If you want a day on the Bukit mapped properly, ask the man who moved to Indonesia specifically to stop being a tourist.
That's Simon Maillard, chef and owner of Seed, the garden restaurant a two-minute walk from the steps down to Bingin Beach, and, for the record, a chef who was never supposed to be one. There's no diploma, no stage under a big name. A kid from Normandy and the second of eight, he started cooking for the family at ten, refused to pick a direction at fourteen, quit a history degree after three months, and then spent a decade in the Pacific opening resorts as a purchasing man: sourcing rice and olive oil and lobster for palace-trained chefs, then standing in the pastry section asking why this vanilla, why this chocolate. That was the whole education: he tasted his way through it. He learned a Thai island's green papaya salad by joining the cook's short-handed kids for football until they let him into the kitchen, and spent weeks in Kerala learning to grow the pepper and cardamom that are still his favourite spice.
The cooking came later and fast: a twelve-seat restaurant in the Alps that was full on its first night, then seven years as a private holiday chef (superyachts, two Cannes Film Festivals as head chef, a now-legendary dinner built around six different truffles that he pulled off while quietly panicking through the kitchen window). He came to Indonesia because "it's not because of Bali, it's because of Indonesia: 17,000 islands, and all islands are different," built Seed in 2019, lost it to COVID four months later, and reopened in 2023 as a looser, warmer, bistro-style room where he braises rendang the way a French bistro braises boeuf bourguignon. He still cooks between service and the Kudanil Explorer expedition yacht up in Raja Ampat, and he still says yes to almost everything. So when he maps a day on the peninsula he knows better than most, you follow it. Here, in his own words, is the perfect Bukit day.
Morning: Drifter Surf Shop, Uluwatu
"I start my day at Drifter for a coffee and a small breakfast before a surf. Coffee and a bowl. They are the best."
The day opens where Bukit surf culture has lived since 2008. Drifter Surf Shop & Café sits on the corner of Jalan Labuan Sait and Jalan Pantai Bingin (boards, books, and a café all under one roof) brewing coffee from the Mandailing Estate in Sumatra and turning out the kind of clean, fresh breakfast that sets you up for the water rather than sinking you. Simon's order is exactly as advertised: a coffee, a bowl, and then down to the waves. "They are the best," he says, and he means the ritual as much as the food.
Lunch: Warung Dewata Ibu, Jimbaran
"For lunch I go to Jimbaran, to Warung Dewata Ibu. It's only ayam: they cook it one way, spicy or super spicy. Very local. They do the satay with charcoal, wood fire. Super tasty."
This is the deeply local stop, and Simon keeps it beautifully simple. The warung does ayam (chicken) and essentially nothing else, cooked one way, at one of two heat levels: spicy, or super spicy. The sate comes off charcoal and wood fire, and the whole thing is exactly the kind of unfussy, single-minded local cooking a self-taught chef reveres. It's a reminder that some of the Bukit's best eating has no concept deck at all: just one dish, done the same way for years, and done properly.
Afternoon: Fleur, Bingin
"For a small coffee, a quiet place: Fleur Bingin. It's in deep Bingin, not on the main road. Very quiet, super atmosphere inside. And not far from Dreamland."
When the afternoon needs slowing down, Simon disappears to Fleur: a café-atelier tucked off the main road in the depths of Bingin, near Dreamland. It's an earthy, boho hideaway of wooden furniture, dried flowers and vinyl on the sofa, serving specialty coffee, high-grade matcha, and pastries (croissants, madeleines, chocolatines). Quiet and full of atmosphere, it's the antidote to the peninsula's busier corners: somewhere to read, work, or simply sit while the heat of the day passes.
Golden Hour: Bingin Beach
"Definitely end of the day at Bingin Beach. There's no more warung anymore, but we still have all the mama who sell fresh beer and coconut. We need to support them."
His golden-hour pick isn't a venue at all: it's the beach on his doorstep, and a small act of loyalty. Bingin's famous cliffside warungs have been cleared, but the local mama still come down to sell cold beer and fresh coconuts on the sand, and Simon is quietly insistent about where your rupiah should go. "We need to support them," he says. Sit on the beach, watch the sun drop over the reef, and buy from the women who've always been there.
Dinner: Osteria Luna, Uluwatu
"For dinner I go to Osteria Luna, because it's Italian and they do very great Italian food, all the pasta. And they have lots of natural wine. I love natural wine."
Dinner leans into Simon's not-so-secret weakness. Osteria Luna on Jalan Pantai Padang-Padang is the coastal-Italian room that opened in 2025 from the Pulau Project team (the group behind Yuki and Meimei), all Puglian white stone, candlelight and a wine wall. The kitchen runs crudo di mare, oysters, wood-fired pizza and pasta like rigatoni alla vodka, but for Simon the draw is the pour: a serious natural-wine list from small independent producers. "I love natural wine," he says, which, from a Frenchman who runs his own monthly French wine dinners, counts as a real endorsement.
Nightcap: Seed, Bingin
"And I finish with a cocktail at Seed, because we have a beautiful outside bar."
He ends the day at home, and why not. Back at Seed, the farm-to-table French-Asian garden restaurant he built beside Bingin Beach, the outdoor bar pours cocktails built on house-infused spirits under the trees. It's the natural full stop to a Bukit day: the place where Simon's whole journey, from the papaya salad to the rendang, is on the plate and in the glass. Come for the nightcap; stay because the garden makes it hard to leave.
Simon Maillard is the chef and owner of Seed, the farm-to-table French-Asian restaurant in Bingin, Uluwatu: expect garden-grown herbs, wood-fired cooking, house-infused spirits, and a monthly five-course French wine dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Simon Maillard?
Simon Maillard is the self-taught French chef and owner of Seed, a farm-to-table French-Asian restaurant in Bingin, Uluwatu. Born in Normandy and trained on the job across the Pacific, Asia and the French Alps, he spent seven years as a private holiday chef before building Seed, which he reopened in 2023 after COVID.
What is Seed in Bingin?
Seed is Simon Maillard's garden restaurant a two-minute walk from Bingin Beach, serving French-Asian, Nusantara-rooted food — think rendang braised like boeuf bourguignon — with garden-grown herbs and wood-fired cooking. It also runs a bar of house-infused spirits and a monthly five-course French wine dinner.
Where should you eat on a Bukit day trip?
Simon's Bukit day runs from a coffee-and-bowl breakfast at Drifter Surf Shop, to a spicy ayam lunch at Warung Dewata Ibu in Jimbaran, an afternoon coffee at Fleur in Bingin, sunset drinks on Bingin Beach, and dinner at Osteria Luna. He finishes with a cocktail at his own Seed.
What kind of restaurant is Osteria Luna?
Osteria Luna is a coastal-Italian restaurant on Jalan Pantai Padang-Padang in Uluwatu, opened in 2025 by the Pulau Project team behind Yuki and Meimei. It's known for pasta, wood-fired pizza, seafood crudo, and a natural-wine list from small independent producers.
Where can you find quiet coffee in Uluwatu?
For a quiet coffee away from the crowds, Simon recommends Fleur in deep Bingin, off the main road near Dreamland. It's a café-atelier with an earthy, artistic interior, specialty coffee and matcha, and homemade pastries — well-suited to reading or working.
