The most accessible and beloved Indonesian fine casual restaurant in Ubud — Hujan Locale (Jl. Sri Wedari 5, Ubud), chef Will Meyrick's colonial-style bungalow where Indonesian and Southeast Asian street food is elevated with premium ingredients and technique into a menu of dishes that are simultaneously recognizable (bebek goreng, slow-cooked beef rendang, tuna betel leaf, nasi campur) and revelatory — cited in The Sunday Times' 2025 'Where to Eat in Ubud' and consistently described as the restaurant that converts visitors to Indonesian food who were uncertain about it before arriving.
Why It Belongs on the List
Will Meyrick is the Australian chef who has done more to establish Indonesia's culinary identity internationally than any other single figure — his restaurants (Mama San in Seminyak, Hujan Locale and Honey & Smoke in Ubud, Billy Ho in Canggu, and Buzo in Seminyak) collectively demonstrate that Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese-Indonesian, and pan-Asian street food traditions can be presented in elegant, well-designed environments without losing their essential character. Hujan Locale (the name means 'local rain' in Indonesian, a reference to Bali's afternoon rainfall and the restaurant's connection to seasonal local produce) is the most specifically Indonesian in the Will Meyrick portfolio: the colonial bungalow on Jalan Sri Wedari (the street that connects Ubud's Monkey Forest to the main road, lined with art galleries and restaurants) serves the bebek goreng (crispy fried Balinese duck with sambal mango, sambal hijau, sweet salted fish, and lemon basil — the dish most cited by returning guests as the one they came back for specifically), the slow-cooked beef rendang (the Minang curry from West Sumatra that has been cited in multiple polls as the world's most delicious dish), and the tuna betel leaf with lemongrass and sambal matah that represents the Balinese flavor profile at its most vivid. The Grazing Menu (a sharing-style format of dumplings, satays, and small plates) is the correct approach for groups wanting to cover the menu's range.
What Stands Out
- The Sunday Times 2025 'Where to Eat in Ubud': the consistent external validation of Hujan Locale's quality
- Bebek goreng: the crispy Balinese duck that every returning visitor comes back for specifically — the most cited single dish recommendation in Ubud
- Will Meyrick's Indonesian culinary philosophy: Australian chef who has done most to make Indonesian food internationally understood — the 'street food elevated' approach at its most successful
- For first-timers to Indonesian food: Hujan Locale is the restaurant most consistently recommended for converting skeptics — the familiarity of the formats with the revelation of the flavors
- Grazing Menu sharing style: the correct approach for the full Meyrick range — dumplings, satays, small plates, and cocktails from the signature cart