The Cave was one of the coolest dining experience we experienced in our lifetime.
It is an exclusive 22-seat subterranean restaurant experimenting with modern fine dining flavours, located in Uluwatu, Bali. Created by Chef Ryan Clift, an ex Vue de Monde chef (LINK), it conserves the natural cave stalactites and delivers a theatrical meal.
It is pricey for Bali, with the 7 course costing about $200 per person (AUD) in advance.
The reviews are mixed, with average joes complaining about the price and location, but considering the overall experience of the restaurant layout, we thought it was a worth-it visit to do once in the lifetime.
It is an exclusive 22-seat subterranean restaurant experimenting with modern fine dining flavours, located in Uluwatu, Bali. Created by Chef Ryan Clift, an ex Vue de Monde chef (LINK), it conserves the natural cave stalactites and delivers a theatrical meal.
It is pricey for Bali, with the 7 course costing about $200 per person (AUD) in advance.
The reviews are mixed, with average joes complaining about the price and location, but considering the overall experience of the restaurant layout, we thought it was a worth-it visit to do once in the lifetime.
Restaurant Layout
The Cave is located inside The Edge resort. Upon arrival, we are escorted via buggy to the front door where we are met with scenic views of their pool, cocktail bar and cliff edge. The restaurant is located down a spiral staircase.
There is an opportunity to explore the cave with helmets in between courses. It was a bit wet because of the running water in the cave so caution was required.
There is an opportunity to explore the cave with helmets in between courses. It was a bit wet because of the running water in the cave so caution was required.
entrée
We started with bread and butter, a staple milk bread with a tomato-infused butter. The butter was too cold so it didn’t cut away or spread well on the bread, leaving a grainy texture mouthfeel.
Our first dish was a tournedos rossini, a steak tartar with foie gras, truffle and egg yolk. The foie gras was a jus. This was a balanced bite rated 7/10 by Mick. The steak was savouriness and tender, cut finely into a mush. There was creaminess from the yolk, cut through by the little greens.
The crab taco with enoki mushroom, avocado and belimbing wuluh was average, 4/10. The taco was good, but had no seasoning. The crab was shredded well, but the earthy mushrooms and avocado got lost amongst itself. Belimbing wuluh is a sour tropical fruit that is supposed to add tartness to the bite, but we think the pick was lacking in flavour.
This was lawar plek, a tuna, bumbu Bali and puffed wild rice served in a cocktail glass. This was delicious!!!
Traditionally lawar plek is raw minced pork and pig’s blood, mixed with grated coconut, spices, and herbs. The use of tuna added umami to the bite. There was a lot of creative direction for textures and flavours, a solid 8/10 by Chef Mick.
This was a tomato jelly with heirloom tomato and basil. We’ve seen this done a dozen times before so it was not impressive to us. The jelly was clear and sweet, accentuated by more pops of tomato and earthy greens. It was still refreshing but we know how to recreate this at home so an average bite for us.
Intermission
There was a light show that ran four times for about 2-3 minutes. It started between the entrées to main course, main course to main course, main course to dessert, and finally one more at the end. It was nice to see the projections but by the 3rd show, we were over it 😂, especially because we wanted to leave asap once lunch was complete.
It does make sense for this show to be on because Vue de Monde is notorious for theatrical displays and we can see where Chef Ryan got his inspiration from.
It does make sense for this show to be on because Vue de Monde is notorious for theatrical displays and we can see where Chef Ryan got his inspiration from.
Main course
We started with a scallop and watercress tart, with wasabi and potato fondant. This was our favourite dish of the meal, and something we would consider for our own home dinners. The confit scallop was incredibly flavourful and tender, elevated by the caviar and earthy watercress puree. Our only critique was the potato was a tad raw – 8.5/10.
What did they do to this foie gras cannoli with mandarin, pistachio mousseline and 8 spice. The foie gras was so bitter, and did not have its usual rich, fatty texture. It was grainy. The cannoli was too thick and plain, and the pistachio added more graininess to the bite. There was not enough mandarin, or sweetness from this particular mandarin, to balance everything. 2/10.
This was ocean trout, glazed carrot, turmeric and coconut curry. We could see the direction they wanted to take this ocean trout but if they were trying to replicate Tetsuya’s famous trout, they missed the ball hard LINK. The trout was smoked, which overwhelmed its flavour and texture. Add in the strong turmeric and curry seasoning, and we had a bite that had no balance or highlighted the fish at all. 4/10.
This was a lamb rack dhungar with gobi, makhani jus and raita (yogurt) – 4/10.
It tasted like butter chicken lamb. The lamb was a bit tough to cut. There was no harmony with the ingredients.
This was the palate cleanser and it was one of the worst we’ve had. The rock melon mule was bitter and sour. It didn’t really cleanse anything. If it had been a sweet melon, it would have been much better.
Dessert
The dessert was a mango sticky rice with mango sorbet, coconut rice and cream. This was amazing!! 7/10. The coconut rice texture, the crisp shell, the creaminess of the sorbet and the sweetness of the mango all came together perfectly in this bite.
The petit fours given at the end. They were good but we were too full to finish it.
Service
The service was fantastic. We had a cocktail each, which were decent. The toilet was situated outside above the stairs.
Review
We thought this was a great dining experience. The food was a hit or miss, but we enjoyed the layout and interactions of the cave. If you want to splurge, we recommend this for your next trip to Bali. We don’t think it’s worth a revisit, just a nice one-time thing.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
