Gianyar & Ubud Night Markets Guide: The BEST Street Food In Ubud
Looking for where to find the best street food in Ubud, Bali? You’ll find it at the Ubud & Gianyar Night Markets. Most tourists don’t visit the night markets in Bali as they’re not as well-known as in other SE Asian countries like Thailand, but I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out big time if you don’t stop by a Balinese night market at least once on your trip!
✔️ Ubud Night Markets: Essential Info
- 🏆 Gianyar Night Market is the largest & most popular – located 20 minutes from Ubud
- 📍 Sayan Night Market is smaller, and closer to Ubud Center
- 🍖 The most famous dish: Babi Guling (Suckling Pig)
- 🛵 How to get there: Scooter or Grab taxi
- 💰 Entry Price: free
- 👉 Tip! Bring cash (Indonesian Rupiah)
- ⏰ Best time to go: 6 – 8:30 PM
Where To Find The BEST Street Food In Ubud: Ubud & Gianyar Night Markets
The best street food options in Ubud are at the Night Markets, with Gianyar Night Market being the largest and most popular. The Ubud Morning Market is also a great place to sample local flavors, but it’s more so where locals do their grocery shopping, rather than a place to try street foods.
⏰ Hours: All of the markets in Ubud have certain hours, the morning market is open 6 AM – 9 AM every day and the night markets are open 5 PM – 9 PM. If you visit outside of those hours you might be surprised, what turns into a bustling market every day for three hours is just a normal parking lot the rest of the time!
What Is to Expect at a Balinese Night Market
A night market, or what is called a “Pasar Senggol” by Indonesians, is an open-air market that is set up only after nightfall. In the daytime, it’s usually a parking lot or town square and only comes alive at night with street food stands, clothing vendors, and even performances.
The Ubud (Sayan) Night Market: Tiny Market 10-Minutes from Ubud
Not many tourists go to the Ubud Night Market since it often gets confused with the Ubud Art Market . The Ubud Night Market’s real name is the “Sayan” Night Market because it’s at the intersection of Sayan and Tebongkang Street, which adds to the confusion for foreigners trying to find it. Even though the Sayan Night Market is much closer to the center of Ubud than the Gianyar Night Market, it gets way fewer tourists because it’s much smaller.
Most tourists opt to go to the much larger Gianyar Night Market, which is located 10 KM outside of Ubud.
👉 Secret Spot: You’ll never see more than a handful of foreigners at the Sayan Night Market, it’s a bit of a local secret.
💰 Budget Ubud Eats: If you’re looking for a quick and easy cheap dinner, the Sayan Night Market is your best bet. Almost everything is about 10K IDR (70 cents). The Sayan Night Market is one of the only places in Ubud where you can have a full meal, dessert, and a drink for less than $2.
🛵 How to Get There! If you’re asking locals for directions, you need to specify that you’re going to the Sayan Night Market (Pasar Senggol Sayan), otherwise, you might wind up at the much larger Gianyar Night Market.
⏰ Hours: Open every night from 5 PM – 10 PM, but the prime hours are between 7 PM – 9 PM.
The Gianyar Night Market: Largest Night Market Near Ubud
The locals refer to the Gianyar Night Market as ‘Pasar Senggol Gianyar’ and it’s by far the largest night market in the Ubud area. Every night around dinner time the Gianyar Night Market comes alive with dozens of food stalls selling amazing Balinese street food – If you want to try a lot of Balinese traditional foods in Ubud, the Gianyar Night Market is definitely the place to go!
In addition to the great food, you’ll find rows and rows of stalls selling everything else you could think of; from pots and pans, and children’s toys, to socks and underpants. I came to the Gianyar Night Market for street food, but wound up leaving with both a full stomach and three new pairs of socks! If you need any household goods or clothes while in Ubud I would check the markets first.
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⏰ Hours: The prime time to go to the Gianyar Night Market is for dinner hours, 6 PM – 8:30 PM.
🛵 How to Get There: By scooter or Grab taxi
👉 Tip – Download Google Translate. The markets are made for locals, not tourists! Not everyone speaks English, so you might have to use a translation app (or a lot of pointing and hand gestures) to order food there.
