If you love locally sourced Jimbaran Seafood then you may be tempted to visit the brainchild of Master Chef Frederic Boulay, the Azure Beach Restaurant.
We wondered whether this draw was enough to put this excellent restaurant on par with the best beach clubs in Bali and we sent our team to find out. This is what they learned.
Introduction – Getting To Azure Beach Restaurant
If there’s one thing everyone should try in Bali, it’s fresh seafood and that’s best served in Jimbaran where the catch is landed.
The good news is that Jimbaran is fairly close to all the major beach towns and even Ubud and it shouldn’t take too long (even in Bali traffic) to get to and from this restaurant.
They even have their own parking spaces which means you won’t need to worry about finding somewhere to park and walking to this restaurant, and you can be dropped off by a Grab or Gojek at the entrance.
Where Is Azure Beach Restaurant? 65V8+RP Kelan Beach, Jl. Segara Madu, Tuban, Kec. Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Website: Azure Beach Restaurant
Opening Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Nyepi
What’s Inside Azure Beach Restaurant?
Azure Beach Restaurant has a nice pool area which is set back from the beach and various seating options. As with most restaurants in Bali, there are food and drinks served throughout the venue.
Our Review Breakdown For Azure Beach Restaurant
We have reviewed the Azure Beach Restaurant in the same way as all our reviews. This means that it is being compared fairly to beach clubs in Bali.
Our team visited the restaurant and they graded the Azure Beach Restaurant from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) on a set of 20 different criteria (listed below with individual scores).
Once the visit was complete, they met in our offices and voted on the final score in each category, to ensure it was fully representative of everyone’s experience.
Then, one team member writes up the review based on the votes and discussion around them. The reviews remain in place for a minimum of one year before we revisit the club and amend the scores as necessary.
Pre-Club Advertising
We haven’t seen any advertising online or in the real world for Azure Beach Restaurant. This is a bit of a shame as we feel that one thing that really helps people immerse themselves in a beach club environment is other people.
Pre-club advertising is essential to ensuring that a place is busy and that you can appreciate the sophistication and variety on display with others.
Location
The Azure Beach Restaurant is located in Jimbaran and it’s a great location not far from Kuta. It’s going to be a bit of a drive from Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu and Nusa Dua because of traffic, the physical distance isn’t that far.
However, you can’t fault Azure Beach Restaurant for that – this is a problem with infrastructure here in Bali.
It’s also within walking distance of other restaurants and bars and even the local market, so you can enjoy the taste of the amazing food here for one meal and try somewhere else for the next.
The only issue with this location is it’s very close to the airport and sometimes, planes fly by and disrupt your relaxation.
Booking Process & Seating Options
You book a seat at the Azure Beach Restaurant online using the Chope App (either via the Azure Beach Restaurant website or directly in the app).
It’s pretty easy to pick the type of seating you want and the date you want to come, but there’s no map function and you can’t pick a particular seat.
You also can’t pay a deposit through Chope and that means they will take into account the time of your booking, very seriously, turn up late and you will lose your seat.
Entry Fee
We can’t argue with the entrance fee at Azure Beach Restaurant, that’s because there isn’t one. As with all the best beach clubs in Bali, you can come and enjoy a seat without committing to anything more than the price of a drink.
We wish all beach clubs were like this, there’s no good reason to charge admission fees or to prevent people from getting a feel for the venue before they spend some money.
There is also no “entry fee by the back door” at Azure Beach Restaurant, you can sit anywhere you can find a seat.
Minimum Spend
There is no minimum spend at the Azure Beach Restaurant of any kind. That means you can sit in any of the seats at this restaurant and focus on relaxation rather than running up a tab.
This ensures that Azure Beach appears on our list of the best Balinese beach clubs with no minimum spend.
However, while this offer is generous, it does mean that you can struggle to hold a seat in busy periods and if you turn up late for a booking on a busy day, you will lose your seat entirely.
We prefer a small minimum spend that allows us to secure our booking online, after all, you don’t want to drive for an hour to be told that you have to go elsewhere, because the traffic made you 20 minutes late, do you?
Welcome And Security
There’s a decent welcome at this place but for all the sophistication of the venue, it’s not the most enthusiastic welcome we’ve encountered.
We also didn’t get our bags searched on the doors and we’re big believers in security checks, they help to keep everyone safe inside a venue.
Inclusions
With no entrance fee and no minimum spend, it won’t come as a surprise to learn that there are no inclusions at the Azure Beach Restaurant. If you need a towel you can rent one, or buy one (they’re not cheap) from the gift shop.
There’s also no facility for an upgraded experience and we like VIP/premier packages as they look awesome when we log our day out in our Facebook and Instagram feeds.
