I have had the pleasure of working in some very interesting offices during my time here in Bali. I made it my mission to find some of the best workable cafes/bars/restaurants/guesthouses. My main requirements were 1. Fast internet access 2. Comfortable/ergonomic seating & tables 3. Good food
Below are some of my favourite spots I’ve worked at during my time in Bali, in order of preference 🙂
Tutmak
Tutmak is definitely one of the best places in Ubud to sit down and focus. I have spent many work days here (I’m on a first name basis with most of the waitresses). Food and drinks are excellent (try the wheatgrass shot, or the apple/carrot/beet juice), the wifi is by far the fastest and most reliable I’ve experienced, and the tables are upstairs, away from most of the other patrons. Tutmak seems like a bit of a hidden gem. Not a lot of people seem to know about it, so more often than not, I have the entire upstairs area to myself, which makes it easier to be productive.
Clear Cafe
Clear Cafe is definitely my favourite restaurant in all of Bali. The food is outstanding (though a bit pricier than most restaurants, but well worth it), their wifi is fast and reliable, and they recently renovated to include a very comfortable and quiet upstairs area that is perfect for getting a few hours of work done. I highly recommend the Magestic Mushrooms and the Vanilla Bean Latte (with cashew milk). For mains, you pretty much can’t go wrong… try the Hint of India, or the Chicano Burrito.
Seniman
A recent discovery, Seniman is an artisanal coffee shop. You can tell that they put a lot of time into their process/methods, and have very much perfected the art of coffee. Work tables are ideal, the wifi is very fast, and the food/coffee are fantastic (try the brie/cashew panini). The music is also really enjoyable here – so far, the best in Bali. The only reason I didn’t put them first was because twice now I have gone and their wifi was not working, though I have heard from other customers that it’s never happened before.
Soma
Soma is small, and can get hot, but they have a great selection of vegetarian and vegan food and drinks (though also a bit pricier), and their wifi is pretty good. The sitting tables are not ideal (read: ergonomic) for working, so go early and grab the proper table, and spend a few hours working here. Try the Mochalicious drink.
Atman
Atman is great if you can nab the right tables (they have a lot of sitting tables that are too low/uncomfortable for working, but great for eating/relaxing). Wifi has been reliable, and the food here is really good (though a tad pricey for the portions). Go for a drink and an appetizer.
Laughing Buddha
Wifi is fast, tables are good for working. Drinks are a little pricey, though delicious, and the food is good as well. Lighting is a bit dim, and it can get pretty warm if you aren’t sitting near the entrance getting a breeze. This place gets fairly busy in the evenings, but it’s nice and quiet mid-day.
Cinta Grill
Cinta is definitely more of a bar/restaurant than a workspace, but during the day there aren’t a ton of people, and it’s easy to find a comfortable table. I have had some successful Skype video chats here, which is more than I can say for most of the other cafes! Pricey, although they do have a great Mojito happy hour between 4-7pm, and 10pm-12am: buy 1 get 1 free.
Juice Ja Cafe
Fast wifi, great food and drink. Seating downstairs is much more ergonomic than upstairs.
Black Beach
Fast wifi, comfortable seating, but the vibe/food here is… “alright.” Good for a productive day.
I am sure there are tons of other hidden gems in Ubud, but these are the ones I frequented the most. If you know of any others, please feel free to comment!
This is great, thanks for compiling this list!
I’m in Ubud now, working my way through your list of working cafes this week and next. I’m in Seniman today, great coffee, food & music. Thanks for the tips!!
Awesome! I am so glad this round-up has been useful for people!!
Thank you for that great list!
I will definitely work me through it because that’s my current mission: find good working spots here in Ubud.
My experience so far: It’s more difficult than expected… Mostly because of the street noise and “no Skype” signs… Hope this will change soon with your recommendations 🙂
Thanks for the great run down of cafes in Ubud. We just arrived (love Bali!) and are going through the process of finding “comfy” places to work. We work out of Hubud some, but am trying to find an alternative just because we like changing things up and doing half days here/there.
We went to Tutmak this morning, which looked LOVELY, but they said the Wifi wasn’t working 🙁 so we left and went to Laughing Buddha which had pretty good food and juice, but not great coffee. Clear Cage and Soma were already on our list to checkout, but now they’ve moved up the list, maybe tomorrow.
Awesome, Jon! I get so many emails from people thanking me for this list – happy to add more recommendations as well! Enjoy your time – oh man Clear cafe… i still think about that food!!
This post became my main guide for finding cafes to work from in Ubud during my 1.5 month stay here. Many of these places became my regular work spots. Thank you so much for compiling this list 🙂
And you’re a Vancouverite too! 😀 I lived there for 12 years before I became nomadic.
Following your suggestion I went today to eat and work at Tutmak. Food indeed is great, the table upstairs is comfortable but the internet connection is the slowest I’ve ever experienced in Bali so far:
Download :: 267 Kbps 33 kB/s
Upload :: 147 Kbps 18 kB/s
It’s near to impossible to have a productive working day at that speed. So people beware.
I stumbled across your list while browsing pinterest and I love it! I cofounded https://workfrom.co to help people share such lists and I’d love to feature yours.
We also share and showcase products and services that support our community of entrepreneurs, digital nomads, location independents and other mobile creatives … and OkiDoki looks awesome. Email me if you’d be interested in sharing your story, list and OkiDoki with our community — jewel@workfrom.co.
Kudos on all your adventures and awesome work! And welcome to the amazing Pacific Northwest 🙂
Really helpful list! Hope you don’t mind I included it as a link from my site, in the Ubud section. Let me know if that is ok, otherwise I’ll remove it.
Cheers
Leandro
For anyone who wouldn’t mind a bit of (yummy) fast food and likes hookah, I also adore the wifi at the only hookah lounge in Ubud. It’s also relatively quiet during the day. I adored the food.
It’s now July 2015 and I just tried number 1 on your list; “Tutmak.” The Wi-Fi was so glacial that it was unusable. It was very disappointing.
On the other hand, I’ve also tried two cafés that aren’t on your list; “Coffee &” and “Café Wayan.” Both are on Monkey Forest Road and both had good, fast Wi-Fi. Also “Frozen Yogi” (opposite “Tutmak”) has good, fast Wi-Fi too. So there are some good options in Ubud, just not “Tutmak.”