opulent baroque…
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Semarang
Occupying a sensitively restored building (Semarang’s former courthouse), this character-filled restaurant with its yellow roof tiles sports art deco…
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Semarang
Housed in a converted old general store (circa 1895) and once patronised by Dutch colonists, Spiegel has become a pivotal point of the old quarter. The…
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Solo
This stylish Indonesian and fusion restaurant is part of the Danar Hadi complex, next to the batik museum and showroom. Mains include meat and pasta…
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Yogyakarta
This Dutch-owned cafe is a cool little hang-out, with awesome coffee, cold beers (happy 'hour' is from noon to 7pm) and an interesting menu of vegetarian…
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Central Java
This attractive teahouse is set in an authentic joglo (traditional Javanese house), with over a dozen wood tables shaded by parasols edging tea terraces…
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Borobudur
About 5km west from Borobudur Temple is this enchanting cafe set inside a restored 200-year-old Javanese house with rustic-chic furniture in keeping with…
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Yogyakarta
Offering a surprise haven from the traffic, this secret garden of a restaurant is part of a project centre for street youth. It focuses on meat-free…
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Yogyakarta
Traditional Javanese dishes including eyem penggeng (chicken simmered in spiced coconut cream) are served in this tasteful interior space with wood…
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Solo
Most notable for the setting in a restored Dutch colonial compound (with some puzzling modern touches such as a ceiling of umbrellas), this enormous…
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Yogyakarta
Located in the Kota Gede area, this is considered by locals to be one of Yogya’s best restaurants, with a lavish setting in a 150-year-old colonial…
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Solo
A classic backpackers' hangout, the Baru is also a good spot to try local Solonese specialities such as nasi liwet (coconut-milk rice with chicken and egg…
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Yogyakarta
Foodies seeking out Yogya's most prized dish, gudeg – a slow-cooked, caramelised jackfruit curry – won't want to miss out on this much-celebrated…
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Solo
Solo street dining at its best, this evening-only stall, run by an ibu (mother; older woman) clothed in traditional batik, specialises in nasi liwet:…
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Central Java
Occupying a Dutch colonial building, this restaurant comes into its own at lunchtime, when busloads of tourists pile in for the buffet-style lunch on…
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Solo
A landmark on Jl Slamet Riyadi, this open-air food court with dozens of brightly lit stalls is known for its local specialties. Some, such as nasi gudeg …
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Semarang
Almost opposite the Gereja Blenduk church, this sunken storefront is packed with locals from opening till closing time. Why? Because it serves the best…
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Yogyakarta
This restaurant is touched by royalty as it's located just outside the kraton, within the residence of Prince Gusti Jaryo Haju Joyouksumo, a son of the…
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Semarang
There's often an hour's wait for a bench at this riverside warung next to Tay Kak Sie temple. It's not the location that attracts the crowd but the…
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Solo
This delightful restaurant is inside a former batik factory, currently occupied by the Roemahkoe heritage hotel. It's particularly evocative at night,…
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Yogyakarta
This stone-and-glass cafe is a delightful venue for Italian ice cream. Flavours on rotation include ginger, kemangi (lemon basil), dragon fruit, 'hot and…
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Central Java
Live music every Saturday (7.30-10pm) has helped to establish this stylish basement bar and restaurant as a popular gathering point for locals and…
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Yogyakarta
Via Via is always full with travellers enjoying a menu of global cuisine including Indian and Middle Eastern dishes, homemade pastas, burgers and…
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Borobudur
This tranquil cafe and art gallery, with outdoor decking overlooking rice paddies, is a great spot for Javanese coffee and a cold beer. Or roll up at…
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Yogyakarta
A popular drinking spot in an old colonial building, Oxen also has a menu of pub food enjoyed in its beer garden with live music or in the front bar. It…
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Solo
This huge canteen-like restaurant, with swirling colonial-style fans and photos of ye olde Surakarta, doesn't look much from the outside, but it attracts…
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Yogyakarta
Just like the movie, the sequel is better than the original, and Superman II has now stolen the show. At this open-air restaurant offering tasty Western…
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Yogyakarta
This brightly lit, local-style restaurant specialises in turmeric-rubbed, fried chicken. Dishes are impossibly cheap and improbably good. Little wonder…
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Yogyakarta
One of the most popular hang-outs in Sosrowijayan is this double-storey warung that does tasty Indonesian and international food that's a cut above the…
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Central Java
Just across the river from the alun-alun, Rasa is a traditional Javanese restaurant with a pleasant garden setting and Indonesian food served lesahan …
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Solo
This smart, air-conditioned restaurant offers tasty east Javanese specialities such as ayam penyet (flattened fried chicken) and empal penyet (pulverised…
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Yogyakarta
More TexMex than authentic Mexican, Papricano's tasty burritos, hard-shell beef tacos and nachos may make a welcome break from rice and noodle dishes. The…
