Petitenget has always been known for the finer things in life, and in particular, the finer things of Bali, and after a small hiatus, due to the Covid slow-down, etc, it appears to be coming back stronger than ever. New spots are opening all the time and one caught my eye recently and I just had to give it a go. That is Madan restaurant, right in the Red Ruby to Potato Head strip of Petitenget, and next door to what used to be Biku.
So, what is going on with this Madan restaurant you may well ask? A number of things would be the answer, but above all, the excellent dining, the well trained staff and some very well made cocktails. The warm and inviting décor, casual charm and the price are also not to be shirked at, but let’s go back to the food.
How many times do you try a restaurant and every single dish is oozing delicious flavours and perfectly cooked? Not many, right? Well, the Madan menu kicks goals at every turn and how does it come about? Well, it’s quite simple really―the pedigree of the staff back in the kitchen. The Head Chef at Madan came straight from Perenenan dining hot-spot, Shelter and has brought with him some spectacular Mediterranean dishes for the grill, the oven and more. The young owner, Dana has his own story, too, being the son of Seminyak’s popular Warung Nia and other well-known hospitality outlets around town over the past decades. He just got back from hospitality studies in Switzerland, too, and was raring to go with this new project.
So, all this goodness has been wrapped up in a dining experience that we had the pleasure of trying last Tuesday evening.
Photos Above: The elegant teak wood interior and tropical garden front of Madan restaurant, with images of the Hummus, Tzatziki, the smoked olives, and some of their cocktails.
We started off with a menu suggested from Dana; a selection of his favourite starters and mains that he thought represented the menu in its best light. I believe this menu will become a form of set menu in the near future, but for now, there is a very decent 30% Opening Discount on all the food menu items and many daily offers. Just ask the staff.
First, a delicious whipped chickpea, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil Hummus (75k) and a Greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber, mint, dill based Tzatziki (80k) came to the table, both with an assortment of fresh, sliced garden vegetables and flat bread straight from the oven, puffing up skyward. Right from the outset my daughter, and dining companion for the visit, Paloma and I were smiling with delight, as it was obvious we were in for a treat. We decided to share everything, and both of these Mediterranean dips, or spreads, were exceptionally tasty and a great way start to the proceedings.
As we were enjoying the smooth textures and flavours of the dips, two more starters; a Charcoal-Grilled Calamari (135k), lightly kissed, or flame grilled squid, served with garlic labna, chimichurri sauce, and finished with watercress and crispy garlic, and next the Chicken Zaatar Flat Bread (119k), which was really tasty and consisted of two sticks of marinated chicken steak with zaatar base, served on fresh flat bread, seasonal green and garlic yogurt sauce. The flavours were intense and you can wrap the meat etc in the flat bread or just bite straight from the skewer. The last morsel from the small plate section of the menu was a delicious, small bowl of olives marinated and then smoked. Marinated Smoked Olives (50k). Wow. I don’t think I’ve had such interesting and tasty olives since my days in Spain, many years ago.
Photos Above: One of my favourites, the Chicken Zaatar Flat Bread, the Half Grill Chicken and some desserts. And interior shots of the Madan restaurant.
Then the mains were marched out and fortunately we still had a bit of room. A couple more cocktails were also delivered. The cocktails (starting at 120k) are also something else to admire and the cocktail menu is extensive and super creative. Finer cocktails would be hard to find anywhere in town.
We had two main course dishes; Half Grilled Chicken (165k) consisting of marinated organic chicken spiced with North African flavours of chermoula and fired on the charcoal grill, garlic confit and creamy labna, squeezed with lemon. The chicken was perfected cooked, tender and juicy, grilled in a super tasty marinade. Great dish. Then a Charcoal Grilled Barramundi (165k) placed on a lemon potato purée, tomato olive caper sauce, with herb fennel salad and herb oil. These were served with sides of Roasted Honey Glazed Baby Carrot (65k) Pistachio nut, olive oil, and Charcoal Grilled Asparagus and Broccoli (75k) with garlic yogurt, and mixed spiced seed.
There is a definite Middle Eastern touch, and Mediterranean twist on everything at Madan. Madan even sounds like a town in Morroco, or somewhere in North Africa.
However, the interiors of the restaurant are decidedly Indonesian, or Balinese, with beautifully carved, teak doorways and warm timber furnishings throughout. There is plenty of space and very high ceilings, which makes it even more spacious and cooler on these warm days and nights of Bali.
There is plenty more on the menu than what we tried that night, including an array of meat and fish dishes cooked on the open grill kitchen at the street front of the restaurant. They also cook some amazing looking pizzas in a pizza oven out there, too.
Madan is a beautiful restaurant. I recall seeing it near completion a few weeks ago and thinking to myself, this spot looks interesting with its warm interiors peeking through the tropical garden out the front. Lo and behold, I was back this week to check the finished product for myself, and I must say I am glad I had the opportunity. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of dining and excellent cocktails on offer.
I think you should give Madan a try at your earliest opportunity, too, and I believe you will be very happy you did.
Text & photos: David Trauts
