Apéritif Restaurant & Bar is a unique restaurant located in Ubud, Bali. It is the gourmet restaurant of the luxurious Viceroy Bali hotel, located right in the Balinese jungle. No expense was spared to make this restaurant a culinary attraction The roaring twentiesor the wild 20s was chosen as the thematic concept for the interior and the bar. Appropriate for the period after the current corona crisis…At the stove in the kitchen is…a Belgian. Time for an inside look at one of Indonesia’s most striking restaurants.
A framework of expectations
We start with the frame. The ultra-luxurious Viceroy Hotel offers one to be proud of. Uniquely located on a hill overlooking the Petanu River and the jungle, the Viceroy Hotel slowly but surely became one of Bali’s most famous hotels. The 40 villas all offer an unseen level of luxury with a private pool. It is an oasis of tranquillity and tropical lushness, which has repeatedly been awarded the title of best or most romantic hotel in the region (and even in the world). You can read more about this wonderful hotel in our separate article.
This framework creates expectations which Apéritif Restaurant & Bar must meet. That the bar was set high became clear during the construction of the restaurant. No less than 1100 square metres of space was made available for the enormous bar and restaurant. The atmosphere of the 1920s was chosen by the hotel owners as the overriding theme. In the first, there was a lot of rugged wood, dark colours and a cosy colonial atmosphere. In the restaurant, lots of marble, lighter colours and 1920s interior accessories, combined with the exotic jungle backdrop, create a setting that exudes grandeur and elegance. The gigantic open kitchen and large glass wine cabinet create a cooking dynamic and a sense of wine enjoyment.
Belgian at the helm
At the helm of Apéritif is the self-willed and talented Belgian chef Nic Vanderbeeken. Nic started washing dishes in a Belgian restaurant at an early age. He liked the atmosphere and from the dishes he moved on to the mise en place. That was even better and after a culinary training, Nic gained experience in various top restaurants across the country. After that experience, it was time for his own business, Bistro Biggles in Wevelgem. Only a few years later, during a holiday trip in Bali, he decided to completely change his life. He sold his restaurant and moved to Asia. After a period in Vietnam, the young chef ends up in Bali, where he becomes the chef of the then fine dining restaurant of the Viceroy Bali hotel, CasCades. There, his eclectic style of cooking caught the eye of both management and guests. The owners decided in 2018 that it was time for the next step: the prestigious Apéritif.
Martino and Wellington
Nic describes his cooking style as international and eclectic. He does not focus on one specific cooking technique or style, but uses techniques from different continents. The same applies to ingredients: if it is better from another region, Nic uses it. The menus often include elements that refer to his memories. For example, there is the Martino, the famous sandwich from the homeland Belgium, which Nic serves as freshly cut raw beef combined with salted egg yolk, black rice and pickled turmeric. The Venison Wellington is cut at the table by the chef himself. He uses perfectly cooked venison, accompanied by foie gras and seasoned with an Indonesian rendang sauce.
Practical
A dinner at Apéritif is not cheap, but certainly not expensive by European standards. The 6-course lunch costs about 75 euros, the 8-course dinner menu about 100 euros. You pay 60 euros for a wine arrangement or 180 euros for the “Grand Cru” arrangement with prestige wines.
Appearance
Jl. Lanyahan, BanjarNagi
Ubud, Bali 80571
Indonesia
www.aperitif.com – www.viceroybali.com
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