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Pork Ribs in Ubud: Slow-Cooked, Glazed Two Ways, at Flock Bali

You can eat extremely well in Ubud without ever touching meat. That’s sort of the whole point of the place — smoothie bowls, raw cake, turmeric in everything. It works, right up until the evening you want a proper rack of ribs and realise hardly anyone in town makes them.

So if you’ve been hunting for pork ribs in Ubud and coming up short, no, it isn’t just you. That’s more or less why they ended up on our menu.

Why pork ribs are hard to find in Ubud

Two reasons, really.

The first is what people come to Ubud to eat. The yoga retreats, the wellness travellers, the remote workers on month-long stays — the menus followed the demand, and most of that demand is plant-based. Where pork does turn up, it’s usually babi guling: the whole roasted pig with rice. Delicious, but a completely different animal from a slow-cooked rack.

The second reason is just that ribs are a hassle. They need time, and there’s no cheating it. Rush them and the meat comes out tough and stringy. Give them the hours they want and the collagen softens, the fat renders down, and the meat lets go the moment your fork lands on it. A kitchen either commits to that or leaves ribs off the menu. Most leave them off.

The ribs at Flock

Ours are marinated, slow-cooked, and served with a mixed salad. Two sizes: 300g at IDR 160,000, or 500g at IDR 270,000 if you turned up hungry. They’ve quietly become one of those plates the regulars order without opening the menu, and we’d happily put them up against the best ribs in Bali.

The thing to decide before you order is the glaze.

BBQ, or Balinese sauce basa genep

You pick one.

BBQ is the version already in your head: sweet, sticky, smoky, exactly what a rib is “supposed” to taste like. There’s nothing wrong with it.

The basa genep is the one we’d nudge you toward. Bumbu basa genep is the base spice paste behind most traditional Balinese cooking — shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, ginger, chili, coriander, candlenut, the full aromatic lineup. It’s a big part of why babi guling tastes the way it does. Brushed over a rack of ribs, it takes a familiar Western cut somewhere warmer and more layered, with a spice profile you won’t find on a rib anywhere outside Bali.

Put it this way: order the BBQ and you’ve had good ribs. Order the genep and you’ve had something you can only really get here. Order the genep.

Then pick a side — fries or steamed rice, both included. Rice is the smarter call with the genep; it soaks up the sauce the way it’s meant to be soaked up. Fries lean more naturally toward the BBQ..

And pick your carbs

What to drink with it

Rich, sticky meat wants something sharp or bitter sitting next to it. A few we make in-house:

Our kombucha. We brew it ourselves — Rosella Strawberry, Pineapple Ginger, Rosemary Jalapeño, Kiamboy Tamarind, and a rotating handful more, all IDR 40,000. The Rosemary Jalapeño is the pick for this plate: herbal, earthy, and sharp enough to reset your mouth between bites.

Filter coffee, if the ribs are landing as a late lunch. A black cup cuts the richness without weighing you down. Ask whoever’s on the bar what single origin is pouring — the beans rotate.

A cocktail. The bar opens at 1PM, so this isn’t a dinner-only move. Love & Heat — mezcal, nutmeg liqueur, lacto-fermented jalapeño, lime — brings the smoke and heat the genep glaze is basically asking for.

If the ribs brought you in, order these too

Pigza Bali runs the same genep-and-pork idea across a pizza with mozzarella. It’s the same spice base as the rib glaze, which makes it an easy second plate for a table that’s sharing.

Char Siu Pork Noods is the lighter one: sweet-savoury glazed pork over noodles with bok choy, marinated egg, and chili oil. It’s been on the menu a long time, and it’s earned the spot.

And if you just want something uncomplicated, the Nasi Goreng comes with chicken or pork, your call.

When to come — or how to get it to you

We’re open every day, 7AM to 10PM. Ribs are on from midday, so lunch or dinner, not breakfast.

Lunch, roughly 12 to 2, is the busy stretch — come a little before or after if you’d rather a quieter table. The 5-to-7 window is the calmest, and for a plate this rich, probably the nicest time to sit down with it.

Planning your Ubud trip from somewhere else? Bookmark this one. When you’re on the island you can walk straight in, message us on WhatsApp to hold a table (worth doing for four or more), or just send the ribs to wherever you’re staying on GoFood, GrabFood, or Tokopedia.

Plan Your Visit

Spent the week in Ubud eating clean? This is the plate to break the streak on.

FAQ

Where can I find pork ribs in Ubud? Flock Bali on Jl. Jatayu serves marinated, slow-cooked pork ribs with a choice of BBQ or Balinese sauce genep glaze, from midday until 10PM daily.

How much are the pork ribs at Flock? The 300g is IDR 160,000 and the 500g is IDR 270,000, each served with mixed salad and a choice of fries or steamed rice. Prices exclude government tax and service charge.

What is Balinese sauce genep? Bumbu genep is the traditional Balinese base spice paste, made from aromatics like shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, ginger, chili, and candlenut. At Flock it’s one of two glaze options for the pork ribs, alongside BBQ.

Is Flock Bali halal? No. Flock serves pork and alcohol and isn’t halal-certified. The menu does include a good range of vegetarian and plant-based dishes.

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