A Cheat Sheet for Indonesian Food in London

Reflecting back, the cuisine I ate the most in London was Indonesian food. Or was it British food? Alas, I ate Indonesian food quite frequently there.

Though I make it a point to find and eat Indonesian food whenever I visit a new country, I do it more to experience the local interpolation of my home-country food. Let’s call it cultural research.

In London, though, I had it on at least five different days in three different restaurants, ranging from excellent to okay-ish. And this means I am semi-qualified to give you this cheat sheet of Indonesian food in London.

Indonesian Food in London

Now, let me start with my absolutely fave Indonesian food in London:-

Pino’s Warung – Best Indonesian Food in London

Located in a small lane, Pino’s Warung was not the easiest stall to find in the Camden Market, but I promise you that it’s worth the effort. The restaurant, named after the owner, specializes in Indonesian street food (from Bakso to Lontong) and targets on-budget patrons.

I heard about Pino’s Warung from Yandi, the owner of Ngopi (featured second on this list), who generously recommended both this place and Bali Bali (third on the list).

On the day we went to Pino’s, I had Nasi Padang, and Fafa got Ayam Penyet with rice. It tasted as authentic as how it would be back in Indonesia. 10/10 ━ especially for the price, accompanied by the typical Indonesian-friendly service.

Unit 2, Italian Alley, Camden Market. London NW1 8AH, UK

Ngopi UK – Indonesian Breakfast in London

It was purely by coincidence (when taking bus 38 on the wrong route) that I spotted Ngopi UK. I told Fafa that it was an Indonesian coffee shop and that we should check it out sometime. That “some time” happened to be the following day when we walked from our hotel to Ngopi.

To my absolute delight, Ngopi not only sells Indonesian coffee but plenty of choices of Indonesian breakfast/street food. To be fair, we Indo don’t differentiate breakfast from street food all that much.

While Fafa asked for fried Indomie with a side of Kimchi almost immediately, I was torn between all the choices. And when I asked for an off-menu Batagor (fried fish dumplings drizzled in peanut sauce), they said it could be done. Yay!! We also got Indonesian coffee to start the morning feast.

We ate while chatting with Yandi, the guy in Ngopi. As usual, we exchanged our Indo-immigrant stories, and I asked for some London recommendations. Also, as usual, I had to explain that Fafa couldn’t speak Bahasa before asking for the spiciest chilli sauce in the store.

Ngopi stocks Sambal Ibu Jari, the same brand we have at home. Perfect.

We returned to Ngopi the day before our flight back to London to say our goodbyes, good luck and repeat orders – this time with Pisang Bakar as dessert.

Ngopi UK has Kue like Lapis Legit, and they do full meals like Ayam Penyet on the weekends.

78 Dalston Ln, London E8 3AH, United Kingdom

Bali Bali – Not Really Indonesian Food in London

There is a Mallu word that Fafa uses to describe a mishmash of things, from the grammatical errors in my blog posts to the questionable designs during our house-hunting years, Avial. I find the word so funny that it makes me laugh every time he says it, even when he uses it to complain about my writing. It’s also the word that came to mind when I tried to describe eating in Bali Bali in London.

We went to Bali Bali after Yandi from Ngopi recommended it. Located in the Picadilly Circus area, with full glass windows showcasing the indoors filled with Indonesian decors, Bali Bali was easy to find.

The first time we were there, I was so excited that I convinced Fafa to get the Spicy Rijsttafel set menu which contains eight of their most popular dishes according to the menu, for £27 per person. It was expensive, but I remembered the Indonesian Rijsttafel I had with my cousins in Amsterdam and thought even if it was half as good, it would be worth it.

Imagine my disappointment when I started eating and felt like something was missing. It tasted good, but something didn’t feel right.

It took me a few more “taste-test” before realizing why. Though the restaurant is called Bali Bali (twice as Indonesian as one can assume), it was not Indonesian food that I was eating that day. More like a mishmash of Malay-Singaporean and Malaysian cuisines – leaning heavily towards Peranakan cuisine.

A week after the failed Rijsttafel, I went to Bali Bali again. I wanted to give it another chance as it was dubbed as the best Indonesian restaurant in London ━ many times on Google.

To keep it simple, I ordered Tauco Udang (my favourite dish in the world), which I knew from the get-go was a Peranakan dish. I had it with white rice, and aside from not-really-spice homemade sambal, it was quite good.

But it wasn’t Indonesian food, was it?

So yeah, the food was good, and so was the service. But let’s not: 1) mishmash different types of Asian cuisines (I saw Thai on the menu as well ━ as said before, Avial); 2) and plaster the most recognizable place in Indonesia (twice) as the restaurant name.

Maybe this is why Bali Bali is known as “the best” “Indonesian” restaurant in London because the food is good, and if you are not Indonesian, there is a high chance you can’t really differentiate some of the dishes. Just know that no self-respecting Indonesian eats Satay sans peanut sauce (please refer to the second last picture).

150 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8HL, United Kingdom

Indonesian Food Around the World series: A Cheat Sheet for Indonesian Food in London / Rijsttafel-ing Indonesian Food in Amsterdam / Indonesia Food in Zurich My Most Expensive Meal in Switzerland / Authentic Indonesian Food in Seoul at Bakso Bejo Korea / It’s Java Authentic Indonesian Street Food in Auckland / Makan A Celebration of Indonesian Cuisine in Melbourne / Rasa Rosa A So So Indonesian Food in Canberra / Indonesian Restaurants in Cairns.

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