About 13 months ago I wrote about 4 new cafes opening on our main street (Jl. Pantai Pererenan). I titled the post, “I turned my head & 4 cafes opened.” It was pre-covid and food venues were opening at a blistering pace.
You would think that things would be slowing to a crawl, but you’d be mistaken.
Working from north to south (meaning furthest from the beach to closest), here’s what’s happening these past few months:
Hova Cafe. A cute and clean-looking spot with Western and Indonesian dishes as well as a variety of sweets.
Samiti Cafe & Resto. With a black and white theme and carefully selected dishes, Samiti (the owner) creates a contemporary atmosphere that’s cozy and welcoming. The staff is super friendly too.
Macro Kitchen. For the health conscious creative type, you can build your own food dishes here and feel good about it!
Porch. Part of Shore Amora / Boheme Canggu, Porch is a cute place to grab a quick bite.
Masmara is on the fancy side but hey, you only live once. They have apartments behind the restaurant, with convenient underground parking.
Opening Soon. Rumor has it that it will be a Russian / Indonesian affair. The couple already has a successful restaurant in Berawa.
Some venues didn’t quite make it (or even get started)
Like anywhere these past six months, the number of restaurants and venues catering to crowds are struggling to survive. Currently Bali hotels are at 4% occupancy, and that’s due to Indonesian tourists that are allowed to travel here, as international travel is banned.
This set of shops was a victim of bad timing, as they finished construction just as covid19 hit.
Bokacika was a backpackers restaurant/hostel. They had reasonable prices and a mellow atmosphere but there’s no backpackers to be found…
There was a sign out for an upcoming Italian restaurant, but now the sign is gone and all that remains is a place to grab your booze and to drown your sorrows.
Beer e Pizza. Closed, but is currently being transformed.
The bottom line is that Pererenan’s main street is filled with courageous entrepreneurs that are willing to tough it out through these most unusual and unsettling of times.
Wish them well!