Italian restaurants in Bali: where to find fresh pasta

For Italian food in Bali, start with Riviera Bistro in Berawa: its kitchen is built on fresh pasta, from tagliatelle in a Wagyu beef and pork ragù to a cacio e pepe risotto with tuna battuta, with a long wine list and aperitifs at the bar. For homemade pasta in a Riviera setting, Giselle in Canggu. For linguine with your feet near the sand, Le Bleu in Nusa Dua. FirstBali asks for the table through the concierge.

A word on what "Italian" means here

We only write about venues we work with, and none of them describes itself as a strictly Italian trattoria. What Bali's dining scene has instead is Mediterranean kitchens where Italian cooking carries the menu: fresh pasta, risotto, burrata, a serious wine list. If pasta is what you are after, the addresses below deliver it; if you want the wider Mediterranean, from the Riviera to the Aegean, read our Mediterranean guide.

Fresh pasta and wine: Riviera Bistro, Berawa

Riviera Bistro, on Jalan Pemelisan Agung, is the original venue of Riviera Group, a Mediterranean restaurant and wine bar. The kitchen works with fresh pasta and local ingredients. Two dishes show the style: tagliatelle in a Wagyu beef and pork ragù, and a cacio e pepe risotto topped with tuna battuta, the Roman pecorino-and-pepper classic turned towards the sea.

The wine list is extensive, there are aperitifs at the bar before you sit down, and the tables are candlelit. It is the most Italian evening in our catalogue: a drink at the bar, a plate of pasta, a bottle to share. On Saturdays the evening turns into PRÏVE, with cocktails and DJs, so choose another night if you want it quiet. More in the Riviera Berawa guide.

Riviera Berawa

Restaurants · Berawa

Riviera Bistro is a Mediterranean restaurant and wine bar on Jalan Pemelisan Agung in Berawa, the original venue of Riviera Group, which also runs Riviera Trattoria in Pererenan and Riviera Cafe in Cemagi. The kitchen works with fresh pasta and local ingredients, with dishes such as tagliatelle in a Wagyu beef and pork ragù or cacio e pepe risotto with tuna battuta. Expect an extensive wine list, aperitifs at the bar and candlelit tables; on Saturdays the evening turns into PRÏVE, with cocktails and DJs.

Homemade pasta on the Riviera: Giselle, Canggu

Giselle is Mediterranean, with the French Riviera as its mood, but homemade pasta has its own section on the menu. The dish people ask about is the tortellini with truffle, Comté, Paris ham and mascarpone. Around it, the seafood leads: crudos, a seafood platter, sea bream sashimi and flambéed fish, made for sharing. Dinner happens across a dining room and a courtyard, and on Friday and Saturday nights Club 55 takes over afterwards. See the Giselle guide.

Giselle

Restaurants · Canggu

Giselle is a Mediterranean restaurant on Jalan Tanah Barak in Canggu, created by a group of friends with deep roots in hospitality, who call it “a house for friends, strangers, and stories”. The mood is the Riviera brought to Bali, across a dining room and a courtyard. Seafood leads the menu, with crudos, a seafood platter, sea bream sashimi and flambéed fish, alongside homemade pasta and plates for sharing, built on local, responsibly sourced ingredients. On Friday and Saturday nights, Club 55 takes over after dinner.

Linguine by the sea: Le Bleu, Nusa Dua

On Nusa Dua Beach, Le Bleu by K Club dresses itself in Riviera blue and white, and its seafood kitchen includes a lobster linguine. It works for a long lunch on a sunbed or a terrace, or a dinner in the indoor dining room, and it has vegetarian and vegan dishes for mixed tables. Staying in the south? The Nusa Dua guide has the rest.

Le Bleu

Beach clubs · Nusa Dua

Le Bleu by K Club is a beachfront restaurant and beach club on Nusa Dua Beach, in the ITDC resort area, run by the K-Club Group. The look is French Riviera by way of Bali, all blue and white, with sunbeds, cabanas, terraces and an indoor dining room. The kitchen leans on seafood, from lobster linguine to yellowfin tuna tataki, with vegetarian and vegan options. The weekly programme mixes yoga, cocktail workshops, beach games and festive Sunday gatherings with a DJ.

Burrata in the jungle: Akar, Ubud

Akar is a steakhouse, not an Italian restaurant, but its menu north of Ubud carries a homemade burrata with tomato and a sun-dried tomato sourdough, the kind of starters an Italian table opens with, before Australian and Japanese cuts grilled over charcoal. Worth knowing if your group is split between pasta lovers and meat lovers. More in the Akar guide.

Akar

Restaurants · Ubud

Akar, meaning “root”, is the steakhouse of K Club in Kedisan, Tegallalang, north of Ubud, set in the greenery of the jungle. Spread over two floors with two bars and an open kitchen, it grills Australian and Japanese cuts, Wagyu included, over charcoal, alongside seafood, charcoal-roasted bone marrow and a curated wine list. On Friday and Saturday nights dinner turns festive, with live DJs, dancers and a laser show. Akar has won Best Luxury Steakhouse in Indonesia at the World Luxury Restaurant Awards.

How to choose

• A classic pasta-and-wine dinner: Riviera Bistro, on any night but Saturday if you want it calm.
• Pasta plus seafood, with a party after: Giselle, on a Friday or Saturday.
• Pasta at lunch by the beach: Le Bleu.
• A mixed group in Ubud: Akar, burrata to start, steak to follow.
• A family dinner: pasta is the easy answer for children; tell us their ages and we ask which room suits.

Ordering tips

• Fresh pasta is cooked to order: a table of eight ordering different pastas will wait a little longer than one sharing plates.
• Ask about the wine list early at Riviera Bistro; it is part of the reason to go.
• Truffle, cheese and seafood feature heavily on these menus. Mention any allergy or dietary need when you book, so the restaurant can say what it can do.

Booking

Tell the concierge the date, the number of guests and whether you want a quiet dinner or a lively one. We ask the restaurant on your behalf, pass on any terms it sets, and the table is yours once the restaurant confirms.

Read next: where to eat in Berawa, Canggu restaurants, a romantic dinner in Bali and the restaurants guide.