Ubud has quietly become one of Southeast Asia's great cafe towns, and a new roundup from Honeycombers Bali makes the case with 20 tried-and-tested spots for 2026. The common thread? A view worth lingering over, whether that's rice paddies, jungle canopy or the bustle of a main crossroads. The list was compiled by an editor who has lived on the island since 2006, and every cafe featured has been visited by her or the Honeycombers team.

At the top of the picks is Powder Room, a glasshouse-style cafe from the team behind chef Will Goldfarb's Room4Dessert, which sits right next door. Expect serious pastry work: vanilla crème brûlée bomboloni, fried chicken bomboloni, croissants and a cult sourdough soft serve made from leftover sourdough. Breakfasts start from IDR 39,000, and the tip is to come at lunch because the soft serve sells out by afternoon.

On Monkey Forest Road, Watercress Ubud is the hearty brunch option, with breezy upstairs seating where monkeys sometimes swing past. Its Benny Brunch comes with a side, coffee, juice and coconut and raspberry chia pudding, while the menu shifts to Mediterranean dishes later in the day, including a slow-cooked lamb shoulder with mash. Almost everything is locally sourced, and it's steps from Monkey Forest and Ubud Palace, so you can build a whole sightseeing morning around it.

For people-watching, Simply Social sits on one of Ubud's busiest intersections opposite Ubud Palace, serving a generous Social Breakfast, avocado toast and burritos by day, then poke bowls, sushi and cocktails into the evening. Melali Ubud, on Jl. Sri Wedari, brings Moroccan-inspired interiors, falafel bowls, shakshuka and near-daily happy hours, with a sunny terrace out back or air-con inside.

The most original stop may be Cloud Bakery, run by the Balinese family behind Bebek Tepi Sawah. Rather than copying the Melbourne-style cafe formula, it bakes with Indonesian ingredients: Kusamba hand-harvested salt in its salt bread, single-origin cacao in pain au chocolat, duck fat croissants, and lontar palm in the pancakes and a signature lontar latte. It's a handy stop on the road to Goa Gajah temple, and it's pet-friendly with a resident cat named Binky.

Further south towards Peliatan, Garden Kafe inside The Yoga Barn serves smoothie bowls, moringa porridge and detox shots in an open-air setting, open to everyone, not just class-goers. RÜSTERS is the one where you plan a quick breakfast and stay for hours: coffee, rice field views, a ceramics workshop, then sunset drinks.

The list also sorts options by need: Pison and Huma Cafe for rice paddy views; Zest, Alchemy and Moksa for vegan food; Suka Espresso, Tucky and Yellow Flower for laptop-friendly nomad work; KAFE, Lazy Cats and Melali for community atmosphere. Breakfast prices across the picks range from roughly IDR 39,000 to 85,000, so even the priciest brunches remain affordable by Western standards.

Who is this for? Anyone planning a Bali trip with slow mornings on the itinerary, or digital nomads weighing up Ubud as a base. Find the full 20-cafe list at Honeycombers Bali.