Rumour has it that one of the most happening new eateries in Bali is Barbacoa. During my last vacation in May 2014, I made time to visit this place. It really made me curious reading many rave reviews about this place, especially for the specialty, 8 Hour Wood Fired Asado of the Day.

It was on my first day during the trip, we arrived at Bali in the morning, and did a lot of things, and eventually needed a good nice dinner where we could finally calm ourselves down. We stayed at Vasanti Resort, which is located in Seminyak. Apparently, Barbacoa is just a 5-minutes distance. We decided to go there. Reading a lot of reviews, it was said that reservation was needed due to its crowd. But gladly, at the time, the place itself hadn’t been filled with a lot of patrons as I initially expected, so we could just walk in without having to queue. It was 7.20 when we reached there.

The waitress came to us and welcomed us. After asking us (in english) whether we had made reservation or not, we were then led by the waitress to have a table for two by the window. Throughout our dinner, the waitresses and waiters that served us, spoke to us in English. We have no idea whether they were simply trained to speak in English to every patron, or they actually didn’t realize that we were fellow Indonesians.

The inside of Barbacoa is lovely. The rustic and warehouse-like with high ceilings concept really captured my eyes. It seemed warm, homey and classy at the same time. It is also quite spacious yet functional. There is a beautifully-designed bar in the (slightly right) centre of the dining area, where drinks are made. It seemed like the heart of Barbacoa. At one corner, we could even see the suckling pig in process. Somehow, I could feel the enticing vibe that seemed to be one of the main attractions that draw visitors.

This is the bar I mentioned, that seemed like the heart of the whole room.

# Lime Juice (IDR 25 k)

Since we needed some refreshment after a tiring day, we ordered a glass of fresh Lime Juice which seemed to be a perfect choice. It quenched our thirst in an instant.

# Cuban Pulled Pork Slider – Pickled Red Onion – Aioli – Tomato (IDR 45 k)

From the Tapas Style, we had a Cuban Pulled Pork Slider, which was served as a mini burger style, with pulled pork, pickled red onion, aioli and a slice of tomato in between. With a very ordinary appearance, this tapas didn’t fail us. It even served as a great starter for us, with the sophisticated flavour and delicious cuban pulled pork.

# Spanish Style Fried Potatoes – Garlic Aioli – Chives (IDR 55 k)

From the Sides, we had a potato dish. Without knowing much about spanish cuisine, we blindly made a choice which eventually seemed to really satisfy us. The potatoes were thickly cut and fried to perfection. It resulted in a very crusty fried potatoes. I remembered that both of us kept praising the texture of the potatoes all evening. The garlic aioli (mayo) did a fine job in giving the potatoes more flavours, and the chives was a sweet touch for the overall dish.

# 8 Hour Wood Fired Asado Of The Day (IDR 250 k)

The specialty of Barbacoa is this dish. Barbacoa signature suckling pig, which are made in both traditional and modern method. To gain the perfection, they wood-fire the whole pig in a significant 8 hour time. We whole-heartedly came for this and this only. So, our expectation was high, really high.

The suckling pig was presented in a a beautiful-mess manner. There were the crispy skins and the bits of pork meat. It was also served with Chimichurri sauce as the companion, a marinated green sauce (originally from Argentina). With a very honest opinion, this dish did both satisfy and disappoint us. Yes. It’s true. Let me explain it. The suckling pig was really good. Like seriously tender, with an amazing fluffy and easy-to-bite texture. It had that smokey-ish flavour and with the chimichurri sauce, it ‘exploded’ in my mouth and tasted perfectly perfect. With all the satisfaction, I then carried on to have the crispy skin which was supposed to be the best of everything. And after a happy-go-lucky initial bite, a ‘crack’ sound didn’t seem to appear. Why? Because the supposedly-crispy-skin wasn’t as crispy as expected. It was as hard as a crab shell. I didn’t know why, but I tried biting it until I gave up. No luck. I guessed it was over-cooked, which resulted in a very hard texture. Maybe I was out of luck. But anyway, there was one sheet of the skin left. I decided to give it a try again, and apparently this one was crispy! I had quite a laugh with my loved one during the dinner, since the pork seemed to play game with us. 😀 In the end, the Asado of The Day seemed to impress us anyway, setting aside the inconsistency of the skin’s crispy texture.

Our dinner for the night ended in a positive manner. We loved the place, the service, the food and we surely loved Barbacoa. In our humble opinions, this eatery certainly lived up to its reputation. It offers great food with amazing atmosphere. We could really see why people love the place.

All I can say is that foodventurers should make time to visit this place when visiting Bali. Reservations are recommended though, just for a safe assurance. It opens only at 5 PM (till late).

BARBACOA | BALI
Jalan Petitenget 14, Kerobokan
Bali – 80361
Phone: +62361-739233 / +62361-739235
Email: info@barbacoabali.com
Website: http://barbacoabali.com