Room4Dessert is a gastronomic dessert restaurant located just outside the centre of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia. United States born Chef Patron Will Goldfarb gained experience in top restaurants, such as El Bulli in Spain. He opened his first restaurant Room4Dessert in New York in 2006. The restaurant closed in 2007, but after finding the right inspiration and sources, Will opened Room4Dessert in Ubud in 2014. He was looking for a suitable building for a few years and found his dream location just next to the one of his favourite places: the famous spare ribs restaurant Naughty Nuri’s. Today, Will lives behind the restaurant, enabling him to be around most of the time to keep an eye on the quality of the food and drinks served.

The restaurant has a rather raw interior, decorated with artworks from befriended artists in Ubud. While the interior is raw, it is warm and spacious at the same time. Guests take a seat at one of the wooden tables or at the cosy bar, where they can see the dishes being prepared. There is a pleasant, no-nonsense and cosmopolitan atmosphere inside the dining room, attracting a crowd of tourists, expats and Indonesians.

Desserts are the focus of the meal at Room4Dessert. Guests have the opportunity to sample some of the desserts à la carte, or go for a ‘small’ tasting menu (half portions of nine desserts, perfect for two people) or a ‘big’ tasting menu (the whole dessert menu, perfect for three to four people). The desserts are made with 99 per cent local ingredients, and served in a modern way in beautiful plates designed by Gaya Keramics from Ubud. Some of the highlights include the ‘Coco Beware’ with caramelised coconut, a juicy and delicious coconut cake and aloe vera, or the ‘Searching for Sugarman’: a dessert the Chef has been working on for years. It incorporates a new technique where Will uses palm sugar with a different acidity (and a lower sugar percentage) but still manages to make a perfect meringue with it. The palm sugar is combined with mangosteen, cashew butter, cassava sablé, and soursop sorbet. Every dessert is paired with a cocktail, blended by bartender Koming, or a wine pairing with a focus on European wines (from Italy, France and Germany), but also a Balinese wine occasionally. For the cocktails, many leftovers from the food are used. Lime and orange peels, for example, are used for vinegar and alcohol (fermentation).

Will managed to gather an amazing, motivated and experienced staff of (pastry) chefs around him, resulting in a steady quality of cooking. Room4Dessert is the choice to go for tasteful, inventive, handmade desserts, classic and creative cocktails, and fine wines. Definitely worth a visit when you are in Bali and a must for sweet lovers!

Written by Sven & Johan