"If there's something I miss a lot about my days in Australia, it's Middle Eastern food," Lorenzo says, already halfway to telling you where to eat. He does this. Talks about food the way other people talk about family.
That's Lorenzo De Petris in a nutshell. Born in Genova, on Italy's north-west corner where the country brushes up against France, he grew up among the kind of people who believe sitting at a table is "one of the few things left in life that are really genuine." He talked his way out of a year of classical studies and into culinary school, spent his school holidays staging across England and at the Michelin-starred Ristorante Duomo in Sicily, then took off for Australia at 19 (the one place he'd sworn he'd never go) and stayed a decade. Sydney taught him the thing he still chases: great food that slides, "very organically," into a good night out.
He landed in Bali at the end of 2021, mid-lockdown, when you still had to quarantine in Jakarta to get to the island. Today he's the executive chef across three very different rooms in the Mexicola Group stable: Da Maria, the Seminyak institution he's just given a confident, Mediterranean-leaning reinvention; Luigi's Hot Pizza in Canggu, the grungier, more rock-and-roll Italo-American cousin (its Neapolitan-style dough turned out by head pizzaiolo Marcos Bonotto); and Mosto, the funky natural-wine neo-bistro in Berawa that's his own baby. A man who runs three kitchens has strong opinions about where he spends his rare nights off, and, refreshingly, none of them are his own. Here, in his own words, are the three Bali spots he keeps going back to.
Shelter, Pererenan
"A staple is going and seeing my good mate, Steve Moore: Shelter, in Pererenan. It's almost a routine."
Shelter is the wood-fired Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant on Jalan Pantai Pererenan, built around a bespoke hearth fuelled by coffee and rambutan wood. It's the work of British chef Stephen Moore, who spent 36 years in Michelin kitchens and Aman resorts around the world (including a stint at the three-starred El Racó de Can Fabes in Catalonia) before pouring all of it into an open-fire, low-waste kitchen set inside a Balinese joglo. Everything is built for sharing and kissed by flame: charred octopus, slow-roasted lamb shoulder, wood-roasted scallops.
For Lorenzo it's less a special occasion than a habit, and the order rarely changes. "The flatbread with the lamb mince and the egg and the lemon," he says. "It just hits the spot, with a cheeky beer." Coming from a chef who misses Middle Eastern food more than almost anything about his old life, that flatbread is doing a lot of emotional work.
Kaiju, Canggu
"There's a hidden gem in Batu Mejan, behind Luigi's, called Kaiju. It's a yakitori place, and the Japanese level is incredible."
Kaiju is a tiny 22-seat yakitori and izakaya joint tucked down Jalan Pantai Batu Mejan, run by a team Lorenzo describes simply as "guys from Jakarta." The concept is proper nose-to-tail: 100% never-frozen, free-range organic birds broken down into some twenty-odd parts, each skewer grilled over binchōtan charcoal: skin, soft bone, the lot. It is exactly the kind of quietly obsessive, produce-first cooking Lorenzo respects, right down to the way the kitchen leans on local Balinese farms for its sides.
His advice is to surrender to it. "The only way to go is to get the whole menu," he says, which he takes seriously, having recently sat down with his Mosto partner Fede and put away "30 yakitori each, but, you know, no carbs." Around the skewers came the parts he lit up about: grilled cabbage in XO sauce, rice cooked with sweet potato, and a sorbet made with preserved calamansi. "It's that kind of place," he says, "that you just go for everything."
Less is More, Munggu
"If you want to experience Bali as it should be, you should go to Less is More: Chef Yudi. That's real. That's what Bali is about."
Less is More is Chef Yudi's farm-to-table project up in Munggu, and Lorenzo pitches it as the antidote to the whole Canggu machine: a place that "just works with the community," where "they just look after you." It's less a dinner than a stay: you book the full experience, sleep over, and let the farm set the rhythm. Lorenzo's tip is to arrive the night before for an easy dinner and plenty of arak, then spend the morning walking the land.
That morning is the whole point. You watch how the fish comes in, meet the stingless bees behind the kelekele honey, and see how the palm nectar becomes arak (several different araks, in fact). "It's just a journey," he says, "which is incredible." For a chef who spends his professional life sourcing heritage pork and Bedugul tomatoes and preaching that Westerners who open here should actually be part of the community, Chef Yudi's world isn't just a good night out. It's the argument he's been making all along, cooked over a clay fire.
Lorenzo De Petris is the executive chef of Da Maria in Seminyak and Luigi's Hot Pizza in Canggu, and a partner in Mosto, the natural-wine neo-bistro in Berawa: all part of the Mexicola Group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lorenzo De Petris?
Lorenzo De Petris is an Italian chef, born in Genoa, who is the executive chef of Da Maria and Luigi's Hot Pizza and a partner in Mosto, all in Bali under the Mexicola Group. He trained in Michelin kitchens including Ristorante Duomo in Sicily and spent a decade in Sydney before moving to Bali in late 2021.
Where do Bali chefs eat on their night off?
Chef Lorenzo De Petris's three off-duty picks are Shelter in Pererenan for wood-fired Middle Eastern, Kaiju in Canggu for nose-to-tail yakitori, and Less is More in Munggu for a farm-to-table stay. His choices favour produce-driven cooking and strong community ties over hype.
What kind of restaurant is Shelter in Pererenan?
Shelter is a wood-fired Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant on Jalan Pantai Pererenan, led by British chef Stephen Moore. Dishes are cooked over an open-fire hearth fuelled by coffee and rambutan wood and designed for sharing, with a low-waste philosophy and a laid-back joglo setting.
What makes Kaiju in Canggu special?
Kaiju is an intimate yakitori and izakaya spot on Jalan Pantai Batu Mejan, serving never-frozen, free-range organic chicken broken down nose-to-tail and grilled over binchōtan charcoal. Lorenzo recommends ordering the whole menu, alongside sides like XO-sauced grilled cabbage and calamansi sorbet.
What is Less is More by Chef Yudi?
Less is More is Chef Yudi's farm-to-table experience in Munggu, where guests can book to stay overnight, dine on Balinese cooking, and drink house-made arak. Mornings are spent touring the farm to see the fish, the stingless bees behind kelekele honey, and how palm nectar is turned into arak.
