Mozaic - Fine Dining Restaurant - Ubud, Bali

My experience in Mozaic could be summarized in simple terms: It is the best restaurant I have tried in Indonesia (if you are a reader of this website, you will know that I visited a lot of them!).

Mozaic is located in Ubud, about a kilometer away from the central market. It is not too big, with the main dining area in a quiet garden. The standards of service are as high as one can achieve in Indonesia I believe. The table set-up is perfect, the staff is great, and the atmosphere ideally romantic. It was opened by French-American national Chris Salans, who also opened Mozaic Beach Club in 2012. The restaurant has received several awards, in particular being included in Restaurant Magazine's list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

There is no à-la-carte menu: You must choose from one of the 6-course set menus, which change every day depending on the mood of the Chef or the availability of ingredients on the market. The prices are very high for Bali:

The Discovery Menu costs Rp700,000+21% Tax and Service: It is a fusion menu of Indonesian dishes cooked and prepared in a Western way.

The Tasting Menu (Rp900,000++) is more "classic" and features mostly French gastronomic dishes.

The Vegetarian Menu (Rp600,000++ ) is self explanatory.

The Surprise Menu (Rp1,250,000++) includes more fine gourmet ingredients such as Foie Gras or Caviar.

There are also additional wine pairing options. In the end, it is easy to spend between Rp1M and Rp2M for a full meal in Mozaic.

I tried the Tasting Menu which was truly amazing from the first bite until the end. Including the amuse-bouches, the petits fours and the complimentary bites from the Chef, there must have been around 10 kinds of food that arrived at my table every few minutes. Everything I tried was a hit, even the bread. This was not an innovative or provocative set menu as I tried a few weeks earlier in Cuca, but it was some of the best food I have ever had. 

The food presentation was also great, here are some pictures I took (with a non-professional camera, it looked better in real):

Overall: Mozaic has one major flaw, it is bloody expensive. If you can afford it, just enjoy and try not comparing too much with restaurants in France or elsewhere in the world. You are in Indonesia, and trust me, it is extremely difficult to bring such high standards of food and service here.

Another concern is that Mozaic could lose its soul as it is more and more becoming a "brand" and a profitable business. Mozaic Beach Club in Seminyak for instance is far from achieving the same quality as in Ubud.