On the last trip to Bali just this July, right after we visited The Bar – Bvlgari  which has been reviewed on the blog, we went directly to The Banyan Tree‘s bar, Ju-Ma-Na Bar. We didn’t have much time, and we thought if we could get there before the sun set, it would be lovely to see the dusk of the day. But, we didn’t get there in time. So, with a bit of disappointment, we still spent a little time visiting the place.

The sky had turned all dark and the access road to The Banyan Tree wasn’t all lovely (the two pictures above were taken on the previous visit last May. We did come here but apparently Ju-Ma-Na Bar only opens starting from 4 PM and that time, we came here at about 2 PM, so we went to other places instead). It was pretty bumpy and the road was kinda dark. It was located a little bit further inside the main road, but like any other beautiful places, we needed some efforts to reach the places right?

When we got there, we quickly walked ourselves to the lobby, which is big and classy with very few people. We approached the receptionist’s table and informed them our intention in visiting Ju-Ma-Na Bar, and we were asked politely to wait for a buggy cart to bring us to the destination. Like Bvlgari, the resort is huge and the restaurants/bars are located at the deeper side, so a short ride with a buggy cart is necessary.

I should apologize first, but since it was already evening time and the light around the area was not much, I couldn’t take any good pictures on our ride (and we were exhausted too as a matter of fact). But honestly, the environment in The Banyan Tree was even much nicer than the one in the Bvlgari Resorts. The complex seemed to be very well organised and thoughtfully managed. I would die to stay at a resort like this. But, it seemed implausible for the moment, so I just let my wild thought go.

Shortly for about another 5 minutes, we arrived at the Ju-Ma-Na Bar which is actually at the same place as the phenomenal Ju-Ma-Na Restaurant. The lady who drove the buggy cart was very polite and nice. The people here speak English very well. 🙂

The place was actually, ehm.. how could I put it. It was unlike any thing I’d imagined anyway. If you put some time and browsed about Ju-Ma-Na Bar, you will find a lot of Ju-Ma-Na’s beautiful pictures with sort of purple lighting covering the area (you can check Tripadvisor too). In a positive side, the place was still nice. The lighting was again, very little around the place. Fortunately, my Nikon was still capable of capturing some nice shots.

See, the place was actually still gorgeous, but not as exotic as I thought. I also admired the architecture of the building, not that I know much about it, but I really think that this place was kinda grand and the edges of the building was pretty much unique. It seemed that it was carefully designed and the result is just deserving.

Anyway, the waitress/usher was welcoming us and let us have all of the time in the world to pick our seats. They have two areas for us to sit. The downstair which is the (sort-of) ground level where it is very spacious with a natural ambiance and the upstair, which has better view and oh, the bar was located there as well. Since there was barely anybody on the ground floor during our visit, we just sat there,any seats we wanted.

The view? It was amazing. Even though it was dark, the beautiful scene of the vast shadowy oecan was just mind-blowing. This made our day and I was just so relieved, and happy despite the fatigue.

And this view is what you will be rewarded if you sit upstair. It was superb too.

However, I know that the view will be much more gorgeous during the evening (before the sun sets). FYI, Ju-Ma-Na Bar only opens starting from 4 PM. So, the greatest time to visit this place is at 4 – 6 PM. That’s my opinion though. 🙂

I ordered a drink and an appetiser for myself. Though dark, I put all my effort in taking some pictures.

# