Ubud: The Benny Brunch at Watercress

Most hotels and guest houses in Ubud include breakfast, but it’s often local breakfast consisting of noodles or rice. I’ve really come to like the different kinds of local breakfast, but sometimes, after being in Bali for a while, I crave a good Western brunch, and Watercress is one of the best places for brunch in Ubud if you ask me.

The Benny Brunch is famous throughout Ubud and includes Eggs Benedict, chia pudding with fresh fruit and granola, as well as coffee and juice. There are several different kinds of Eggs Benedict to choose from, but I always end up ordering their Eggs Benny with Gravlax, served on an English muffin with sautéed asparagus on the side.

They’re serving a lot of Benny Brunches at Watercress, and maybe that’s why their poached eggs are always perfect (or maybe it’s the other way around; that their poached eggs are perfect and that’s why their Benny brunch is so popular:)). They ask you how you want your eggs, and if you’re like me, you’d want that yolk perfectly runny. Rest assured, Watercress won’t let you down. The hollandaise sauce is also spot on, and so is the coffee, but if you’ve been around Ubud, you’d know that coffee is overall quite excellent at most places, so it’s the Benny Brunch that will be your main reason for putting Watercress on your list. If you’re not up for a full Benny Brunch, you can also order individual dishes from the menu. Watercress is open for dinner too. I haven’t had dinner there, but the restaurant seemed just as packed around dinner time as during the day, so I assume that they have some nice dinner options too.

Watercress is located on the busy Jl. Monkey Forest, in one of the most touristy areas of Ubud, and this very fact made me avoid Watercress for a long time, despite the restaurant being right next to my hotel. Fortunately, the craving for poached eggs became too strong while I still had several weeks left of my trip, so I ended up eating there many times.

Breakfast at Watercress obviously costs a bit more than local breakfast, but it’s a really good place for brunch. Every day is brunch day, and brunch is served until 3 pm.

Good for: Breakfast and brunch.

Watercress, Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia