Best Street Food in Bali: Night Markets, Vendors & Must-Try Dishes

Bali's night markets are the ultimate street food destination, offering dozens of vendors under one roof with a festival-like atmosphere. Pasar Gianyar (Gianyar Night Market) is the crown jewel. Located about 25 minutes northeast of Ubud, this sprawling market operates nightly from 5:00 PM to midnight and draws more locals than tourists, which is always a good sign. The market fills an entire block with over 50 stalls selling everything from babi guling (roasted suckling pig) and sate lilit to fresh tropical juices. Standout stalls include the babi guling vendor near the main entrance (look for the longest queue) and the martabak manis stall halfway down the main aisle. Most dishes cost IDR 10,000-25,000 ($0.60-1.60 USD). Sanur Night Market (Pasar Sindhu) is the most tourist-accessible night market, located on Jalan Danau Tamblingan in central Sanur. It runs nightly from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM and is cleaner and more organized than Gianyar, though slightly pricier. The grilled corn (jagung bakar) vendor near the entrance and the nasi campur stalls in the back are local favorites. Prices run IDR 15,000-35,000 ($1-2.20 USD). Other notable markets include Pasar Kumbasari in Denpasar (daytime market with great snacks), Pasar Senggol Klungkung (Thursday evenings), and the small but excellent market near Ubud Palace that appears after 5:00 PM.

Bali street food offers a dazzling array of flavors, and certain dishes are absolute must-tries. Martabak is Indonesia's most beloved street snack, and it comes in two forms: martabak manis (sweet) is a thick, buttery pancake folded with fillings like chocolate, cheese, peanuts, or condensed milk, priced at IDR 15,000-35,000 ($1-2.20 USD) depending on toppings. Martabak telur (savory) is a crispy, egg-filled crepe stuffed with minced meat, green onions, and spices for IDR 20,000-40,000 ($1.25-2.50 USD). Both are best eaten hot. Bakso is a deeply comforting meatball soup found on virtually every street in Bali. Mobile bakso carts (gerobak bakso) roam neighborhoods playing a distinctive knocking sound to announce their arrival. A bowl of handmade beef meatballs in rich, clear broth with noodles, fried wontons, and chili sauce costs just IDR 10,000-15,000 ($0.60-0.95 USD). Nasi jinggo is Bali's most affordable meal: a tiny banana-leaf parcel containing rice, shredded chicken or tempe, sambal, peanuts, and fried noodles, all for IDR 5,000-8,000 ($0.30-0.50 USD). Street vendors sell them from baskets, and locals often buy 2-3 parcels at a time. Other essential street eats include sate (grilled skewers with peanut sauce, IDR 10,000-20,000), pisang goreng (fried banana fritters, IDR 5,000-10,000), gorengan (assorted deep-fried snacks including tofu, tempeh, and cassava, IDR 2,000-5,000 each), and es campur (shaved ice with fruits, jelly, and coconut milk, IDR 10,000-15,000).

Beyond the night markets, some of Bali's best street food comes from mobile vendors and permanent roadside stalls that have been operating for years or even decades. In Denpasar, the area around Jalan Teuku Umar is an unofficial street food corridor with stalls serving nasi uduk (coconut rice with assorted toppings, IDR 15,000-25,000), bubur ayam (chicken rice porridge, IDR 12,000-18,000), and rujak (spicy fruit salad, IDR 10,000-15,000). The rujak vendor near Pasar Badung is legendary for her fiery shrimp-paste dressing. Along the main road in Gianyar, look for the tipat cantok vendors -- this Balinese specialty consists of rice cakes and vegetables drenched in a rich peanut sauce, sold from bamboo shoulder poles for IDR 8,000-12,000 ($0.50-0.75 USD). In the Kuta-Legian area, the sate vendors near Poppies Lane serve excellent chicken and pork skewers until late at night (IDR 15,000-25,000 for 10 sticks). Near Ubud Market, morning vendors sell jaje Bali (traditional Balinese cakes and sweets) from woven baskets starting at 6:00 AM. These colorful rice-flour treats cost IDR 2,000-5,000 each and range from sweet (klepon, filled with palm sugar) to savory (laklak, with coconut and sugar). They make an excellent breakfast paired with Balinese kopi tubruk (strong unfiltered coffee, IDR 5,000).

Eating street food in Bali is generally safe if you follow some common-sense guidelines. The vast majority of travelers enjoy street food without any issues, but a few precautions can reduce the small risk of stomach discomfort. First, eat at busy stalls. High turnover means the food is fresh, cooked recently, and not sitting around. A stall with a queue of locals is your best quality indicator. Avoid stalls where food appears to have been sitting uncovered for extended periods. Second, watch the cooking. Street food that is cooked fresh in front of you -- like sate being grilled, martabak being fried, or bakso being ladled from a simmering pot -- carries much less risk than pre-prepared cold dishes. Heat kills most bacteria, so hot food is safer food. Third, be cautious with water and ice. Stick to bottled water or sealed beverages. Ice at night markets sometimes comes from local water sources. If the ice is cylindrical with a hole in the middle, it is factory-made and filtered (safe). Irregular ice chunks may not be. Fourth, build up gradually. If you are new to Southeast Asian street food, start with cooked items like sate, bakso, and fried snacks before progressing to raw salads or rujak. Give your stomach a day or two to adjust to new spices and cooking oils. Fifth, carry hand sanitizer or wet wipes. Many street stalls do not have handwashing facilities, and you will often eat with your hands or with minimal utensils. A small bottle of hand sanitizer costs IDR 10,000 at any minimart.

One of the joys of Bali street food is the extraordinarily low cost. Here is a detailed price guide so you know what to expect and can avoid overpaying. At the cheapest end, gorengan (fried snacks) run IDR 2,000-5,000 ($0.12-0.30 USD) per piece, and nasi jinggo parcels cost IDR 5,000-8,000 ($0.30-0.50 USD). These are the prices locals pay, and vendors do not typically mark them up for tourists. Mid-range street food -- bakso, sate, bubur ayam, pisang goreng -- typically falls in the IDR 10,000-20,000 ($0.60-1.25 USD) range. A full bakso bowl with all the fixings should not exceed IDR 15,000 outside tourist areas. Ten sticks of sate with rice and peanut sauce should be IDR 15,000-25,000. The most expensive street food items are martabak (IDR 15,000-40,000 depending on size and toppings) and nasi campur at established night market stalls (IDR 20,000-35,000 for a generous plate with multiple side dishes). Street food in tourist areas like Kuta, Seminyak, and central Ubud may be priced 20-50% higher than in local areas like Denpasar, Gianyar, or Tabanan. This is normal and the prices are still extremely affordable by international standards. Payment is almost exclusively cash. Carry a supply of IDR 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 notes. Vendors may not have change for IDR 100,000 notes. Some night markets now have vendors accepting QRIS (Indonesian QR payment system), but do not count on it. Budget IDR 50,000-100,000 ($3-6 USD) per person for a full night market dinner including drinks and dessert. That is hard to beat anywhere in the world.