Senggigi south end (set back from main road, garden compound)
★ 4.4(386 reviews)
Sasak House is a traditional Lombok restaurant on Senggigi's south end, serving Sasak cuisine inside thatched-roof bale pavilions with floor seating on woven mats. Mid-range pricing (mains 70-140k IDR), proper Sasak dishes including sayur ares and pelecingan, and an unexpectedly good Sasak coffee program. Best for travelers wanting an immersive cultural-cuisine experience.
# Sasak House Senggigi: Cultural Cuisine on Floor Mats
Sasak House is the most committed cultural-cuisine restaurant on Senggigi. The compound holds three traditional thatched-roof bale pavilions arranged around a small water garden, the seating is on woven pandanus mats with low tables, and the menu focuses entirely on Sasak (indigenous Lombok) cuisine rather than the pan-Indonesian default of most tourist restaurants. It's an immersion meal as much as a dinner.
The bale pavilions are built in traditional Sasak style — bamboo frames, thatched alang-alang grass roofs, raised platforms a foot above the ground, no walls. You leave shoes at the entrance to each bale and sit cross-legged or with legs tucked sideways on woven mats. Low wooden tables (around 30cm tall) hold the food.
If floor seating doesn't work for you, there's a single table-and-chair section near the entrance with conventional Western seating. Ask for "kursi biasa" (regular chairs) when booking.
The water garden between the bales has lily pads, small koi, and a fountain that masks road noise from Jalan Raya Senggigi. At night, the bales are lit by oil lanterns and the effect is genuinely atmospheric.
Sasak House serves only Sasak dishes — no Western menu, no pan-Indonesian rice/noodle defaults. The menu is shorter than most tourist restaurants by design.
Tasting menu (250k IDR per person, minimum 2) — the best introduction:
1. Pelecingan — raw vegetable salad with chili-shrimp dressing
2. Sayur ares — banana stem and coconut milk soup
3. Ayam taliwang — half a young chicken grilled with chili-shallot-shrimp marinade
4. Plecing kangkung — water spinach with sambal terasi
5. Beberuk terong — eggplant salad with tomato and chili
6. Sate bulayak — beef satay with peanut sauce and palm-leaf rice cakes
(served with rice and a small dessert)
Individual dishes (70-140k IDR):
Drinks:
Sasak House's coffee program is unexpectedly serious. The signature kopi Sasak is brewed with locally-grown robusta beans, palm sugar, and freshly grated ginger — strong, sweet, and warming. It's served in small earthenware cups and is genuinely better than the espresso programs at most Senggigi cafes if you're after something distinctive.
The tasting menu at 250k IDR per person is the best value if you're new to Sasak food — you taste 6 dishes for less than the price of 2-3 individual mains. Two people on the tasting menu with drinks runs around 600,000-700,000 IDR.
Ordering individual dishes runs 400,000-550,000 IDR for two with appetisers, mains, rice, and drinks. Mid-range Senggigi pricing — comparable to Asmara, less than the beachfront resort restaurants.
Friday and Saturday nights from 7:30-9pm there's traditional Sasak music and dance — typically gendang beleq (large drum ensemble) followed by a short peresean (martial dance with rattan sticks) demonstration. The performances feel a touch staged but the musicianship is real, and the volume stays at a level where conversation continues.
If you want a quieter dinner without performance, book Monday-Thursday or Sunday.
This is one of the few restaurants where vegetarian Sasak food is genuinely available. Plecing kangkung (vegan if you ask for "tanpa terasi"), beberuk terong, urap, sayur ares (ask for vegetarian preparation — the standard version is meatless but stock can vary), gado-gado, and tempe/tahu options. Inform staff when booking and they'll arrange a vegetarian tasting menu.
Floor seating — you'll be sitting cross-legged or sideways on woven mats for 60-90 minutes. If you have knee or back issues, request a Western table when booking ("kursi biasa, tolong"). They keep one or two tables available but it helps to confirm.
Mosquitoes — the open pavilions attract mosquitoes after sunset. The restaurant provides citronella but bring repellent.
Pace — meals run 1.5-2 hours by design. Dishes arrive in courses rather than all at once. Don't book if you're rushing for an early flight or a tour.
Strengths: most committed Sasak cuisine in Senggigi; tasting menu is excellent value for an introduction; cultural setting is genuine rather than themed-restaurant fake; coffee program is a hidden strength; vegetarian Sasak options actually exist; performances Friday-Saturday add value without overwhelming.
Weaknesses: floor seating excludes some travelers; mosquitoes in open pavilions; service is intentionally slow (this is a feature for some, a bug for others); cultural performances can feel staged to skeptical visitors; menu is narrow by design — no Western options, no comfort food.
Best for: travelers wanting a cultural-cuisine immersion; first-time Lombok visitors who want a Sasak introduction; couples on a relaxed dinner; small groups celebrating something; food-curious travelers who'll appreciate sayur ares and beberuk; vegetarians who want to try Sasak vegetarian dishes.
Skip if: you have knee/back issues that make floor seating uncomfortable (unless you book a Western table); you want a Western menu backup; you're rushing through dinner; you don't eat chili (Sasak food is genuinely hot); you find cultural performances cringeworthy.