There’s plenty of Italian food on offer in Bali, but not much that is actually made by an Italian. At Zibiru, owner/chef Luigi Calcagno has been able to be recreate a little piece of Italy in a hidden courtyard. Three cheeky porkers leading you down a cobbled laneway, twinkling lights and small tables set for romantic dinners are all indicators that this is not your usual bar serving giant bowls of pasta. Yes there’s pasta, but it’s handmade and features traditional flavors such as wild rabbit and duck ragu sourced from the mountains and thinly sliced octopus or fish tartare straight from the waters of Jimbaran Bay.
Whilst eating out in Bali is incredibly cheap and you can get the most fantastical cocktails for a few dollars, the same cannot be said of wine. A good glass of wine may set you back $10 at home, a cheap quality wine is likely to hover around $20 a glass in Bali. That’s if you can get it by the glass at all—most places do not even offer wine, or only serve it by the bottle. This is where Zibiru comes into its own, offering a happy hour every day from 5-7 p.m. with discounted wines by the glass. They also offer a selection of complimentary aperitivo including tomato bruschetta on chewy Italian bread (decent bread being another thing that is difficult to come by). Zibiru is the real deal with a restaurant and a bottega where you can pull up a stool for a glass of wine and enjoy some authentic locally made charcuterie. They also offer live jazz towards the end of each week. There are definitely worse ways to spend an evening!
