The Jimbaran Beach Club seems to have transformed into the Jimbaran Beach Restaurant over the last few years, but we wanted to see whether this spot for some tasty seafood was still worthy of its beach club title.
So, the team headed to Jimbaran Bay to chill on the daybeds and work out whether you should spend some time at this beach club in Bali.
Introduction – Getting To Jimbaran Beach Club
Jimbaran Bay is relatively easy to get to from most of the popular tourist spots in Bali. It’s a short drive from Denpasar, Kuta and Uluwatu. It’s not much further from Nusa Dua, Unagasan, Canggu and Seminyak though you might need to leave earlier than you might think because of the traffic.
You can get a Grab or Gojek to the beach and walk to the front door or park in the large beach car park easily enough on arrival.
Where Is Jimbaran Beach Club? Jl. Pantai Muaya, Jimbaran, Kuta Selatan, Jl. Wanagiri No.1, Jimbaran, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Website: Jimbaran Beach Club
Opening Hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily except Nyepi
What’s Inside Jimbaran Beach Club?
This is more of a fresh seafood restaurant than it is a beach club and there’s no pool, but there are sun loungers on the beach as well as bar and restaurant seating areas.
Our Review Breakdown For Jimbaran Beach Club
All of our beach club reviews are conducted on the same basis. We visit the club as a team (though not necessarily all at the same time) and each of us scores the place from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) against the criteria set out below.
After our visits, we get together at the office and discuss and then vote on each final score in our review – that makes sure we get a representative view of the experience at any given place.
Finally, one of us gets to type up the review based on our discussions and once it goes live, it stays there for, at least, a year before we revisit the beach club.
Pre-Club Advertising
There is no advertising at all that we can find for this place, in fact, they have no website and their social media is practically non-existent too.
However, it’s still there in this corner of Jimbaran Bay a short walk from the other restaurants and businesses in the area.
Given that most people come to this area for fresh seafood, it’s never empty but advertising might help to make it busier still and attract more customers.
Location
Jimbaran Beach is not far from the airport in Denpasar as well as from Kuta, Legian or Uluwatu.
It’s also within a reasonable drive from Canggu, Seminyak, Nusa Dua and Ungasan.
There are other restaurants and bars within walking distance around Jimbaran Bay and the beach is a pleasant spot too.
Booking Process & Seating Options
There is no website and as you might expect, that means there’s no booking – if you want to eat at Jimbaran Beach Club, you turn up and take your chances on a seat.
That means if you intend to get there for a busy meal time, you might want to go early or risk having to stand around waiting for a table to come free.
We actually like being able to book. While it’s not a big deal to be a walk-in if you’re staying in the Jimbaran Bay area, it’s very annoying to travel for an hour or more only to find you can’t get a seat in a place that you want to visit.
Entry Fee
On the flip side of this, there’s no entrance fee and we heartily approve of that. Not least, because this beach restaurant doesn’t really have any facilities that might make an entrance fee good value for money.
However, we believe you should be able to go to any beach club in Bali and grab a seat and only pay for whatever food and drink you consume while you decide if a place is for you, or not.
Minimum Spend
Of course, there’s no minimum spend at this place on Jimbaran Beach (technically it’s Muaya Beach but they’re the same thing to most people).
This is both good (you only have to pay for what you want to consume) and bad (you can’t make reservations which means you risk not having a seat at all, particularly as there are only a limited number of sun loungers on the beach here).
Welcome And Security
You will receive a reasonably friendly Balinese welcome and be shown to a table or their daybeds if they’re available.
There’s no security check and while we understand that these are often impractical for smaller businesses like this one, we’d like to see them anyway.
It’s better for venues to be safe than for their guests to be sorry afterwards.
Inclusions
You can rent a towel from the venue (and that’s fair enough given that the sun loungers don’t require a minimum spend) but there are no actual inclusions of any kind.
We wouldn’t really expect there to be at this kind of place, mind you, but we are comparing, for fairness’ sake, this “beach club” to other beach clubs and inclusions are an industry standard.
Service
This is friendly local service with the usual Balinese flair. It’s not at the same level as the 5-star hotels and their facilities in this area, but it’s kind, attentive and helpful.
We think it’s important that Balinese hospitality businesses make the most of Bali’s incredible service staff as it helps to set a pleasant tone for visitors across the island as well as make their time at any given place even more special.
