Best Restaurants in Bali: Nüde Founder's Top 5 Picks

"It's kind of embarrassing having to tell someone the places that I enjoy," he says. "I feel like I'm going to be judged on what I like." He pauses.

"But I'm going to tell you what I like anyway."

That's Christian in a nutshell. The Australian-born founder of nüde (one of Canggu's most recognisable café brands, now expanding across six locations) doesn't do pretence. He built a café empire on the idea that good food, clean kitchens, and genuine hospitality shouldn't be complicated. And the places he chooses to eat at when he's off the clock? They follow the exact same philosophy.

Gooseberry (Bingin, Uluwatu)

This is the one that earned a 45-minute drive even during Covid. That alone tells you everything you need to know.

Gooseberry is a modern French restaurant perched above Bingin Beach in the Uluwatu area, a hidden gem that's been quietly earning a cult following since its early days as one of the first proper dining spots in the Bukit. Christian has been going for years, and every time he goes back, the same thing happens. "I swear their food just keeps getting better and better and better every time I go."

It's not in Canggu. It's not close. And Christian doesn't care. "It's definitely worth it."

MAURI, Seminyak

"I've got a real soft spot in my heart for MAURI."

MAURI is Chef Maurizio Bombini's contemporary Italian restaurant on Jalan Petitenget in Seminyak, an intimate 40-seater where the Apulian-born chef draws from his Southern Italian roots to create dishes that are refined without being fussy. Everything is handmade. Ingredients come from the rooftop hydroponic garden and local Balinese farmers. It's the kind of place where the food speaks for itself.

But for Christian, it goes beyond the plate. "I really like the food, the service," he says. "I'm really into a table that makes me feel comfortable, and there's one table that is under a tree, and it looks into the kitchen, and you can watch them preparing." He's been back more times than he can count. "I've always had fantastic experiences."

Meimei, Canggu

"Meimei was one of the first places that made me feel sexy."

Yes, he actually said that. And apparently he's not the only one. Three out of four people Christian's interviewer spoke to that day name-dropped Meimei. That's not a coincidence.

Meimei is a Southeast Asian barbecue restaurant on Jalan Batu Bolong in Canggu, born from the YUKI Bali family. Everything is cooked over charcoal and wood fire, the menu is a love letter to Indonesian ingredients, and the space itself is dark, moody, and magnetic. Christian respects the people behind it just as much as the food. "The guys that built it and run it, they just do it so well. I know they really care about what they're doing." He pauses again. "Sometimes when people are delivering something at that level or at that stylish level, it doesn't have the quality, but Meimei's got all of it."

nüde (Multiple Locations)

He put his own café on the list, and honestly? Fair enough.

"I don't order off-menu," Christian says, "but I always know that when I eat in my café, I can trust that we're going to have consistent quality." There's a deeper reason too, one that anyone who's lived in Bali long enough will understand. "I know it's a clean kitchen, and that always really helps in Bali as well, knowing that it's coming from a clean place."

It's not ego. It's a founder who genuinely trusts the thing he built. And in a place where kitchen standards can vary wildly from one restaurant to the next, that kind of confidence hits different.

Saltlick, Seminyak

"The three times I've been there, it's always been an exceptional experience."

Saltlick is the premium steakhouse perched above KU DE TA in Seminyak, the iconic beach club's newest venture, led by South African Chef Jeremy Hunt. It's wood-fired steaks, house-hung charcuterie, panoramic ocean views, and the kind of service that makes you feel like the only table in the room. Christian went when they first opened and has been back twice since.

For someone who openly admits he's not a "chef-y person," his measure of a restaurant is refreshingly simple. "A lot of my value is in the service, in the environment, and the smoothness of delivery," he explains. "And Saltlick really delivers."

Christian Reyno is the founder of nüde, with locations across Berawa, Umalas, Babakan, and Pererenan (Bingin and Seminyak on the way).