Alchemy Ubud

Alchemy is a raw vegan café on Jalan Penestanan Kelod in Penestanan, Ubud, and the original home of a small group of Alchemy cafés in Bali. Its menu is completely plant-based and gluten-free, and many of the dishes are raw, which Alchemy defines as not cooked or heated above 43C. A selection of gently cooked dishes sits alongside them for those who want something warm.

The food is colourful and filling rather than austere. Breakfast and brunch options have included banana taro pancakes, a green waffle and a champion breakfast plate, and the café is also known for superfood salads and smoothie bowls. Raw desserts are a particular strength: banoffee pie and vanilla cheesecake made without dairy have featured on recent menus. To drink, there is single-origin coffee, chilled kombucha, juices and smoothies, and the café offers juice cleanse programmes for people who want to follow a set plan.

Alchemy is open every day from 7.30am to 9.30pm, so it works for an early breakfast before a yoga class or for a quiet dinner. Reservations and enquiries can be made by phone or WhatsApp, and the café can be contacted by email. The full Ubud menu is published on Alchemy's website, which is worth checking in advance if you have allergies, since every dish is already free of gluten and animal products. Alchemy also runs an online shop, and there are sister cafés in Canggu and at Bingin near Uluwatu, but Ubud is the home of the business.

The café is also the base of Alchemy Academy, a raw vegan culinary school. Its programmes include chef certification at two levels, raw chocolate classes, vegan cheese workshops, gluten-free baking courses and healing detox retreats, as well as pop-up dining events and yoga and meditation sessions. For anyone interested in learning the techniques behind the menu, the academy offers a structured way in.

Alchemy suits vegans, people with gluten intolerance and anyone curious about raw food. Allow about an hour. A yoga studio sits across the street, so a class followed by breakfast here makes an easy morning, and other plant-based cafés in Penestanan, such as Zest, are close by.