La Plancha is a popular restaurant location that often gets advertised in “best beach clubs in Bali” lists, so we wanted to see how it would do with our review team.
They sallied forth to this corner of Seminyak, clipboards at the ready (at least, metaphorically, we don’t want the clubs to know we’re there – so, we make notes on our smartphones) and check out La Plancha Bali for you.
Here’s what they learned about this interesting destination by the sea.
Introduction – Getting To La Plancha
Getting to La Plancha is easy. You can jump in a Grab or a Gojek and they will take you almost to the front door.
There is some parking nearby, but we have to warn you, you will be competing for a limited number of spaces – so if you arrive in peak hours, you may not be able to park easily.
Where Is La Plancha? Jalan Mesari Beach, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Website: La Plancha
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
What’s Inside La Plancha?
La Plancha is a beach-facing restaurant and bar with some beanbags on the beach itself.
There’s no pool or other facilities that you might associate with a beach club.
Our Review Breakdown For La Plancha
We review every place that we visit in the same way, even when a “beach club” is more of a “beach bar” like La Plancha turned out to be.
Our review team each give a score of between 1 (worst) and 5 (best) to 20 different criteria, we can then tally those scores between 20 (worst) and 100 (best) to offer an overall grade for a beach club.
We vote on the review scores prior to publication to ensure they are fully representative of what our team observed a the beach club property.
Once a review goes up, it will be a year before we go back and review a property again.
We aim to be constructive with the hopes of building a better beach club scene in Bali for everyone.
Pre-Club Advertising
La Plancha has an excellent website but we confess, apart from this we’ve never seen an advert for this place before.
We always feel that places could do better if they were advertising online and La Plancha Bali might be busier if it did.
However, for now, there’s nothing here for us to rate, really.
Rating: 1/5
Location
La Plancha Bali is in a lovely location on Seminyak Beach which means it’s within walking distance of plenty of other restaurants, bars and clubs as well as shops.
The beach itself can get very busy, particularly at peak times, and it’s one of the most popular strips of sand on the island.
There are only two problems with the location of La Plancha Bali, the first is that the traffic around this area can be absolutely horrendous and you may need to leave plenty of time to plan your journey beyond what the distance suggests you might need.
The second is the total lack of onsite parking. There is parking in the neighbourhood but La Plancha Bali is often inaccessible because you can’t find a space.
Rating: 3/5
Booking Process & Seating Options
You can book generic restaurant seats online at La Plancha Bali but you can’t book the beanbags out on the sand until after 3 p.m.
This is a bit irksome but it does mean that walk-in guests get a bit of a priority if they want an ocean view.
As you might expect, there is a minimum spend associated with the beanbags.
Rating: 2/5
Entry Fee
La Plancha Bali joins our list of good beach clubs as there is absolutely no entrance fee to get inside.
There are also plenty of seats with no minimum spend attached, where you can enjoy an ice-cold beer without worrying about running up a big tab.
We think all beach clubs in Bali should follow the example of La Plancha Bali – nobody should have to pay an entrance fee to walk into a venue and decide if they like it or not.
Rating: 5/5
Minimum Spend
The only area at La Plancha Bali that attracts a minimum spend is the bean bag area on the sand at this beach bar.
The minimum spend is a very reasonable 150,000 IDR per person and that really only amounts to a single cocktail or an ice-cold beer and a snack.
As you cannot pay the minimum spend online through the Chope booking service, if you’re 10 minutes late, then La Plancha Bali may give your seat to someone else.
Given the traffic around La Plancha that’s a bit annoying after all if your perfect spot in Bali is on the sand for sunset, you’re not going to be happy about ending up inside the venue.
Rating: 3/5
Welcome And Security
There’s a friendly welcome from the staff at La Plancha Bali which we have come to expect as a standard.
However, there’s no security presence at all and while La Plancha isn’t the biggest of venues, we would always prefer to relax in the sun in the certain knowledge that any potential wrongdoers are kept out of the venue.
Rating: 3/5
Inclusions
Given that La Plancha Bali has no pool, there are no inclusions with a minimum spend not even a towel.
You can bring your own towel and swim in the ocean if you want, but we don’t recommend it as this part of Bali can have fairly violent currents that can pull even strong swimmers out to sea.
Rating: 1/5
Service
You can’t go wrong with the service at La Plancha Bali and you will find it’s friendly and efficient.
It doesn’t stand out as head and shoulder above the competition but we don’t think you will have any problem when it comes to ordering food and drinks or paying your bill.
Rating: 4/5
Entertainment
La Plancha has held the occasional event in the past but they have no current plans to do anything in the future.
There was no live music or DJ when we visited nor was there any beach club-style entertainment on offer.
Overall, we think this place is more of a sunset drinks venue rather than a fully-featured beach club.
Rating: 1/5
Pool Quality
There is no pool at this beach bar and that means your only option for a dip is the ocean.
We would stress that swimming off the shore of Seminyak isn’t the best idea and that currents can be very strong and deadly.
