Salt Tapas (Seminyak Bali)

Salt Tapas is a semi-fine dining restaurant located in Peppers Sentosa Resort Seminyak, about 500 meters off Jalan Petitenget.

It was opened by Luke Mangan, who seems to be a businessman more than a Chef. He is behind the Salt brand, with locations in Singapore, Australia, Japan and Indonesia (in Jakarta I reviewed Salt Gril on Jakarta100bars: Altitude). The actual Chef of Salt Tapas Bali is Angus Blake Harrison, a young Australian, and it is managed by Rafael Nardo.

The location is a bit odd as it is inside a private resort. The idea is probably to make the Sentosa look more exclusive and more attractive for Australian tourists with a branded restaurant inside the resort.

Salt Tapas was designed by a young Balinese architect, Putu Edy Semara, who was also involved with Sundara in Four Seasons Hotel in Jimbaran. I would say that the style is modern Balinese as most of the items were sourced on the island, while the design looks very contemporary. It is the kind of restaurant you would expect to see in larger cities like Bangkok or Singapore. There is a closed area with aircon, and another one in the open air, around a lagoon-shaped swimming pool.

There may be a total seating area of 100 pax. When I visited there were only around 20 persons (Friday night), so it felt empty. Too bad because I can imagine the kind of atmosphere there would be if it was more busy. For Jakartans, just think of the new Bluegrass to get an idea.

The Service in Salt Tapas was really excellent for Bali standards: Very friendly, efficient and with perfect english. They were so professional that they can actually do upselling... There were just a few mistakes, for instance the waiter did not know that they had ran out of Mushroom Arancini back in the kitchen.

The menu is rather small, with prices that I found much more reasonable than those in Salt Grill in Altitude Jakarta. I had the Roasted Garlic Flat Bread with Romesco (50,000rp ++), the Tuna Tartare with Citrus & Wasabi (Rp65,000++), and as a dessert the Floating Island with Berries, Amaretto Anglaise, Lemon Curd, Almonds and Basil (Rp70,000++). All of them were good but I thought it was a bit overrated considering all the hype surrounding its Founder. It is on a par with the food you can eat in almost every upmarket restaurants in France.

Overall: I recommend Salt Tapas for anyone looking for a bit of sophistication in Seminyak. The romantic setting and the personal attention given by the staff makes it also perfect for a date. The food is fine, but I was expecting more coming from a famous Chef.

in Sentosa Seminyak Resort