Aug 25 2022
Amazing Dinner at Koral at the Apurva Kempinski Bali
What an amazing dining experience we had the pleasure of attending the Koral Aquarium restaurant within the Apurva Kempinski resort in Nusa Dua Bali. We arrived with our friendly local driver Made Mace from Bali Mace Tours, you are welcomed with the opulence of a larger than life gateway to pass under the green waterfall of plants to the drop off. The view from there’s across a large water feature to the open foyer of the resort.
The walk is calm and there are so many lovely touches as you move closer to the foyer, upon a arrival we are greeted and advised the location of the reception to then be guided to the correct elevators to take us to the transport for the restaurant. We had time to have a look around the upper deck and then upon walking out to a open deck we realised that we have only discovered the tip of the resort. Our position we found is 15 stories above the main resort area. After a quick 5 minute buggy ride we arrived at the gardens in the middle of the resort proper then walked among the tropical trees and gardens to the top of the stairs of the resort. We are greeted by a friendly staff member and after identifying ourselves another staff member appeared from the stairs to take us down to the restaurant. Upon entering there is a warmth of french decorations and then you notice several large windows that are viewing ports to the aquarium. We are escorted to out seating within the arch of the restaurant to see that we are surrounded by the aquatic life within the aquarium. Its worth mentioning that you cannot take selfies or wider photo’s to protect other patrons privacy.
We chose two of the degustation menus, vegetarian and the top menu, both contain multiple courses and offer wine paring. The chef and team have put together an amalgamation of talent, locally sourced ingredients and surprising compositions of regional flavours elegantly presented in a contemporary bistronomic style.
The menus are:
Koral Gourmet IDR1,500,000, IDR2,450,000 with wine pairing
Koral Experience IDR1,500,000, IDR2,450,000 with wine pairing
Herbivore Gourmet IDR1,500,000, IDR2,250,000 with wine pairing
Vegan Gourmet IDR1,500,000, IDR2,250,000 with wine pairing
We chose the Koral Gourmet and Herbivore Gourmet, but chose to swap the Parmigiana on the main course for the herbivore gourmet to Lobster from the Koral gourmet menu. We also chose to pair the sommelier selection with our meals.
The amuse bouche was very fresh and arty, they provided both carnivore and vegetarian options which where beautiful and so tasty, all delivered with the flash you would expect.
As many have been and seen chef hatted food and the likes of Heston Blumenthal will not be disappointed, if the ambiance and layout of the restaurant hasn’t impressed the presentation and quality of the food will. The staff are discrete and yet attentive and ensure that no diners take photos that could impact on your experience. The wine paring as well was sublime mainly French wines but they did pair well with every course.
The courses are delivered in a relaxed manner but timed to your eating preference seamlessly, you never feel rushed nor are you waiting long for each course. The teams experience shows with the delivery of the dining experience.
I would recommend this as a dining experience it would likely be a special occasion as well, we had been presented with a small celebration cake on this occasion which was a lovely personal touch. The cost was what one would expect and there is a deposit required to secure one of the six tables within the arch, but this will make your experience so much more of a memory. You have access to walk around the resort before you leave. We spent perhaps another hour looking around and agreed that the Apurva Kempinski will be a place we would love to return to and spend more time looking at their other restaurant experiences.
A tip is book in advance we booked about 2 months in advance as they are heavily booked, especially for the arch tables. Koral Website