If you want a pool, visit a beach club rather than La Plancha.
Rating: 1/5
Menu/Drinks Pricing
We though the prices in La Plancha were quite reasonable for a decent restaurant on the beach.
Cocktails are 110,000 IDR and you can get a pizza from 105,000 IDR. That’s actually quite cheap for Seminyak, though it’s not cheap for Bali as a whole.
The menu is reasonably varied though and we’re positive that you can find food and drinks that suit your budget at La Plancha.
Rating: 4/5
Food And Drink Quality
We weren’t blown away by anything at La Plancha Bali but we did think everything tasted fine and that the place deserves the decent reviews it has for its menu.
This is a solid spot for lunch or dinner in Seminyak and while it may not be to everyone’s taste, we think you won’t find anything wrong with the food or the strength of the drinks here.
Rating: 4/5
Sunset View
If there’s one thing that we’re all looking for from a beach bar or club, it’s an awesome sunset view.
Bali has the world’s best sunsets and this spot in Seminyak is a prime spot for sunset watching.
You can watch the sunset from every corner of the venue and the view is entirely uninterrupted.
Rating: 5/5
Music And Ambiance
We hear that La Plancha Bali was once big with those who love the house music scene but on our visit, it was very much focused on piped pop music.
We prefer pop to the music in some of the other clubs which can often be quite bland but we like a live band or DJ to make the party go with a swing and there wasn’t either present while we were there.
Rating: 3/5
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card at La Plancha Bali without any problems at all and the process is quite painless.
However, there are no signs up advertising QRIS payments or e-wallet payments or crypto currency payments and we’d like to see more venues get into offering a range of payments beyond cash and card.
Rating: 4/5
Exit Process
Leaving the venue is as easy as entering it. It’s a small beach bar and you can walk out in almost any direction after paying your bill.
The staff will wish you a warm farewell as you leave too.
Rating: 5/5
Transportation
This is definitely not a strong point for La Plancha Bali and while you can get to the club by Grab or Gojek easily enough, leaving is a different story.
It’s not a great location for a pickup, it can take a while for your car to arrive and there is taxi mafia in the area who may harass you while you wait.
If you did manage to find a parking spot, you may have to walk quite a distance to your scooter or car both to get into La Plancha Bali and to leave.
Rating: 2/5
Social Media Presence
La Plancha Bali does have a decent social media presence, particularly on Instagram but updates are very infrequent.
We do like that they showcase this business when there are customers inside rather than showing us nothing but empty seats like some beach clubs currently do.
We also felt that the shots were representative of what you can expect at this beach bar.
Rating: 3/5
Other/General Comments
We enjoyed our time at La Plancha Bail but we don’t feel it’s really a beach club. It’s more of a beach bar and it’s a decent spot for food and drinks at sunset but if we wanted to pamper ourselves, we’d go elsewhere.
Rating: 3/5
To be fair, we also thought that Cocoon wasn’t really a beach club, either. We did rate Cocoon pretty highly though. How high? See our list of all the beach clubs in Bali to find out. You will also find out how Woobar fared on that list.
Our Overall Opinion Of La Plancha
La Plancha Bali is a decent beach bar with solid food and drinks that are reasonably priced for this part of Seminyak. The biggest downside of this bar is that getting transport when you’re done is hard work.
We doubt we’d spend a while day at this bar and if you want a pool, you will need to opt for a beach club, instead.
Rating: 55/100
Want to know how La Plancha compares to other beach clubs in Bali? Check out our best beach clubs in Bali guide.
You might also find our guides to beach club etiquette and dress codes useful before you head out to a club.
FAQs
Can You Swim At La Plancha?
No, there’s no swimming pool at La Plancha Bali and the sea is not really safe to swim in. We’d recommend that you enjoy the party vibe on the beach and stay out of the water at this venue for your safety.
What Can You Do At La Plancha?
La Plancha Bali is a beach bar. You can enjoy the music, watch the world go by, sip on an ice-cold beer or cocktail and enjoy some tasty food. That’s about it.
Is La Plancha A Family-Friendly Venue?
Children are allowed into La Plancha Bali but apart from playing on the beach, there’s not much for kids to do here.
It’s a beach bar and people come here to drink and party, you may find it’s not to your taste as a family as the day draws to a close.
Who Owns La Plancha?
La Plancha is owned by Gonzalo Assiego who is also the owner of the LYD Group which is a family-run consortium of brands in Bali and Indonesia. It’s a sister site to La Brisa Beach Club.
Final Thoughts On La Plancha
La Plancha Bali is the perfect spot for a few beers and some sun in Seminyak as long as you’re not expecting any beach club-style entertainment or facilities.
It’s really a simple beach bar with a restaurant attached where you can watch the sunset and then have a bit of a party with friends.
We wouldn’t make a trip to Seminyak just for La Plancha Bali but if we were in the neighbourhood, we’d probably drop in at some point.
