Mari Makan Bajo

Mari Makan is a no-frills local restaurant in a lane off Jl. Lamber Kape, close to Komodo Airport. It serves Indonesian and Chinese-Indonesian cooking with a strong seafood list: chilli crab, sweet and sour fish, squid and stir-fried vegetables, plus clay-pot tofu and soups.

It opens at 06:30, and the breakfast of nasi kuning (turmeric rice) with Manggarai coffee is a good start if you are staying near the airport or arriving on an early flight. The dining room is clean and plain, with wooden tables and fans, and prices are well below the main street.

It rates 4.4 from about 380 Google reviews and is open daily until 22:00.

It is worth the short detour from the main street if you want everyday local cooking at local prices. Order several dishes to share family style; the crab and the sweet and sour fish are the most requested plates. Taxis from the harbour take around ten minutes.