We rarely rave about a restaurant, and we rarely rave about a coffee shop, partly because we’re both pretty good cooks and baristas. Here’s one exception:

Locavore, a restaurant in Ubud, Indonesia, was started by three friends working in different restaurants who decided to create a niche for fine Indonesian cooking . Their concept is unique in Indonesia: Nouvelle cuisine made with local ingredients.

All the dinner seatings were booked for months in advance. We were lucky to be able to make a lunch reservation even though it was low season.

Since we didn’t want to eat too much, but wanted to taste everything, we ordered one prix fixe with beverage pairings and an extra entree.  (We’ll forgive that the wines and liquors were not local. Grapes wouldn’t be good in this climate anyway.)

In addition to the five course lunch, the restaurant also served sourdough bread with original dips and a few other plates that were not listed. There was a wow factor in everything we were served including the drinks. That’s an enviable record for any chef.

This is the most original restaurant we’ve ever enjoyed anywhere. The combination of finely honed chef skills, local tradition and local foods creatively presented is completely successful in Locavore Restaurant. If you plan to travel to Ubud, make a dinner reservation well in advance! It’s on Jalan Dewa Sita. We loved this place.