Rooftop bars on this coast, and how to pick one

First: which way does it face?

This sounds obvious and is the single most common disappointment. A rooftop that faces north or south has a lovely view of the coastline and no sunset. On this coast the sun goes down over the ocean to the west, and only west-facing terraces get the thing you came for.

Check the map before you book, not the photo gallery. Photographers shoot from the one corner that catches the light; the other forty seats may face a wall.

Second: what does the seat cost?

The drink price on the menu is not the price of the evening. Prime rooftop seating is scarce for ninety minutes a day, and venues manage that scarcity in three ways.

• Minimum spend. Common on hotel rooftops and beach-adjacent terraces. Ask whether it is per person or per table — for four people that difference is the whole budget.
• Tiered seating. Front row, second row and standing area often carry different minimums. The second row is frequently the better deal and barely a worse view.
• Booking windows. Some venues release sunset tables only to bookings, and walk-ins get whatever is left facing the car park.

None of this is unfair — it is simply the actual price, and it is worth knowing before you climb the stairs.

Third: when does the kitchen stop?

Most rooftops here are drinks venues with food attached. The bar runs late, the kitchen closes early, and by ten o'clock the choice is a cocktail or leaving.

If you are planning dinner rather than a drinks stop, ask two questions when you book: what time the kitchen stops, and whether the full menu runs until then or shrinks to snacks after nine. The second question catches more people than the first.

On this coast the kitchens generally stop between ten and eleven. The exceptions are a short list.

The three stretches, and how they differ

Where we sit in that

We run a rooftop on Jl. Batu Belig, five floors up, so treat this as us describing our own place rather than judging it.

West-facing over the ocean, no cover charge and no minimum spend at any table. Open until 4 AM with the kitchen running to 2:30 — which is the part that actually differs from the rest of the coast, and the reason people end up here after starting somewhere else.

There is also an air-conditioned room behind glass with the same view, which matters more than it sounds in wet season: rain moves the evening indoors instead of ending it.

How to plan the evening

• Arrive by 5. The good tables go an hour before the light does.
• Order the first drink before 5:30. Bar queues peak exactly when the sky turns.
• Stay for twenty minutes after sunset. The best colour comes after the sun is gone, and the terrace empties by half.
• Decide about dinner before nine. That is when most kitchens on this coast start shutting down.

The full comparison — thirteen rooftop bars with ratings, prices and closing times — is in the island guide, and the sunset-specific version is here.

Questions we get asked