Five places to eat and drink
Locovore, Ubud
When a tasting menu kicks off with a torch ginger emulsion and cricket tincture with hibiscus vinegar-sprayed dipping flowers as a pre-menu snack, you know a food funfair ride is guaranteed. Here, sustainable, local and rustic Indonesian food is elevated to art. You can also choose to add cocktail pairings (they’re served in small glasses, but full-scale versions are on offer at new sister bar Night Rooster). Six courses from £50 (additional £30 fee for cocktail pairings). locavore.co.id
Api Jiwa at Capella Ubud
This upscale robatayaki (Asian barbeque) from Bill Bensley is nose-to-tail eating that is creative and kooky. Menus are devised to suit each diner’s tastes, and standouts during our visit included a grown-up dippy egg (savoury custard served in an eggshell with rosemary smoke), tom yum bloody mary, rice paddy eel, and Lombok oysters. Ten courses from £70. capellahotels.com/en/ capella-ubud
Cuca, Jimbaran
Just when you think food on this island can’t get any more colourful or fun, this tapas restaurant serves up smoked butterfish in beetroot yogurt that looks like a bouquet, honey-baked pumpkin salad, and a Bali breakfast ‘egg’ with a mango ‘yolk’, frozen passion fruit, and a whipped coconut ‘white’.
This is a wholly unique take on Euro-asian cuisine. Dishes from £2-13. cucabali.com
Sokasi at Four Seasons Sayan
This al fresco chef’s table is a sensory experience: expect air laced with wood smoke from a babi guling (suckling pig), and fragrant steam from the bebek betutu (slow-roasted duck cooked in an underground clay oven), plus fish and veg from the garden served with sambal and bumbu Bali (or ‘basa gede’, fresh spice paste). From £105. fourseasons.com/sayan
The beach clubs
Visit Ku De Ta (kudeta.com) for cocktails and tunes, Omnia (omniaclubs.com/ bali ) for celeb-spotting, and El Kabron for great food. It’s a clifftop club with views of the Uluwatu Temple and a kitchen serving a Basque, Catalan and Mediterranean menu that makes the most of Bali’s seafood. Dishes from £4-35. elkabron.com