As the Christmas vacation period is just around the corner, tourists planning their end-of-the-year trips to Bali are on the lookout for ways to bring a little extra magic to their vacation.
Bali’s food culture is thriving, and immersive dining experiences on the island are only getting better.
As more and more immersive dining experiences open up in Bali, there is something to be said for the OG and classic immersive foodie adventures. From Nusa Dua to Ubud and beyond for food lovers seeking a new level of excitement, there are four must-visit restaurants in Bali.
First up is none other than Koral Restaurant. This exceptional fine dining experience offers diners the opportunity to embark on an epicurean adventure beneath the sea. The Koral Restaurant is situated within a magical aquarium, where guests can observe marine life as they dine on some of the finest dishes available in Indonesia.
Koral Restaurant is part of the Apvura Kempinski Hotel in Nusa Dua. The iconic hotel has hosted everyone from royalty to presidents, prime ministers to tech billionaires, celebrities, and rock stars. While many areas of the hotel are off limits to non-guests, Koral Restaurant is open to all diners. Advance booking is essential, and diners are required to honour the dress code.
Serving up Asian fusion dishes, Bali’s only truly aquatic dining experiences, every visit to Koral is totally unique. The team behind the world-famous eatery shares, “At Koral, diners will feast on elegant dishes inspired by Indonesian coastal flavours and crafted from local ingredients, at a venue that is both casual and refined.”
They add, “More than just a restaurant, Koral offers a full bistronomic experience, combining delectable dining, a laid-back ambiance, and the rarefied atmosphere of an aquarium, accompanied with a hypnotic soundtrack that captures the magic and mystery of life below the waves.”
Next up is Merlin’s restaurant. Located in central Ubud, this utterly magical restaurant offers guests not only incredible food but a totally novel way to decide what to eat. In fact, at Merlin’s, there is the option of allowing your meal to choose you! Merlin’s is the first restaurant in the world to offer such a menu concept, and tourists from around the globe have been traveling to Ubud specifically to try it. Diners have two options to choose from, the 3-course menu or the 7-course menu. The dining experience is determined by selecting oracle cards, which indicate the meal that is best suited for you.
The menu is vast. With both hot and cold starters, main and dessert options. Highlights include the Cauldron of Life, a gingered pumpkin soup with yellow curry oil, beet swirl, and coconut yoghurt.
As well as the Noble Roasted Chicken with sweet potato, garlicky spinach, pakis, romesco sauce, and natural jus.
For dessert, The Flower Pot is an irresistible choice featuring a chocolate tart, milk and dark chocolate filling infused with cempaka, chocolate soil, red wine reduction, and a micro herbs garden.
For a next-level artistic and creative dining experience in Ubud, tourists must book an evening with 7 Paintings. Located within the incredible Kaamala Resort, this is one of the world’s finest immersive fine dining experiences.
7 Painting tells guests to “Prepare for Dineamation, an exclusive, immersive 2-hour journey that merges art, storytelling, and culinary brilliance in one unforgettable evening.”
“This exquisite seven-course dinner combines the finest gourmet dishes with stunning 3D visuals, interactive storytelling, and captivating illusions, creating Ubud’s best dining experience.
Menu highlights include Octopus Carpaccio, a sliced octopus served with citrus dressing, truffle anchovies, lemon gel, roasted almonds, charcoal balloon, and parmesan tuile. Also available is the White Chocolate Potato Soufflé for dessert, a light soufflé featuring white chocolate, potatoes, truffle oil, and vanilla gelato.
For all three immersive dining experiences, advanced booking is essential.
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Exp
Tuesday 22nd of July 2025
I prefer dining outside the inflated tourist zones. Eat at crowded places preferred by locals.
mario
Monday 21st of July 2025
Once, in Sanur, there was a chinese national, not speaking any indo or english. He was a top in cooking home made noodles made on site, on request including the sauce, one of the best restaurant I ever found in decades of travelling. The local balineses, where restaurants, including foreigner ones, are run by low motivated, low paid youngsters and average cooks, they sent the imigrasi to bust the chinese guy. One of the worst pizzeria I ever come across in my liife, is in the center of Sanur, but the best, on the remote beach of Mentasari, is now bankrupt for the same reason, the local are not up to the level, and the mafia-transport approach, do not bring tourists and guests to foreigners (Very good) restaurants. If some wonna be french cooks or similar, with their fraud dishes, eat less-pay-more are popping up in Bali, is because people want to show they are rich and do not need to eat a lot (In public). In Ubud, restaurants are also a low average, but not the bills. Draw your conclusions.
WAYAN BO
Sunday 20th of July 2025
(B)ALI‘s food, MAXIM‘s, 3 Rue de Royal, Paris, France 🥂🍾