BLANCO par Mandif — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

Treated myself to a decidedly upmarket dining experience while in Ubud and I was completely blown away by my experience at Blanco par Mandif. The dark and mysterious entrance pathway leads into a cosy, plush bar where I was promptly greeted and asked whether I’d like to enjoy a drink in the bar lounge first or be led into the ultra modern main dining room. I was peckish and ready to eat so off we went into the dining room where I was kindly seated on a comfortable sofa / recliner at a table with crisp white tablecloths.

My both charming and handsome server promptly introduced himself and explained how the evening would work. I was to enjoy a delicious set-course meal that, in addition, featured various nibbles and pleasantly surprising treats. After the hand-washing ceremony and a friendly, knowledgeable mixologist prepared me a complimentary house cocktail, the food began arriving and it was so damn good! Such a variety and I loved how Balinese and Indonesian flavours and presentation were mixed in with various other international & modern presentation influences. The main course of aged roast duck was perfect chef’s kiss. It was soft, juicy, succulent and all those other borderline sexual words Nigella Lawson would describe such a decadent dish.

The cassava flavoured dessert was not only stunningly beautiful but extremely moreish, and the accompanying snacks that came with my tea (of which 8 flavours are available for you to smell and choose from) were equally divine - and pleasantly varied.

I strained my mind to think of any areas for improvement but I couldn’t think of any - it was a seamless well-paced evening with perfect dishes, faultless service and a relaxed ambience.

I polished the evening off with a couple of unique, tasty cocktails in the comfortable bar and enjoyed chatting with the friendly staff while munching on the homemade potato chips before heading off.

Thank you to everyone at Blanco par Mandif for a delightful, 5-star evening and for treating me so well. I won’t be surprised if the Michelin Guide is sniffing around your neighbourhood...

I’m not easily impressed by any food. But honestly, the food in Blanco par Mandif really blew my mind.

I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so what I had for our dinner was their vegetarian dishes. When I tasted the vegetables, I immediately knew that they prioritize quality upon anything else. They don’t mind choosing vegetables from the farthest, northern part of Bali to have the ultimate best quality of vegetables, eventhough they could easily find decent enough vegetables in Ubud or any place nearby.

Their cooking techniques were also fascinating. The one that stole my attention was the cabbage. They dried the cabbage until it reaches the perfect level of crispness and tenderness. I am a fan of fried cabbage, but this one is a whole new level. Again, mind blown.

Also, as an art enthusiast, I am a really visual person, so food presentation really matters to me. And the presentation of all the dishes could please my eyes so well. Before every first bite, I spend the first few minutes after the dishes was served only to admire the beautiful presentation.

From all the dishes that we had, my friends were most impressed by the Gethuk. And it was astounding, indeed. But for me, the star of the dinner was the Asinan Jakarta. At first I tried the vegetables and the sauce one by one, but then I tried to mix every tiny bit in one spoon, and everything just blended really amazingly in my mouth. Every flavor just mingled harmoniously, creating an incredibly delightful sensation in my mouth. As I said before, I’m not easily impressed by any food, but after that Asinan Jakarta, I think I just experienced that feeling that other people called ‘foodgasm’....

Very average. Beautiful food marred by very strange service.

I was served a warm beer - considering we are paying over 200,000 rupia per beer, this is unacceptable.

Restaurant was completely empty on a Sunday night. We are sure the waiters were unaware that we could see them in the reflection of the glass, watching us and waiting for us to finish each dish. We felt very rushed!

Our duck dish was on the table for 2 minutes. We ‘accidentally’ had a conversation (sorry!) and were immediately approached with waiters asking if we didn’t like the dish. We couldn’t even take a 2 minute break!

Degustation is supposed to be paced - it is a marathon, not a sprint. We felt we were being pushed to the finish line so staff could go home.

We informed the staff that we were celebrating our anniversary & staff made nothing of it. Not that it’s expected, but local restaurants down the street were lovely enough to make a fuss and a 5* dining establishment glossed over it.

Not worth the 4,000,000+ rupia we paid for it.

To top it off, My partner was killing mosquitoes on the table with the menus in your five star establishment. I pointed this out and the menu was taken and replaced with no apology.

Please consider other fine dining options in Ubud if you are seeking a real dining experience.

We had such high hopes, what a shame.

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