Jungle views, heritage flavours and a breathtaking riverside perch – this isn’t your typical Mediterranean restaurant…
Think of a traditional bistro and images of chequered tablecloths and mahogany leather booths spring to mind. But at the globally renowned and award-winning Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, their vision of a Mediterranean bistro is a little different…
Sitting on the banks of Bali’s sacred Ayung River and totally open to nature, Riverside is where you’ll find one of the island’s most unique dining experiences, with earthy tones, rustic textures, towering Banyan trees and the ever-present sounds of the majestic river below, cascading its way through the lush, dense jungle.
This open-air Mediterranean restaurant fuses bistro charm with the artistry of haute cuisine, transporting you back to an era when spices, ingredients, and ideas flowed freely along the Mediterranean maritime trade routes, connecting cultures and shaping culinary traditions. We’re talking modern Mediterranean flavours and expert techniques, zhooshed up with refined presentation and premium Balinese ingredients – most of which are locally-sourced from the surrounding Ubud area…
The Riverside restaurant vibes
Riverside is indeed a fabulous five-star restaurant with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a resort named the No.1 in the World. But despite this elite reputation, you won’t find a stuffy fine dining setting here. Instead, Riverside is all about easy, breezy, casual dining in the jungle, with a buzzing atmosphere by day, and a romantic date night vibe by night.
Both interactive and visually engaging, this warm and playful restaurant is a place to gather with friends and family, and to feast on fine al fresco Mediterranean flavours, all made for sharing. At lunchtime, you can sip and dip in the neighbouring pool with the lively sounds of rafters floating down the river, reminiscent of a warm Mediterranean summer.
By nightfall, soft lighting and flickering candles set the scene for a cosy dinner, complete with plush, patterned cushions and melodic Med-inspired music. Settle in and soak up the all-natural panorama, featuring Mediterranean vegetation like boxwood, lavender and bougainvillea.
It’s the most idyllic setting to sit back and sample Riverside’s fine wines and herbaceous cocktails, all before tucking in to a feast of Mediterranean treasures. Each carefully crafted dish offers an exploratory taste of regional ingredients, creative presentation and both traditional and contemporary cooking techniques, helped along with the restaurant’s state-of-the-art Josper charcoal oven…
The Riverside feast
Once you’ve settled in to your Riverside perch, you’ll want to start with the ultra-fresh mahi-mahi crudo, with its delicate texture, subtle sweetness and refreshing citrus notes. It’s one of the best sellers here, and you’ll soon understand why. Or, try the creamy sea scallop with a hint of truffle, carefully smoked in the Josper oven. The beauty of the Josper is it allows meat and seafood to be cooked at over 250°C, which seals in moisture and all of the delicious natural flavours.
Another standout is the harissa lamb chop, scented with rosemary and finished with a spicy kick. Or the soft-as-butter barramundi, served with tangy capers, anchovies, basil, and aromatic herbs. Follow all of this with the aromatic Ayung Cocote; a steaming pot of buttery mussels, marinating in a white wine sauce and aromatic herbs…
A taste of the Mediterranean simply wouldn’t be complete without a sweet finale, so before you wrap up your Riverside feast, you’ll certainly want to try the desserts. Our fave was the orange cream caramel (pictured above), closely followed by the tiramisu, with its smooth mascarpone cream and layers of espresso – the perfect balance of bitter and sweet.
If all of that wasn’t enough to get you feasting Riverside, this is Bali’s only five-star restaurant where you can park up directly from a river rafting experience and have lunch on the banks of the Ayung river. Or of course, you can always reach the restaurant the ‘traditional’ way, via the resort’s ever-Instagrammable lobby that sits high above the jungle canopy, where serene lotus ponds appear to float above the trees.
And if (like us) you can’t get enough of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, you can also stop by for a panoramic feast at Ayung Terrace, and finish it all off with a fairytale bliss sesh at Sacred River Spa – one of the many reasons we’ll be rafting our way back to Riverside, very, very soon…
Riverside at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Jl Raya Sayan, Sayan, Ubud, p. +62 361 977577.
Source: https://thehoneycombers.com/bali/riverside-restaurant-at-four-seasons-resort-bali-at-sayan/