Entertainment
This isn’t really a place for entertainment. You can watch them cook your fresh fish on the BBQ or enjoy the waves washing against the shoreline most of the time here.
There’s a little piped music in the background but that’s as much as you’re going to get.
Pool Quality
Unfortunately, while this place used to have a pool, it no longer does, and that means it can’t score any points in this category.
To be fair, they probably found the space generates more revenue as seating than it did as a pool.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
This isn’t the cheapest BBQ joint in Jimbaran Bay, nor is it the most expensive.
We felt that the food and drink prices here were fair for the location and the fact that it’s one of the few seafood places in Jimbaran Bay that isn’t downwind of another seafood place which means you dinner isn’t affected by the smell of uncooked fish.
We would note that the service charge is a little higher than most places but it’s not outrageous.
Food And Drink Quality
The drinks were excellent and the food was very tasty indeed.
Our only complaint was that we’d have liked bigger portions, but then, we did pick the fish out of tanks ourselves – so that’s on us.
The alcoholic drinks were strong enough and the fruit juices were perfect (pure fruit, no sugar).
Sunset View
This is a great spot in Bali for sunset watching and you’re on the right coast to see the sun dip down behind the horizon when it fully sets.
However, we did feel that there were places in this venue where your view might be obstructed and it’s not the easiest place to move around in due to the closely placed tables.
Music And Ambiance
This is a nice place to eat and there’s some pleasant background music.
It’s popular enough that there’s always a bit of a buzz about the place and you should definitely arrive before sunset for some cocktails to get the most out of the view.
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card at this Jimbaran Bay club but we didn’t see options for e-wallet or QRIS payments.
That’s a bit of a shame given how popular these payment options are in Bali now.
Exit Process
You walk out the same way that you came in and assuming you don’t leave while the staff are rushing about trying to serve other tables – you will get a cheery farewell as you go.
Transportation
It’s not hard to get to Jimbaran Bay and Grab and Gojek drivers will be delighted to take you to this club.
If you drive yourself, there’s a beach car park and it’s easy enough to retrieve your car at the end of the night.
However, if you need a Grab or Gojek back, you may have to wait quite some time as the area is underserved by drivers particularly at popular times.
There is also a taxi mafia presence around this beach in Bali and you may have to deal with being hassled for an expensive ride while you wait.
Social Media Presence
There is an Instagram page for this beach club but it’s been long since abandoned and even contains a picture of the pool that no longer exists on this site.
This is fairly unusual given that this place on Jimbaran Beach doesn’t have a website either, so you have to rely on a page that’s 5 years out of date for your information.
We don’t expect every restaurant in Bali to have the same level of online presence as a Western restaurant would, but this is pretty poor even when compared to other local businesses.
Other/General Comments
They take their guests on a first-come, first-served basis and that’s fine. It’s a beach restaurant with a few sun loungers and if you take it for what it is – you could have done worse for a place to eat.
But it’s not the sort of place that’s going to make you want to spend all day or all night there, either. You eat and then you leave.
Our Overall Opinion Of Jimbaran Beach Club
Jimbaran Bay is famous for fresh seafood and if that’s why you’re there, why not have dinner by the sea at the Jimbaran Beach Club?
However, it won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that this place is not really a beach club and we can’t imagine anyone spending a whole day on the “daybeds” (sun loungers) in groups under the umbrellas here.
It’s not expensive and the bill won’t leave you reeling but unless you stay in the Jimbaran Bay area, we can’t see people coming here a lot or even more than once.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Jimbaran Beach Club
Yes, but you can only swim in the sea. There’s no pool at this club but there are daybeds on the beach and you can get a towel to swim with.
What Can You Do At Jimbaran Beach Club?
Mainly, people come to this place to eat, drink and relax. There’s not much in the way of additional facilities to do anything else.
Is Jimbaran Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Children are welcome at this beach club but there are no special facilities to enhance their stay. There’s not even a children’s menu for them to choose something more familiar from.
Who Owns Jimbaran Beach Club?
Jimbaran Beach Club appears to be owned by a local Balinese family, but we were unable to determine their exact name.
Final Thoughts On Jimbaran Beach Club
Is the Jimbaran Beach Club one of the best beach clubs in Bali? No. However, it’s a beach BBQ place in Jimbaran Bay and the food is good enough to spend a couple of hours indulging in.
You wouldn’t travel to get to this place, but if you’re in the area, it’s not a terrible place to stop and enjoy something to eat and drink.
