Mozaic Bali - Restaurant Review

Location: Ubud
Cuisine: Indonesian
Price: £££
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Perfect for: Fine-dining, Award-winning, Special occasions

Although Bali has a lot going for it, the island currently doesn’t have any Michelin Star restaurants to boast about. However Mozaic Restaurant is here to change that.

Mozaic mixes traditional Indonesian Gastronomy with authentic French cuisine to create a unique experience for all diners. It has won many awards since it opened and continues to do so. In fact, it is the only restaurant in Indonesia that’s a member of Les Grandes Tables du Monde.

We arrived at Mozaic on a warm night in Bali and were first led into the lounge area to settle in and enjoy a canape and a drink before heading down to the main restaurant.

The Decor

The main dining space at Mozaic is a beautiful surprise. We were led down a small outdoor path which was strewn with fairy lights and this opened up to reveal what looked like a glass building with floor to ceiling windows hidden tropical growth.

We were led into this space and to our table, which offered views of the gardens outside, recreated the feeling of dining outdoors, but with the comfort of air conditioning and a solid roof keeping away the tropical rain.

The Menu

Mozaic Restaurant offers 6 or 8-course tasting menus. There is a seasonal menu and also a botanical menu which is entirely vegetarian.

Both focus on fresh seasonal Indonesian ingredients and flavours and this is highlighted throughout the menu. A platter of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs sits as the centrepiece of the table and the ingredients used in each of the dishes is also pointed out on the platter. This allows diners to see the ingredients in their raw form, understand how they were cooked, and taste them too, a process which I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from too.

Although the ingredients are local, Mozaic employs Western techniques of preparation and presentation. This means that each dish looks exquisite.

Our 6 course seasonal menu started with blue swimmer crab, served with Pomelo lard and laksa leaf which was a fresh and light dish to ease into the menu with. We opted for the wine pairing, and this course was paired with a Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. The grapefruit flavours complimented the acidity in the dish very well.

We then moved onto kingfish ham, which came with a bit of theatre, as Chef Blake Thornley prepared it in liquid nitrogen at the table and served the dish with clarified gazpacho. This was a cool and refreshing dish and I enjoyed seeing it being prepared too.

The next dish was a delicious seared foie gras with smoked eel, rosewater apple, cucumber and lemongrass. and the last savoury dish on our menu was flavourful Karubi wagyu beef was served with kulat pelawan, turnips and black mint.

By this point we were very satisfied by our meal, but of course we couldn’t skip on dessert. Our dessert was beautifully presented milk chocolate with curry leaves, kenari and kalamansi lime. I hadn’t tried this combination of chocolate with curry leaves and kalamansi but I was pleasantly surprised with how well the ingredients worked together and I really enjoyed this dessert.

To end our meal we were presented with petit fours and a glass of champagne to toast to the fantastic culinary experience we just had.

Our wine pairing was always perfectly paired and effortlessly weaved from white, red to sparkling. There is also the option for diners to order wine or other drinks by the glass too.

The Price

The 6 course seasonal menu which we tried is priced at approximately £65, with the 8 course menu priced at approximately £80. The wine pairing for 6 wines is approximately £40 and and approximately £60 for 8 course pairing. This is very good value not just for the quality of the ingredients and dishes, but also for the experience that comes with dining at Mozaic.

Overall

Dining at Mozaic is an unforgettable experience. Whether you opt for the 8 or 6 course menu, all the dishes are so well thought through that the ingredients effortlessly merge together to create a delight for your palate.

It was a pleasure to meet Chef Blake and talk through the ideas behind some of the dishes too. The menu at Mozaic changes regularly, but always focuses on showcasing the finest quality local ingredients, which means whenever you dine here you’ll always be in for a treat.

I would recommend Mozaic for your next special occasion. We dined here on our last night on the island and it was a fitting way to end a magnificent trip.