Must-see restaurants in East Java

  • De Soematra 1910

    Surabaya

    Put on your posh frock to come to this highly regarded restaurant. It's set inside a renovated colonial mansion with 6m-high ceilings, chandeliers and…

  • Melati

    Malang

    The Tugu hotel's poolside restaurant is a romantic setting for a meal, with attentive staff to guide you through the delicious Indonesian and Chinese…

  • Java Banana

    East Java

    Set off the road up to Ijen from Banyuwangi, this restaurant, inside the upmarket Jiwa Jawa hotel, is a stunner, with a massive ground-floor gallery and…

  • Citrus Lee

    Surabaya

    At Citrus Lee the food is art, and every dish is delicately painted onto a plate. The chef-owner trained in Paris, and the French influence seeps into…

  • The Library

    Malang

    With industrial-chic furnishings, shelves of books and graffiti wall art, this eye-catching cafe-restaurant, which is super-popular with local students,…

  • La Rucola

    Surabaya

    A delightful Italian bistro serving upmarket Surabaya with homemade pastas, imported steaks, wood-fired pizzas, Italian sausage, oyster mushrooms and more…

  • Waroeng Tugu Blitar

    East Java

    With an elegant colonial ambience, the in-house restaurant of the Tugu Sri Lestari is a fine place to delight in well-presented, upmarket versions of such…

  • BU Kris

    Surabaya

    With simple tiled walls, plastic-coated menus and chipped tables piled with plates of food, it's not the looks that bring crowds of noisy locals to eat at…

  • Cafe Lava Resto

    East Java

    Attached to the Cafe Lava Hostel, this is about the best place to eat around the volcano, though that's not saying much. It has a menu of Indonesian…

  • House of Sampoerna Café

    Surabaya

    This cafe is adjacent to the House of Sampoerna museum and occupies a gorgeous colonial structure complete with stained-glass windows and brash and…

  • Warung Bik Ati

    East Java

    For over 70 years Bik Ati has been perfecting its house special, nasirawon (black beef soup with rice). The secret to the taste is the inclusion of keluak…

  • Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi Asli

    Surabaya

    This dimly lit dive, filled with locals, is the original location of a chain of soto ayam warungs with branches across Surabaya. Short on noodles, long on…

  • Inggil

    Malang

    The delightfully eccentric Inggil is as much a museum or art gallery as a restaurant. Walls are lined with old photos, dozens of wayang kulit puppets…

  • Kertanegara

    Malang

    Occupying a large corner plot, this upmarket place has a garden terrace, strung with oh-so-many Christmas lights. Its enormous menu offers flavoursome…

  • Ikan Bakar Pesona

    East Java

    A classic Indonesian fish house where the tablecloths are sealed in plastic to easily wipe down the Makassar-style shrapnel after a serious feast. Famous…

  • Ahimsa Vegan Lounge

    Surabaya

    An elegant, upmarket vegetarian restaurant owned by a welcoming Indo-Chinese family, who serve delicious rice dishes (try nasi hainan, a mixed rice…

  • Tunjungan Plaza

    Surabaya

    For an air-conditioned setting, Tunjungan Plaza has a colossal selection of squeaky-clean Asian and Western restaurants and cafes; the food court is on…

  • Warung Bethania Batu

    East Java

    This bamboo-walled restaurant with unusual tree-trunk furnishings and pictures of past clients on the walls, is the best-known place in Batu for fried…

  • Bebek Gong

    Malang

    A dressed-up warung dangling with lovely rattan lanterns and lined with bamboo wallpaper, serving fried chicken and duck meals to the Malang masses…

  • Rumah Makan 17 Agustus

    East Java

    It's only right that this, one of the oldest restaurants in Sumenep, is considered the best place to try the local speciality sate kambing (lamb sate),…

  • Agung Resto

    Malang

    This cheerful spot with plastic chairs and tables has tasty, inexpensive local food, including martabak (pancake-like meat, egg and vegetable dish), rice…

  • Rumah Makan Kartini

    East Java

    An atmospheric, traditional restaurant where jars of biscuits, cakes and other snacks are piled up on shelves along the walls and a loyal crew of locals…

  • Sate Klopo Ondomohen

    Surabaya

    Join the locals at this no-frills warung for plates of beef sate skewers, dusted in coconut and grilled on charcoal – a Surabayan specialty.

  • Waserda HQQ

    East Java

    This humble warung is run by a sweet wife-and-husband team, who cook up delicious East Javanese dishes such as nasi pecel (rice with a spicy peanut sauce,…

  • Toko Oen

    Malang

    Boasting an imposing 1930 art deco frontage, Toko Oen is a throwback to ye olde days, with rattan furniture, waiters in starched whites, and Sinatra on…

  • Bu Mamik

    East Java

    Tasty ayam bakar (grilled chicken) is what brings droves of locals to this quaint, stilted indoor-outdoor restaurant with carved columns and twirling fans.

  • Food Stalls

    Surabaya

    Late-night munchies can also be had at the offshoot of Jl Pemuda, opposite the Plaza Surabaya, which buzzes with food-stall activity around the clock.

  • Kya Kya

    Surabaya

    In the old city, the once-throbbing Chinese night market, Kya Kya, is now far less popular, though there are still a few food stalls here.

  • Sumber Hidup

    East Java

    Large restaurant on the main strip that serves good Chinese food and Indonesian dishes. Doubles as an ice-cream parlour.

  • Warungs

    Surabaya

    Late-night munchies can be had among the strip of warungs with their backs to the river along Jl Kayun.

  • Pasar Genteng

    Surabaya

    For cheap eats, Pasar Genteng has a few good night warungs.

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