Redpoint StudioHow the Bali Belly score works
A 0 to 100 score from what reviewers say happened to them.
By Redpoint Studio, makers of Bali Belly · Updated 4 November 2026 · Scores from October 2026
Short answer
The Bali Belly score runs from 0 to 100, and higher is safer. It compares how often a place's reviewers say they got sick with other places in Bali. A place at the Bali median scores 70, each doubling of that rate costs about 15 points, and places with few reviews are pulled towards 70.
Bali Belly gives restaurants, warungs and cafes in Bali a risk score from 0 to 100, and higher is safer. It is meant to answer a plain question for travellers: how often do people say they got sick after eating here?
Where the data comes from
We collected public Google reviews for Bali food venues, roughly 238,000 of them, covering 10,548 places in the guides. A place needs at least 300 reviews to appear on a public list on this site.
How a review becomes a score
- We look at the 1★ and 2★ reviews. Reports of illness almost always turn up in unhappy reviews.
- We filter for health keywords first, then an AI model reads each remaining review and decides whether the writer says they got sick after eating there. A review that complains about slow service or a high price doesn't count.
- We turn the reports into a rate, relative to how many reviews the place has.
- We convert the rate to a score. A place at the Bali median scores 70, and each doubling of the report rate costs 15 points.
- Small places are pulled towards 70. A place with few reviews hasn't had a fair chance to show a pattern, so one report doesn't sink it and a clean sheet doesn't lift it.
How does the score change? A worked example
The places and numbers in this section are made up, with round figures to show how the maths behaves. They are not real Bali venues. The “report rate” is how often reviewers say they got sick, relative to the place's number of reviews, shown here as a multiple of the Bali median.
First, ignore the pull towards 70. Each doubling of the rate costs 15 points, and each halving adds 15:
| Hypothetical report rate | Score |
|---|---|
| A quarter of the Bali median | 100 (the top of the scale) |
| Half the Bali median | 85 |
| Same as the Bali median | 70 |
| Twice the Bali median | 55 |
| Four times the Bali median | 40 |
Now add the pull towards 70. Before scoring, we blend each place's record with 1,000 imaginary reviews at the Bali median rate. A place with few reviews is mostly those imaginary reviews, so it lands near 70. A place with thousands of reviews is mostly its own record, so its score can move much further.
| Hypothetical place | Reviews | Own report rate | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: no reports at all | 300 | None | 76 |
| B: no reports at all | 1,000 | None | 85 |
| C: no reports at all | 5,000 | None | 100 |
| D: half the median | 1,000 | Half the Bali median | 76 |
| E: half the median | 10,000 | Half the Bali median | 83 |
| F: twice the median | 300 | Twice the Bali median | 66 |
| G: twice the median | 5,000 | Twice the Bali median | 57 |
- More reviews let a good record count. A, B and C have the same clean record, but only C has enough reviews to reach the top of the scale.
- Fewer illness reports lift a score. D and E report at half the median rate and both score above 70. E has ten times the reviews, so it moves closer to the full 85.
- One bad stretch doesn't sink a small place. F has a high rate on few reviews, but it stays in the 60s because there isn't yet enough evidence to say more.
What do the score bands mean?
| Score | Band | Bali places with 300+ reviews | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 and up | Low risk: fewer reports than most places in Bali | 770 | 23% |
| 50 to 79 | Moderate risk, where the Bali median of 70 sits | 1,779 | 53% |
| Under 50 | Higher risk | 817 | 24% |
On this site we only list places in the low-risk band, with plenty of reviews behind them, so every place on the safest places to eat in Bali pages is one where reviewers rarely report getting sick. 770 places clear that bar.
What the score can't tell you
- It is not a health inspection, and no inspector has visited these places for us.
- It reflects what reviewers say, and people can be wrong about what made them sick.
- Any meal anywhere can make you sick, including at a place with a score of 95.
- A score doesn't apply to a particular dish, and kitchens change over time.
- A place with no score, or a lower one, isn't necessarily unsafe: it may just have fewer reviews.
No paid placements
Restaurants can't pay to be listed or to change their score. The scores come from the review data and nothing else, which is the only way a score is worth trusting.
Quick answers
What does the Bali Belly score measure?
How often reviewers of a place say they got sick after eating there, compared with other places in Bali. It is a measure of reports, not a health inspection.
Can restaurants pay to improve their score?
No. There are no paid placements, ever.
Is a low score a sign a restaurant is unsafe?
No. It means reviewers have said more often that they got sick there, and it can reflect a bad stretch or too few reviews. Scores are a guide, not a verdict.
Why does a place with few reviews score close to 70?
Because a handful of reviews can't show a reliable pattern. Before scoring, we blend each place's own record with 1,000 imaginary reviews at the Bali median rate. A small place ends up near 70 whether its record is clean or not, while a place with thousands of reviews is scored mostly on its own record.
How many Bali places are in each score band?
Of the 3,366 places with at least 300 reviews, 770 (23%) score 80 or more, 1,779 (53%) score 50 to 79 and 817 (24%) score under 50. We only name places in the low-risk band.
How often are scores updated?
The scores in this guide were last computed in October 2026.
This is general travel information, not medical advice. No habit removes the risk of an upset stomach, and it is not a substitute for a doctor or travel clinic. See a doctor if you have blood in your stool, a high fever, can't keep fluids down, show signs of dehydration, or aren't getting better after a few days.