Restaurants in Yogyakarta

During our time in Jogjakarta proper, we tried out 3 restaurants: Nanamia, Via Via, and Milas. While we were able to cook, and thus we did for at least one, if not all meals + snacks in a day, sometimes we felt like something different.

Kyle wanted to try a couple more local dishes and I often felt like taking a walk. Getting food was a good reason and also provided a destination. Each restaurant was a little over 2km from our Airbnb. Yogyakarta is a rather nice city to walk around as long as you don’t mind the friendly locals asking you questions and giving you recommendations on every corner.

The Restaurants:

1. Nanamia Pizzeria

Upon arriving in our Airbnb in Yogyakarta city, we were quite hungry. We decided we would go get something to eat before making our way to the grocery store. After a little research we decided on Nanamia. You can find a number of blog posts written on each of these restaurants, such as this post – only they are in Javanese.

There may be some slight issues in translation but many come out to be comical. Either way- if you would like more information on any of these places, try searching for them and check out the perspective of more local people. Don’t be afraid to click the translate button. It’s how we found most of our information. We discovered that Nanamia was rated highly and was also not too far.

Pleasant Outdoor Atmosphere

The walk there was pleasant and we did not have much trouble finding it. We entered past a gate with a guard and some motorcycle parking and found the restaurant in the back. It’s basically entirely outdoors with some covered open-air seating and some tables out in the grass. It felt very summer-y. We also saw some decorative lights which likely turn on during the night.

Easy Ordering

To order here, you record your choice(s) on a notepad and then bring it to your waiter/waitress who confirms your order. We preferred this to the standard style as we didn’t have someone constantly checking if we were ready to order, nor did we need to flag anyone down after waiting.

Menu

The menu had a variety of items on it- many different types of pizza, soups, salads, pastas, and paninis. Their drink menu was also fairly extensive with a range of teas, juices, and smoothies.

Because it was hot outside we decided to order a water and a smoothie. I personally was not very much in the mood for pizza and Kyle wanted meat on his pizza anyway so I ordered a greek salad and garlic bread. I was happy with this food.

Kyle ordered a Hawaiian pizza. He said it was really good.

They also brought us a couple slices of bread in a basket which we shared.

Price

The total cost for our meal (a smoothie, a water, a pizza, a salad, and an order of garlic bread) was 131,000 Indonesian Rupiah, or $9.84. We really hadn’t eaten much that day yet so we felt more justified in eating/spending more for one meal. And it’s a much better deal than you’ll find in the U.S.

2. Via Via

The second place we tried was a restaurant called Via Via. We discovered it was located on the “foreigner”/tourist street. Before venturing on this street we had only seen 2 other foreigners while out, one of which, we realized later that evening happened to be staying at our same Airbnb!

Anyway, there were a number of hotels and restaurants which are more “western-friendly” here meaning people speak english, you will likely know what you are ordering, see other foreigners, and have some western food options. Note that you will not see anything like KFC or McDonalds. All of these places have some local/personal touch.

More Than A Restaurant

Via Via actually has 18 locations across the world and in Yogyakarta they have a guesthouse, restaurant, bakery, and gift/souvenir shop. They also have yoga classes, events, projects, and trainings. We only visited the restaurant but I think it would be nice to get involved had we been staying on this street and for a longer period of time.

Diverse Menu

The menu has a variety of dishes, both local and not local. (Here is their takeout menu.) We visited on two occasions and ordered different food each time. The first time we visited, I chose vegetable lasagna. It was huge, delicious, and very filling. It had some interesting touches such as onion rings on top. The second time, I ordered a greek wrap which was also very good.

Kyle ordered a barbecue chicken the first time and a local vegetarian dish (including curry and tempeh) the second time. He also enjoyed both his meals.

Go Veg For Hearty Meals

This was not the first time at a restaurant in that Kyle ordered a meat dish the first time and decided to go vegetarian the second. I advised him on this decision because I have noticed oftentimes vegetarian meals (my meals) provide more food and contrary to what some may think, can be quite filling. They are generally cheaper too (in the U.S. at least – it may vary by country).

He sometimes finds this to be true as well and felt very satisfied with his vegetarian dish. The other dish would be filling for most people, but Kyle can eat a lot.

One time we ordered an appetizer of falafel balls. It was alright.

For drinks, we ordered a smoothie/juice the first time and water the second time.

Price

Both times: one time with two dishes, an appetizer and water and the other time with two dishes and a smoothie- the cost was 105,500 Indonesian Ruppuah ($8.23).

3. Milas Vegetarian

The third restaurant we tried (and we were glad we did) was Milas Vegetarian restaurant. It’s pretty much the vegetarian restaurant in Yogyakarta even though others offer some options. If you tell anyone you are looking for vegetarian food, this is where they’ll direct you. While tempeh and tofu are popular locally, we did still have trouble finding more local places with vegetarian food so went for the safer options.

Feel Local In A Nice Setting

Milas is a great dining experience not only because of it’s food but also because of the restaurant itself. Entering the area- a sort of large courtyard with various plants, sculptures made of recycled materials, and earthy decor, you are able to walk along a bamboo path to choose the hut you would like to eat in- which will probably be based on what is available. Our hut was occupied by one other family and had an additional open table aside from our table. We enjoyed the ground seating (on mats) because we find it comfortable.

As is true in other places that have this style of seating (such as some places we found in Vietnam), you must remove your shoes before entering. We really enjoyed the atmosphere as whole.

Gift Shop

They also had a gift shop you could check out afterwards or while waiting for your food.

The bathroom was not unlike other local bathrooms. Fun little place.

The menu was extensive so we took some time to make a decision.

Appetizers Anyone?

Kyle thought we he needed an appetizer so we ordered cassava fries. We had tried cassava chips, a local food and enjoyed it so decided to try out the fries as well. They were accompanied by a fresh ketchup and a spicy sauce. The texture is somewhere between a potato and sweet potato fry but with a flavor of its own.

The restaurant actually provided an appetizer of their own as well (which we did not know prior to ordering.) We aren’t sure what it was except that it was green, leaf-like, and fried. Luckily I did not have to wonder too much about its contents because this was an exclusively vegetarian restaurant. It was a fried green thing though so if it did contain meat that would have been quite strange.

For my meal, I ordered a pesto pasta and it was delicious!

Kyle does not remember the name of its dish but it involved fried rice and cashews. He liked it.

Cost

For once we were provided with complimentary water but Kyle also ordered us a drink each (despite me asking him not to- he heard me wrong). They were good and refreshing nonetheless. The total cost for 2 meals, an appetizer and 2 drinks was 112,000 Indonesian Rupiah ($8.21.)

Here is a map showing the 3 restaurants:

~B~