Service
We thought that overall the service was first rate and it’s clear that Master Chef Frederic Boulay and his team are all about excellent hospitality.
The staff are attentive and kind and are only too happy to clarify menu items or deal with special requests from customers.
However, it wasn’t quite the best service we’ve had on the island, either, but it was very good.
Entertainment
This is more of a restaurant than a beach club and that means you get some piped music but the only other entertainment is the food.
Given that we rate food and drinks elsewhere, we can’t apply any points for the cuisine in this section.
Pool Quality
There’s only one pool, but it’s large and attractive and on our visit, we found that the pool and the surrounding area were clean and attractive.
We’d have no problems making contact with the water at this restaurant on any visit. It’s a great place to swim. You can also access some watersports on the beach, but this isn’t affiliated with the restaurant.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
We thought that the food was a little on the expensive side for a beach club or beach restaurant but Master Chef Frederic Boulay and his reputation don’t come free, obviously.
The drinks were also a little pricey when compared to other beach clubs but the happy hour pricing is great value. Settle in with a bucket or buy one get one cocktails and enjoy the view of Kelan Beach for cheap.
Food And Drink Quality
The food is, as you’d expect, excellent and while it wasn’t the best we’ve ever had in a beach club, we polished off every morsel of food that we ordered and left this place feeling stuffed and happy.
Drinks were also well-mixed and contained sufficient alcohol to justify their price tag.
Sunset View
The sunset view on this side of Bali is amazing and Jimbaran shares the sunset with Kuta, Seminyak and Canggu.
Given that many people come to Bali just to witness the incredible tropical sunsets, we always think it’s a good thing when you get a nice view from your beach club seat.
Music And Ambiance
The music is piped in but the ambience of this place is pretty good. The vibe is all about relaxation and if you like to chill out by the sea, you will be in your element here.
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card anywhere inside the Azure Beach Restaurant but as with most places in Bali, they’re still not advertising QRIS or e-wallet payments.
Exit Process
It’s a restaurant, you just walk back out the way you came in or head down Kelan Beach once you’ve paid your bill to leave.
You will be wished a warm farewell by the staff too.
Transportation
This area of Kelan Beach is easy to drop off at and there’s parking at the restaurant for drivers.
However, this part of Jimbaran isn’t as busy as the beach towns and you may face some (mainly minor) delays getting a Grab or Gojek home, particularly at busier times of the day.
Social Media Presence
There is a social media presence but both their Facebook and Instagram accounts haven’t been updated in forever and they don’t offer the most flattering view of this restaurant with what they do have.
This is something that should be very easy for the venue to address and make the place even more attractive to visitors.
Other/General Comments
We were impressed with this place, it’s nice to be viewed as a valued customer rather than to be nickeled and dimed as with some of the beach clubs.
The fresh fish is great and we enjoyed our time at Azure Beach Restaurant.
Our Overall Opinion Of Azure Beach Restaurant
It’s not quite a beach club but it’s the perfect blend of pool and restaurant on Kelan Beach in Jimbaran.
If you want a beach for a sunset drink and some excellent food, you could do worse than hit this place up for the taste of fresh seafood in Bali.
We wouldn’t travel too far for this place on its own but we’d certainly make the drive from Kuta or Uluwatu to this area and stop in at Azure Beach Restaurant when we did.
Azure does very well in our beach club rankings but why not see which clubs do even better?
FAQs
Can You Swim At Azure Beach Restaurant?
Yes, you can swim at this restaurant. There is a decent-sized pool that you can use for free and we found that the pool was clean and attractive during our visit.
What Can You Do At Azure Beach Restaurant?
You can enjoy food and drinks (they have regular promotions, particularly on a Sunday), swim in the pool and take a walk along the beach. The emphasis here is on relaxation rather than partying.
Is Azure Beach Restaurant A Family-Friendly Venue?
There are no special facilities for children at this beach club but you are welcome to take your kids as long as you keep an eye on them.
Who Owns Azure Beach Restaurant?
The ownership of Azure Beach Restaurant is not publicly available at this time.
Final Thoughts On Azure Beach Restaurant
The Azure Beach Restaurant isn’t really a beach club, instead, it’s an excellent restaurant with a pool attached to it.
Master Chef Frederic Boulay is very well known for his creations with locally sourced Jimbaran seafood and if you’re in the Jimbaran area, it’s worth visiting for the perfect blend of local produce.
However, we feel that you’d want to visit other places in Jimbaran as well as this restaurant to justify a trip to the area from the rest of the island.
Thinking of visiting more than one beach club in Bali? Why not peruse our reviews of Reef Beach Club and Le Pirate Beach Club for more ideas?
