10 reasons why La Favela is the coolest place in Bali

La Favela is the coolest place in Bali

Walking through hip Jalan Kayu Aya in the heart of Seminyak, you might easily pass by restaurant-club La Favela, without even noticing it.

And that would be a shame, since you would be seriously missing out!

Let me tell you -and even better: show you- why La Favela is the coolest place in Bali.

It’s green entrance with hip circus-letters gives you no clue of the size and quirkiness of this place. Be prepared for a (pleasant) surprise!

Look for this sign along Jalan Kayu Aya in Seminyak.

1. Their inner courtyard is a lush, tropical garden like you never saw before (- great for garden-lovers)

Make your way inside, through a narrow, dark alley, to come out in an enormous, jungle-ish garden.

It’s tropical, romantic and looks like an enchanted forest. It has hidden corners, waters, ponds, levels, bridges, statues and seats everywhere.

2. The garden is the center of a villa of extraordinary size and design (- great for architecture lovers, design freaks and interior designers)

Upon second glance, you realize that you are standing in the interior courtyard of an immense former colonial mansion.

The former villa is a beautiful specimen of Urban Decay. Meticulously curated Urban Decay, I have to add.

I love these oil drum seats!

La Favela is the brainchild of Luigi Ferrara (Spain) and his partner Gonzalo (Brazil), a team that is responsible for several other cool hangouts in Bali. Like La Plancha and La Laguna.

Frits, waiting for his beer, in La Favela’s garden.

The two men say that they love imperfection (as do I) and they are clearly ‘more is more’ persons, like myself.

3. It’s stuffed to the brim with antiques, vintage and junk (- great for channeling your inner hoarder collector and for vintage lovers)

The duo collected vintage stuff, antiques and junk for years from all over the world and brought it all together in the decor of La Favela.

A vintage Volkswagen Van as bar; I need that!!! The gaspump is from Dutch origen and still has dutch signage on it.

No centimeter is untouched or not decorated.

Love, love, love it!

4. The stencil art is super cool! (- great for art lovers and street art lovers)

There is graffiti and murals everywhere. Mainly stencil art.

There is distressed wood. And ‘messy’ paint jobs. Super cool.

Aged clock with image of gangster Lucky Luciano.

5. Because Frida Kahlo is all around you (-great for Frida-fans)

Frida Kahlo, one of my idols, is a reoccurring image throughout La Favela.

6. Good food and drinks (-great choice for foodies and alcoholics cocktail-lovers)

We went there for drinks and dinner.

Can’t. Be. Bothered. Go. Away. I’m enjoying my mojito.

And dinner was very good!

Frits enjoying his fish.

I had tuna carpaccio and fat fries. Yum!

7. It’s a super romantic ambiance (- great for first dates and romantics)

Look at the intimate, romantic ambiance after dark.

8. It’s where all the cool and good-looking party people go in weekends (- place-to-be for party-animals and models)

We left early, as usual, as I explained here. But we were told that in weekends, the night parties at La Favela are famous and popular, frequented by the hip and beautiful. So for all ya party animals out there: go to La Favela on weekends and dance the night away at the DJ’s spins.

9. It has a number of awesome private dining rooms (-exclusivity and intimacy for groups, families and events)

I will tell you more about those rooms and show you some pics in my next article about La Favela.

10. Because it simply is a jaw-dropping place (- Mecca for photographers and Instagrammers)

La Favela is extremely Instagrammable!!! (yes, that’s a thing, peeps)

Be sure to bring your camera and snap away, like I did.

Frits: “Let’s take some pictures. Come on. Strike a pose.” Me: “Like this?”. Frits: “Seriously???”

Frits: “Ok, NOW we’re talking. That’s much better!”

Do realize that photography-circumstances can be challenging, since it is darkish inside and the artificial lighting brings out weird colors. Or maybe I should say: it dumples everything in a yellowish or red glow. Just look at a number of my pictures to see what I mean.

Many people -myself included- are blown away by this place and refer to La Favela as:

• an enchanted garden
• must be inspired by Johnny Depp (why???) and Salvador Dali
• vintage design
• a treasure trove
• a place where you can’t stop looking and every time discover something else
• having a soul

I felt as if

• I had stumbled upon a long forgotten mansion
• I had landed in paradise (since it has so many features that I adore!)
• I walked into someone’s wine cave converted into a salon
• there was a whiff of mystery in the air
• this place must have had a dark, rich past, with family tragedies and the likes. (I’m really curious as to who lived here. The mansion is so huge, that the residents must have been well-off. Were they locals or colonials? So far I have not been able to find any info.)

In other words: it definitely speaks to the imagination. It’s a place like no other. If you visit Bali, be sure to go to La Favela. Check out their website here.

My next post is a photo-tour of La Favela. There’s a bit more awesomeness that I want to show you, like the private dining-rooms, the toilets (yes, really!) and some detail shots. Bored already? Then just skip my next post;-).

Have you been to La Favela? Is it a place that appeals to you, based on my pictures? What is the funkiest, quirkiest, strangest, coolest restaurant or bar you ever been to?