If you like the flavours of top quality meats flamed on the grill in a beautiful garden setting right in a popular part of town look no further than this slightly hidden gem.
Uma Garden is a new restaurant near Nook on the Umalas Petitenget shortcut.
The restaurant is part of the Tavolo group that brought us establishments like Avocado Factory, BB52, Hippy Fish and The Shady bars, and while Uma Garden has a homely, wholesome feel, the pedigree, like the others in the group, is stylish and with an excellent execution.
There are two areas in the new restaurant that opened just a week ago; an air-conditioned bar and dining space at the entrance, and behind that a beautiful, tranquil garden with a tall, arched roof through the middle of the garden, which no doubt provides great protection from the
wet season storms. It didn’t rain on our visit, fortunately, being one of the few nights without a downpour recently, but nice to know they have that issue well covered.
They describe their dining concept as “a fire-based kitchen built on the humble philosophy of bringing people together around real food and good vibes”, and let me assure you, that is exactly what you get.
All the dishes that arrived to our sharing table, a massive slice of timber under the covered garden area, were presented simply and hot from the kitchen. All the pastas are homemade on the premises. Also the other starters that our group tried; beef empanadas, potato beef croquettes, stuffed bell peppers (pictured right),
were also homemade and cooked in the kitchen under the watchful eye of Carlos Barvo and sous chef, Boy Putra. Really, this is next level, wholesome food. The sweet roasted pumpkin just added to organic wholesomeness of the dining experience.
Next came a volley of meats all cooked on the grill or oven and need I say, once again cooked to perfection. They had the ecstatic carnivores among us whetting their lips in glee.
Pork ribs, pork belly, Wagyu beef, striploin steak all feature on the mains, with their prized bull, the enormous Australian Wagyu Tomahawk taking centre stage as it should. The meats were perfectly sous-vid cooked,
grilled, roasted and plated before arriving to our group of gluttonous meat-eating friends. I glanced over the table to our new, vegetarian friend, but she too was well served in the grilled and roasted vegetable department with a range vegetarian options.
The desserts were also well thought out and presented including variations on cheese cake and flan among other tasty morsels. Those delicious, sweet endings are still in my mind now.
Uma Garden also has an extensive range of wines from all over the planet and a cocktail list that would be the envy of most of the better bars around town – I would imagine
this could be the fruit of the union with those Shady Pig boys.
And that brought us to the end of our Uma Garden experience.
For people who love a great grill and wholesome, real food without a hint of pretense, Uma Garden is not to be missed. The value for money aspect is also looking good.
SDW
Uma Garden
Jl. Umalas 1 no. 8, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Bookings & info : 0821 4736 9323
Website : www.umagardenbali.com
