Mandapa: Sawah Terrace, Balinese dishes beside the Ayung

Lawar Klungah is a good place to begin. The restaurant’s own account connects the dish to Chef Ketut’s home in Negara, in western Bali, and his childhood collecting coconuts with his grandfather. On the plate, young coconut meets grilled octopus, bumbu genep, shallot and ginger. The à-la-carte sheet read on 17 October 2026 prices it at IDR 215,000 before charges. The same small-dish section also offers shredded grilled chicken with sambal merah and prawns coated in brined duck egg.

Be Celeng Upih is the pork dish wrapped in areca-palm sheath and cooked over wood embers. Its menu description lists bumbu genep, kaffir lime and sambal embe; the printed amount is IDR 355,000 before service and tax. The kitchen describes the sheath as part of the cooking method, imparting an aroma as the meat cooks slowly. If that is the dish that brings you here, ask for it by name instead of ordering a generic selection of Indonesian favourites.

The Balinese section continues with tuna, octopus and chicken satay, Singaraja barramundi, red-snapper curry and crispy duck. The satay portions are specified: 6 tuna or octopus skewers, or 9 chicken skewers, at IDR 220,000 per portion on the same reading. Barramundi with sambal merah is IDR 295,000; crispy duck with tamarind and palm-sugar broth is IDR 365,000. Those details make it easier for a party to choose a few distinct dishes around the table.

The wider Indonesian section includes beef-cheek rendang with coconut, tamarind and cassava leaves, IDR 365,000, and char-grilled Jimbaran rock lobster with sambal merah, wild ferns and Balinese spices, IDR 645,000. Vegetarians have explicitly marked dishes: Tempe dan Tahu brings tempeh and tofu with mushrooms, aubergine and green beans at IDR 215,000, while the long-bean salad is marked vegan. Vegetable sides have separate listings, so read the seafood and other allergen marks before treating a vegetable dish as vegan.

Megibung puts several of the signature dishes into a single shared meal. Its menu starts with oxtail soup, tuna satay and the young-coconut-and-octopus salad. Barramundi, palm-sheath pork ribs and yellow-velvet-leaf vegetables follow, then Cendol Dawet. At IDR 850,000 per person, with a minimum of 2 and the entire table participating, it suits a party happy to follow the same sequence. The native menu states that figures are in thousands of rupiah and adds 10% service and the prevailing 11% government tax.

Cendol Dawet is a cold ending of pandan rice jelly, coconut milk, palm-sugar molasses, jackfruit and coconut ice cream. The à-la-carte dessert section prices it at IDR 120,000 on the reading of 17 October. Other desserts include banana fritters with palm sugar and shaved cheese, pandan rice porridge and grilled fermented cassava with coconut ice cream. Choose dessert after seeing how the shared meal has gone; the printed menu gives each a separate price.

The restaurant also advertises Balinese dance performances, live gamelan and the Sandikala torch-lighting ritual around twilight. Its menu describes a handwashing ceremony at the start of the evening. Ask the team which of these will be on the programme for the date you intend to come. Lunch and dinner run noon–10pm on the dedicated venue site, while the hotel directory also lists an earlier breakfast opening. Use the venue’s reservation contact for the meal and cultural programme you want.

Mandapa has other settings for a different evening. Kubu is its dinner restaurant with a zero-waste approach and ingredients sourced within 100km; Ambar is the cliff-top bar with Japanese-fusion food, sunset views and live jazz. Sawah Terrace is the hotel’s Indonesian table by the Ayung. The Marriott restaurant listing provides another official route to the venue, while the dedicated website links the food menus and reservation telephone. Keep a brunch or performance enquiry with that team so the booking matches the occasion.

Give each meal its own reason. Sawah Terrace brings Indonesian dishes to the riverbank; Kubu is a planned dinner, while Ambar adds Japanese-fusion plates and jazz above the valley.