Nusantara Restaurant by Locavore, Ubud
Nusantara by Locavore is not your typical Indonesian restaurant. The sister restaurant to Locavore NXT, which has established itself as a groundbreaking restaurant in Bali, Nusantara by Locavore, serves lesser-known dishes across Indonesia using traditional techniques and serving styles.
Nusantara, which means archipelago in English, showcases the unsung heroes of traditional Indonesian cuisine. The Nusantara team carefully selects dishes from across the Indonesian archipelago, highlighting each region's best recipes and using only high-quality and local ingredients to display forgotten dishes on your plate. This is a place where the authentic flavours of Indonesian rich culinary heritage finds its much-deserved home.
With its white rattan partitions framed in natural wood and hanging lamps above the table, as often seen inside Javanese houses, Nusantara brings both staple and seasonal Indonesian ingredients to the forefront in a slightly upscale setting and yet still feels casual. Nusantara certainly earns its place among the best restaurants in Bali, especially when you're interested in learning more about Indonesia through your taste buds.
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All You Need to Know Before Coming to Nusantara by Locavore
Reservations
We suggest that you make a reservation through Nusantara's official website, which is similar to Locavore NXT; getting a table without a booking is impossible. You'll be asked to fill in the details, including the booking date and time, and the confirmation will be sent via email.
Welcoming Service
The service staff at Nusantara will serve you with a complementary snack wheel from across Indonesia to start your culinary journey. There is the spinach tempura, crackers, and sambal along with a description of every item on the snack wheel. What a way to start!
First Impression
The grilled section at the entrance greets guests with delicious aromas, promising much to come. It's no exaggeration to say that stepping into Nusantara for the first time radiates coziness and warmth. The blue sofa, the wooden chairs and tables, and the traditional prints on the cushions and decor make you feel like you're visiting a friend's house.
Our Favourites at Nusantara by Locavore
There are many dishes at Nusantara by Locavore that we had never heard of before and, instead of ordering the set menu, we ordered the à la carte menu so we could find out whether to recommend them to you.
Our Recommendations from the Meal Menu
The kitchen team at Nusantara did a tremendous job in presenting the regional cuisines of Indonesia, which are not only delectable but also stay true to the authentic flavours.
🍽 Rumpu Rampe (IDR 55K)
Perfect to accompany your main course, this vegetable dish from East Nusa Tenggara is a burst of flavours made of stir-fried papaya leaves, banana blossom, turmeric leaves, kucai, chillies, turmeric, ginger and candlenuts.
🍽 Kare Kambing (IDR 195K)
Originating from Aceh, the goat leg is braised in Indonesian spices like candelnuts, turmeric, lemongrass, and galangal, among others, and it's perfectly cooked and tender!
🍽 Babi Masak Dibulu (IDR 195K)
From Manado, North Sulawesi, this pork shoulder is cooked in bamboo over an open wood fire with Indonesian spices like turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, and coconut milk.
Our Recommendations from the Drinks Menu
Though the wine selections at Nusantara seem tempting, why not go for the Indonesian-inspired cocktails made up of traditional Indonesian staple ingredients?
🍸 Rujak 2.0 (IDR 140K)
Kaffir lime chili cordial and arak (traditional Balinese spirit) from East Bali with guava leaf soda and caramelised noni makes a perfect drink for your meal.
🍸 Jamu Beluntas (IDR 140K)
This is not your typical Indonesian jamu as it is made from Beluntas leaves with bitter gourd and arak, creating a drink that is slightly bitter but has a nice kick.
🍸 Beras Kencur (IDR 50K)
For non-alcoholic drinkers, this one is the modern take on Indonesian jamu, made of roasted rice with aromatic ginger, spiced plum sugar and lime juice. Fresh enough to overcome your thirst!
