12 Best Bars in Bali 2026: Cocktail Bars, Speakeasies & Sunset Spots

These are the things we like, very much, about Whisper Cove, the hidden speakeasy up a secret stairway on the second floor of Maluku on Jalan Monkey Forest. The dark vintage glory of the space, where rich wood, amber light and black leather banquettes set a stage of mystery. The bold spirit of the black panther, the symbol of a bar that balances raw power with quiet sophistication. Readers voted it Gold for Best Bar in Bali at Honeycombers' Bali's Best Awards 2026.

The menu runs in seasons, and Season Two: Timeless Reimagined has reignited our love for local flavours: the Senja, with green-tea gin, barley shochu and matcha foam served in a teapot; the Warisan, a spicy gimlet with green-peppercorn local gin; and the Pesisir, in a coconut glass. Pair a second round with the crispy taro and sweet potato chips with smoky green sambal. The team here are true professionals, and walk-ins are welcome, though weekends are worth booking.

From the team behind Locavore NXT, Night Rooster on Jalan Goutama is Ubud's most serious cocktail bar, and in 2017 it became Ubud's first entry on Asia's 50 Best Bars.

Head mixologist Raka Ambarawan builds the drinks around foraged Indonesian ingredients and local folklore, and the team makes its own ferments, vermouth and bitters, so the menu changes often. Try the Moonbeam Lover or Monkey Business.

Ambar means "sky" in Sanskrit, and this elevated bar beside the Wantilan lobby at Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, has an outdoor deck over the resort's forest. It won Silver for Best Bar in Bali at Honeycombers' Bali's Best Awards 2025.

Head mixologist Adi San's signature series draws on the Taru Pramana, the Balinese manuscript on medicinal plants, with coconut-aged cocktails finished at the table and a house-made vermouth. Live jazz plays every evening from 6:30 PM, and the Japanese-fusion food pairs well.

Named after the pinstripe suit of the Prohibition era, Pinstripe at Viceroy Bali is a 1930s speakeasy-style cocktail, wine and cigar bar overlooking rice fields and jungle, with a humidor and a cigar terrace.

Its anthology menu honours 1930s figures linked to Ubud: The Primitivist for Walter Spies, with rum, coffee, passion fruit and pandan, and The Composer for Colin McPhee. There are Negroni and Martini flights too, and bar dishes come from Apéritif next door.

Opened in 2009 and reached by an inclinator down the cliff, Rock Bar at AYANA is Bali's classic sunset-cocktail experience, now spread over about 270 metres of cliffside decks above the Indian Ocean.

Try the Rock My World, with kaffir lime and lemongrass vodka, yuzu and pineapple. Arrive early for sunset, because the inclinator queue builds, and note that it can close in bad weather.

Sunset Park is the OMA-designed rooftop on Level 3, the highest point of Desa Potato Head, open only for the sunset window from 5 to 9 PM.

The drinks are built around arak, with jackfruit, candlenut and pineapple versions such as the Cloudscape and the Pineapple Old Fashioned, served with Indonesian tapas. Downstairs, Potato Head Beach Club made Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2017 and 2018, and its Kookaburra is still on the menu.

On the rooftop of Hotel Tugu in Canggu, Ji Terrace spreads over two open-air floors with 180° views of the Indian Ocean and Batu Bolong beach, decorated with antique Asian art and a long teak bar.

The cocktails are Asian-inspired: the smoking, volcano-inspired Coco Sexo is the showpiece. It faces west, so book a front-rail seat for sunset, and DJs play in the evening.

On the sand at Alila Seminyak, the Beach Bar is a breezy spot for barefoot sunset drinks, with daybeds, thin-crust pizzas and DJ or acoustic sets as the sun goes down.

Its cocktails follow a zero-waste approach, turning rinds and leftover juices into ingredients. Try the Madam CF or the Balinese Long Island with Earl Grey-infused arak, and the Island Roast grill runs from Friday to Sunday, 5 – 8 PM.

AFTERTHOUGHT is a low-lit bar and lounge in Kerobokan whose drinks started as late-night experiments behind the bar, made with local spirits such as Nusa Cana rum and arak.

Signatures include the Main Character (yuzu gin, chili and celery) and the Manggarita with unripe mango and smoked agave, at fair prices. It is quiet on weeknights, and Friday to Sunday are 90s nights.

The Sayan House is a Japanese–South American restaurant above the Ayung River valley, and its Sunset Bar sits at the edge of the jungle.

Come before dinner for a Yuki del Ron hibiscus margarita or the Ume and Snake, made with snakefruit arak and umeshu, while the light drops over the valley.

Below The Deck at Batu Karang Lembongan Resort, The Howff is a Scottish-run whisky and gin "dungeon" on the rocks above the sea, with single malts from Islay to Speyside.

The cocktail list, designed by Italian mixologist Luca Rosignoli, uses local fruit: try the Kuba Tua with rambutan, or the Lossie Haze with smoked Speyside whisky. It's the nightcap after a Lembongan sunset.

If you are staying in Nusa Dua, R Bar is the art-filled lobby and lounge bar of the Renaissance Bali Nusa Dua Resort, with craft cocktails, cold-brew coffee and beach views.

It is a relaxed hotel bar rather than a destination cocktail bar, good for an easy afternoon or early-evening drink.