Yema Kitchen — Restaurant in Bali

To write about Yama Kitchen is a little complicated because it has a lot of positive and negative points.

Location: The interior is simple but inviting, though not when it is raining because you would get wet anyway.

Food: Focaccia: ❌ The focaccia was disappointing because, instead of using yeast, they used baking powder. I know this because I am a baker, and focaccia is one of my specialties. So, the focaccia was an absolute failure.

Falafel Wrap: ❌ In West Asia, falafel is considered street food, but here it is technically more expensive than kebab. Can you imagine paying 110k for two pieces of falafel? It’s not just overpriced; it’s highway robbery.

Arabian Mandi Rice: ✅💯 Wow, this dish was amazing—very tasty, authentic, and perfect. It was the star of the show.

Chicken Shawarma: 🆗 It was tasty, especially the yogurt sauce, BUT it was not shawarma—it was chicken kebab. There is a difference between shawarma and kebab, but surprisingly, the chef doesn’t seem to know the difference. That’s why they served chicken kebab instead of shawarma.

Yama Sharing Board:

🟤Olive Tapenade: It was tasty, and they were generous with the olives, but it was saltier than necessary. 🟡Hummus: Tasty. 🟢Baba Ganoush: This was by far the best baba ganoush I have ever tried in Bali.

Snapper Tagine: It was okay but not remarkable. It’s not a dish that will impress you.

Conclusion: As I mentioned before, they have some remarkable dishes and some failures. However, considering the price, there are many better and more reasonably priced Mediterranean restaurants in Bali. In general, I don’t...

We stumbled upon Yema Kitchen by chance and ended up having one of our most delicious dining experiences in Canggu. First time we came for lunch and were warmly welcomed by the staff into a peaceful, quiet space that felt like a hidden oasis.

We ordered the rosemary chicken and the chicken shawarma – both were absolutely delicious, full of flavor and perfectly prepared. I also had a wonderful dessert and an excellent cup of coffee. We ended up staying 2 hours, simply because the space was so lovely. The attention to detail in the decor is beautiful, and there’s even a small shop and an outside there is an enclosure with the cutest bunnies – the whole place feels like a little wonderland.

We immediately said to each other, “This is a hidden gem – a must-go spot.” We loved it so much that we returned for dinner. In the evening, the restaurant transforms into a cozy, ambient, almost speakeasy-like vibe. It gets more visitors at night, but we highly recommend coming for brunch or lunch too – it’s calm and magical in the daylight.

The food is packed with flavors and spices, the space is aesthetically stunning, and the staff is incredibly friendly. Yema has quickly become one of our favorite restaurants in...

Style over substance. The cuisine is a bit confused.. it's sort of middle eastern, but leaning on the Turkish side with a moroccan twist. Rather flavorless across the board.. the fish tagine was utterly boring, and how do you mess up roast vegetables? Yema knows how ;) decent bread tho, but the only thing on the mezze with any flavor was the tapenade. Lovely interior design.. I'd happily come by again for a bottle of wine, and perhaps their food will improve. I certainly hope so... Just hire a chef more experienced with the cuisine.. someone from Morocco or Lebanon, perhaps. And seriously, stop the whole fish tagine thing, and go for some lamb instead, and just some classic middle eastern whole fish dishes instead. Please try and make sure the beef kefta is more moist in future - it was dry in addition to being flavourless! I could go on about how to improve the food, but perhaps some people like their middle...