With a sunrise trek up Mount Batur ahead of us, we figure the only way to properly prepare our bodies is to have a few cocktails and spend the afternoon sampling Locavore’s menu. We need energy for the trek we tell ourselves. If you’re in Ubud and are looking to treat yourself to a knock-your-socks-off kind of a meal, then Locavore is the place to do it. Open for lunch and dinner (reservations are a must), Locavore serves modern food with a focus on local produce. The dining room is an escape from the Balinese heat with its cool coloured walls, polished wide wooden tables and comfortable banquette. There’s room to breathe with tables spaced generously.
The staff are welcoming and gracious and swiftly seat us. We’re walked through the options for lunch- a five or seven course tasting menu. We opt for the five and oggle at the cocktail list which is awash with heady sounding concoctions. How many cocktails is too many cocktails at lunch? The food starts arriving. We are treated to a procession of amuse bouche: a crisp spinach tempura, blush pink watermelon radishes to dip in a curried mayonnaise, fermented fruit with a squeeze of lime, earthy shiitake mushroom and a delicate tomato sorbet. The homemade sourdough is crusty with a soft, tangy centre. We swipe the bread through chicken liver crème, sweet passionfruit gel and a bold lemon basil pesto.
Rujak: red chillies muddled with lemongrass, cucumber, pineapple & pomelo shaken with chilli infused vodka and tamarind syrup, garnished with lemongrass and jeruk Bali served over ice cubes, topped with homemade herbed soda water
Ashes: blow torched fruit & spices, shaken with vodka, Rye Whiskey, sweet and sour, homemade Vermouth and a dash of spice bitter, topped with tonic, garnished with dehydrated fruit, purple basil, molasses cracker, Jack Daniel’s honey liqueur
Beet me: beetroot juice muddled with pineapple, shaken with lime juice, gin, triple sec raw wild honey, served over ice cubes topped with tonic, garnished with purple basil from the Locavore garden
Amuse bouche: Balinese spinach tempura
Amuse bouche: watermelon radish with homemade curried mayonnaise
Amuse bouche: fermented fruit
Amuse bouche: grilled shiitake mushroom
Amuse bouche: tomato sorbet, tomato consomme, fresh tomato and celery salt.
Homemade sourdough with passion fruit gel, chicken liver crème and lemon basil pesto.
The afternoon melts away as each expertly plated dish is placed before us- sweet poached prawns with a vibrant sweet corn and goat crème makes a hero out of the humble corn. Parrot fish paired with octopus, chorizo, thin slices of bread and butter courgettes and a vivid bell pepper sauce blows us away with the intensity of the flavour combinations. The rabbit and mustard leaf sausage is chunky and fragrant with the herb whilst the accompanying baby carrots are delicate but vibrant in their sweetness. Only the beef course disappoints- the oxtail melts in the mouth but the dish is bland and lacks the wow factor of its predecessors.
Prawns
Poached tiger prawns, served cold, sweet corn & young goat cheese crème, grilled baby corn, green herbs, herbed brioche croutons.
Parrot Fish
Parrot fish à la meunière, braised & glazed octopus, fresh chorizo, bread & butter courgette, slightly bitter red bell pepper sauce, crispy oregano leaves from our own garden, squash flowers.
Rabbit
Homemade Bedugal rabbit & mustard leaf sausage, concentrated rabbit jus, Arak & ginger glazed baby carrots varieties, crispy carrot leaves, carrot leaf oil.
Beef
Slow braised oxtail, striploin poached in caramelized onion consommé, finished on the frill, pan-fried potato gnocchi’s, broccoli crème, watercress leaves, crispy shallots, leek ash, shaved broccoli stems in shallot vinaigrette.
But the highs resume with dessert- a mulberry sorbet cleanses the palate and makes way for the sorrel, chocolate and beetroot number which balances its savoury and sweet profiles perfectly. The meal ends with a winning trifecta- warm madeleines dipped in crème anglaise, custardy canelé and freshly made potato doughnuts shaken in cinnamon sugar table side.
Amuse bouche: mulberry sorbet, coconut yoghurt foam and white chocolate
Sorrel & Chocolate
Bitter chocolate gananche (80%), sorrel & yoghurt sorbet, salt baked sweet pickled beetroot, beetroot meringue, red veined sorrel leaves, lime infused sea salt, beetroot reduction
Freshly baked madeleines with crème anglaise
Fresh mangosteen
Canelé
Homemade potato doughnuts with cinnamon sugar
It’s an easy way to spend an afternoon. If you’re looking to be inspired by your food then Locavore won’t disappoint. Put it on your Ubud must-eat list.
Good to know
Cocktails 98,000IDR (approx $9.80AUD/$8USD)
Mineral water (large) 45,000IDR (approx $4.50AUD/$4USD)
5 course tasting menu 475,000IDR (approx $47AUD/$35USD)
7 course tasting menu 575,000IDR (approx $57AUD/$45USD)
Locavore
Jl. Dewi Sita
Ubud
Telephone: +62 (0) 361 977733
Reservations a must!
10% tax and 8.5% service charge also apply.
Images: Thomas Southam