We ordered Kare Kambing, Babi Masak Dibulu, Rumpu Rampe, and some other small dishes: Jukut Kelor Mesanten (IDR 90K), with moringa leaves soup; Nasi Bakar Wangi (IDR 40K), with rice grilled and wrapped in banana leaves; Jangan Tewel (IDR 50K), with young jackfruit in coconut milk, and Serabi (IDR 55K) for dessert. For drinks, we chose Beras Kencur, Rujak 2.0, and Es Timun (IDR 50K). Our total bill came to a little over IDR 1 million, but we were full and happy!
Special Offers at Nusantara by Locavore
Nusantara by Locavore is about more than just authentic Indonesian cuisine, as it's also perfect for large gatherings and for learning more about the food prepared at the restaurant.
🍽 Private Dining
The second floor at Nusantara can be booked for a private dinner and is big enough to accommodate 8‒12 people. There will be set menu costs of IDR 475K per person.
🧑🍳 Culinary Adventure
There are two classes available: The Full Culinary Adventure (IDR 1,500K) and The Morning Adventure (IDR 750K) where Chef Putu will take you to prepare Indonesian culinary delights featuring traditional techniques.
What We Like and What We Don't
Most of the qualities of Nusantara by Locavore are beyond expectation, but we found a few things worth mentioning that could elevate the experience to even more astounding.
What We Like
The variety of dishes from across Indonesia is something you don't see often in an Indonesian restaurant in Bali. And to make it even more remarkable, some of the dishes were unfamiliar to us, even as Indonesians!
The atmosphere and the decor of the facility are impeccable. The interior and the decor are not lavish or extravagant, but this is exactly why we liked it because it was humble and unassuming.
The complementary snack wheel before the meal is an excellent way to introduce Indonesian dishes. The wheel of small bites will give anyone who is unfamiliar with Indonesian cuisine an introductory taste to the dishes and, moreover, there is an explanation of each item.
The cocktail selections with Indonesian ingredients. This is another highlight at Nusantara because all the cocktails are using familiar Indonesian ingredients, further cementing Nusantara's status as one of the leading Indonesian restaurants in Ubud.
The reservation process is quick, easy, and efficient. There is no back and forth with the reservation team, and we had no problem at all in making a reservation.
What We Don't
There is a hit and miss aspect to some of the dishes. For any international visitors, this might be the first time they taste Indonesian dishes but, for us, some of the items we ordered didn't taste that authentic to our palate, though generally speaking they were delicious.
The portion was a bit small for its price. Though we didn't expect much, the reason we ordered more items were because the portions were not satisfactory enough for us.
No parking spaces. Though this is the same issue faced by many establishments in Ubud, we still hoped that one day Nusantara will have its own parking space.
Nusantara by Locavore Location + Opening Hours
Nusantara by Locavore Opening Hours
Monday: 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Tuesday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Wednesday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Thursday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Friday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Saturday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Sunday: 12 PM ‒ 2:30 PM (Lunch) / 6 PM ‒ 9:30 PM (Dinner)
Expert Opinion About Nusantara by Locavore
With over 17,000 islands, it is no surprise that Indonesia has thousands of recipes to refer to. Nusantara by Locavore highlights the distinct recipes from different regions in Indonesia, from Sumatra to Sulawesi, and this may sound like an ambitious way to introduce Indonesian cuisine, but we applaud their commitment and how they deliver the mission.
Through the blend of traditional meets contemporary design, Nusantara succeeded in creating a space that is warm, comfortable, and inviting. We can also say, however, that the portions do not always justify the price or how authentic some of the dishes are. Nevertheless, Nusantara is still a recommended restaurant to visit.
If you find yourself in Ubud and are looking for a true Indonesian culinary journey, Nusantara by Locavore is ready to take you across the Indonesian archipelago via its forgotten and unique recipes.
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Reviews About Nusantara by Locavore
Celina T
Bernard N
Jillian KHow can you evaluate
Hi everyone! My name is Catur, and I was born and raised in Central Java. I moved to Bali in 2011 but left the island in 2016 before returning in 2018. Bali feels more than a home to me, and maybe that’s why my name feels like a premonition. Catur means four, both in the Balinese and Javanese languages. It is spoken like ‘c’ in chess, which is also the meaning of my name in Indonesian.
