Surabaya Eats on a Budget: Rawon & More
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Surabaya’s food is a genuine highlight, and it’s cheap
Surabaya is a halal-majority city with a serious warung (small eatery) culture, and its food regularly outranks better-known regional rivals. A full warung meal runs Rp 20,000-50,000, and the signature dish, rawon, was rated the world’s best soup by TasteAtlas in 2024. This guide runs the dishes worth seeking out rather than naming specific stalls, since Surabaya’s best warungs change hands and names often; ask locally for whichever version of each dish is currently best-regarded in the neighbourhood you’re in.
Surabaya eating on a budget: the essentials
| Dish | What it is | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rawon | Beef soup blackened by ground keluak nut | Rp 25,000-45,000 |
| Rujak cingur | Fruit and vegetable salad with cooked cow snout in petis sauce | Rp 20,000-35,000 |
| Lontong balap | Pressed rice cake, tofu, bean-sprout fritter, sweet petis sauce | Rp 15,000-25,000 |
| Tahu tek | Fried tofu and potato in petis-spiked peanut sauce | Rp 15,000-25,000 |
| Sate klopo | Satay rolled in grated coconut before grilling | Rp 20,000-35,000 |
| Coffee | Standard warung or café coffee | Rp 25,000-40,000 |
The dishes worth ordering
Rawon is Surabaya’s signature dish and worth prioritizing on day one: a rich, dark beef soup coloured by ground keluak nut, served over rice with bean sprouts, salted egg, and fried shallots. Rujak cingur is the bolder specialty, cooked cow snout and mixed fruit and vegetables bound in a fermented shrimp-paste (petis) sauce, an acquired taste worth trying at least once. Lontong balap, “racing rice cake,” pairs pressed rice cake with tofu, a black-eyed pea fritter, and a petis-heavy sweet soy sauce, and tahu tek does something similar with fried tofu and potato in a peanut sauce spiked with the same petis. Sate klopo, satay coated in grated coconut before grilling, is a local specialty worth seeking out over plain chicken satay. Semanggi, a clover-leaf salad in peanut sauce, and soto ayam Lamongan, the East Java chicken soup style, both turn up regularly in Surabaya warungs (verify specific stall recommendations on the ground).
Where to actually sit down
Hotel Majapahit, the 1911 heritage hotel on Jalan Tunjungan, runs sit-down dining if you want air conditioning and a menu in English alongside the history. The House of Sampoerna’s café, in the old orphanage wing of the 1862 colonial compound, is a reliable stop after the museum (verify current open status). Es krim Zangrandi, a long-running ice cream parlour often mentioned locally, is worth checking for current operating status before making a special trip (verify). Beyond these, the honest advice is to go to whichever warung has the most locals in it at lunchtime; that’s a better signal than any single name in a guidebook.
Practical notes on eating cheap
Cash is standard at warungs and street stalls, most of which don’t take cards, so carry small IDR notes. Nobody tips in Surabaya, though some tourist-oriented restaurants add a service charge automatically. Stick to bottled water and be reasonably careful about hygiene at street stalls, standard advice anywhere in Southeast Asia. For where these dishes fit into a full day, see the things to do guide and the main Surabaya guide .