Liap Liap — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

So, I came here as the reviews looked great and I also heard great things from word of mouth. The staff here are really friendly and a credit to the restaurant. I love the grill in the window and open plan style kitchen, it really adds to the theatre of the restaurant. I started with a good old Bintang and ordered the beef rendang as I was told this was to die for, and it's one of my favorite Indonesian dishes, but unfortunately at 6pm they had sold out so after looking at the menu again I decided on the bamboo grilled chicken and grilled corn cob with miso butter. After ordering I was brought an appetiser which was similar to an onion bhaji with sweet chilli sauce. This was excellent and I could have happily eaten these all night long. After this my dinner arrived and it looked excellent. Unfortunately the chicken, although lovely and moist, had very little flavour, there was no flavour of ginger or turmeric whatsoever, there seemed to be chilli in there but there was no chilli heat which would have been nice but I'm guessing these were peppers. The corn on the other hand was lovely, well grilled and a great char to it. The only unfortunate thing was there was a slight background taste of fish, I assumed that this is because it had been done on the same grill as the fish, not an issue for me but others may not like this, or, like some, may be allergic to fish which could cause a massive issue. Finally, I can understand the higher than average prices that some have complained about, as you can see and taste that the produce used at Liap Liap is of a high quality which is great but if the flavour isn't there overall it...

CRAZZYYY GOOD, you HAVE to check out Liap Liap on Monkey Forest Road - it’s peak Ubud: part vibey hotspot, part cozy smokehouse hideaway. Walk in through the big open wall facing the street, and boom - smoky aromas, chill vibes, top service, and food that slaps, all wrapped in the buzz and heartbeat of Ubud.

Get the beef rendang minang - slow-cooked, spice-loaded, basically a hug on a plate paired with ridiculously fragrant coconut rice. Oooh and the coconut tart with mango sorbet is straight-up dessert sorcery.

Already planning my return for the smoked octopus rujak - saw it, wanted it, questioned all my life choices, still not over it.

Cocktails are fire too - start with the Bisma Gardens (gin + herbs = 💯).

BONUS: It’s part of Bisma Eight, so sneak over to the hotel in the back which is an absolute vibe - think bougie poolside bar, cozy cabanas, and all the laid-back luxe you didn’t know you needed. And definitely don’t skip No Más bar upstairs above Liap Liap restaurant — live music, neon glow, post-dinner party energy, good chaos.

Trusttt — you need this in your life....

After you order they give you a complimentary welcome drink. I got a small shot glass of a mulled lemonaid. Think of a mulled apple cider but instead of apple flavour it’s lemon.

They also give a complimentary amouse bouche. This was the highlight of the meal for me. It was a small fried fish topped with a spiced eggplant spread. It was sprinkled with caramalized shallots. I could’ve eaten so many more of those.

For lunch we got a full branzino and a tenderloin. The branzino was delicious. The steak we ordered medium but they sent it to us completely raw. They were able to redo this order for us but this time they had fried the individual slices of the steak rather than cooking it, letting it rest, and then slicing. It was still good but a little disappointed in the preparation.

We also got the farmers salad deconstructed. It’s literally just a sauce and grilled tomatoes. Very simple for the price, however delicious.

We also got a passion fruit mock tail and a coconut which were both exactly what we were looking...