Bawang Merah Beachfront Restaurant

Bawang Merah sits on Kelan beach, the quieter northern end of Jimbaran Bay just south of the airport runway, and follows the classic Jimbaran format: pick your seafood, have it grilled over coconut husks and eat it at a table on the sand as the sun goes down. Platters of grilled fish, prawns, squid, clams and crab come with rice, water spinach and a row of Balinese sambals, and there is a covered dining room behind the beach for wet evenings.

The restaurant opens from noon to 22:00 daily. Lunch is calm, but most people come for sunset, when musicians move between the tables and the planes drop low over the bay. Prices are mid-range for Jimbaran, with set seafood platters for two or more as well as dishes priced individually.

Book a front-row table by WhatsApp if you want to be close to the water at sunset, and arrive by 17:30. Kelan is about ten minutes by car from the airport and 20 minutes from central Jimbaran; parking is free.