💰 Prices: Entrance to the night markets is free, and items and foods for sale at the Gianyar Night Market are very inexpensive by Western standards. I bought three pairs of socks for 30K Indonesian Rupiah ($2) and had a Babi Guling platter (Balinese suckling pig) for another 30K ($2).
👉 Check out this food tour in Ubud, which includes all the essential Balinese traditional food and a trip to the Gianyar Night Market. 👈
9 Street Foods You Can Try At The Ubud Night Markets
1. Babi Guling: Balinese Slow-Roasted Suckling Pig
Babi Guling (suckling pig) is by far the most famous Balinese delicacy, and in the markets, you can try it the way the locals enjoy the dish. Babi means “pig”, and Guling means “roll”, so Babi Guling literally translates to “rolling pig”. It’s named so because Babi Guling is slow-roasted pork that is turned on a spit. Babi Guling is cooked for over 4-6 hours and is considered a delicacy and celebration food in Bali. A Babi Guling platter actually only comes with a small portion of suckling pig, served alongside various types of other pork products like sausages and pork rinds, as well as steamed long beans, soup, and (of course) a generous portion of white rice. It’s very tasty, but I have to admit Babi Guling is not my favorite Balinese food because it’s usually served at room temperature.
2. Bebek Betutu: Balinese Slow-Roasted Duck
Bebek Betutu is a Balinese roast duck dish, which you can find cooked whole (head-on and everything!) at the Gianyar Night Market. It’s a very popular dish, served on a skewer with a wide variety of sides similar to the Babi Guling. Like Babi Gulin, Bebek Betutu is also served at room temperature.
3. Nasi Campur: Indonesian Pick-Mix Plate
“Nasi” means “rice” in Indonesian, and “Campur” means “mix” – A Nasi Campur is a platter of white rice with a variety of other sides, like tofu, salads, sambal, meatballs, long beans, and egg. Always topped with sauces and peanuts – If you want to try a little bit of everything, I recommend getting a Nasi Campur.
4. Bakso Ayam: Chicken Meatball Soup With Noodles
Bakso Ayam is a super-popular Indonesian meatball and noodle soup. In Bali, Bakso is usually made with chicken meatballs due to a portion of the Hindu population does not eat beef. It makes for a nice light dinner. You can top it with fermented soy sauce, sriracha, fresh garlic, and chili paste.
5. Gorengan: Anything & Everything Fried
Goreng literally translates to “fried”, and Gorengan is the plural of the word. You’ll most commonly see the word in reference to the most popular food in Bali, Nasi Goreng (fried rice). In the night markets, you’ll find whole stalls of assorted Gorengan, which means battered and deep-fried foods!
6. Satays: BBQ Skewers With Peanut Sauce
Satay (spelled “Sate” in Indonesia) is unfortunately an Indonesian delicacy I’ll never get to try due to my peanut allergy ☹️. Satay is made of minced meat, usually chicken, minced with lots of different spices and flavorings. The Satay is then roasted over an open flame, usually on a stalk of lemongrass, and topped with peanut sauce. You can find stalks of Satay, roasted fresh to order, all over the Night Markets in Bali.
7. Es Campur: Rice Cakes, Sugar Jelly, & Coconut Milk Dessert Served Cold
I love Es Campur! A tasty Indonesian dessert consisting of tapioca pearls, fruit, and grass jelly, floating in a mixture of coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and ice. It’s kind of like dessert cereal. It’s super cold, sweet, and refreshing. Photographed is Es Pisang, which is Es Campur served with a banana encased in green pastry similar to Mochi. It’s very good!
8. Mixed Dessert Plate Made With Jaggery Sugar, Coconut Milk, & Rice Cakes
A variety of Indonesian desserts made from rice, banana, coconut, mango, and jellies and then topped with a generous drizzle of palm sugar syrup.
9. Temulawak soda: Indonesian Tamarind Soda
Temaluwak is a special kind of ginger grown on the Indonesian Island of Java. You’ll see the local soda made from Temulawak, and named after it, being sold in all the night markets. It’s very sweet, and I thought it tasted more like pineapple than ginger!
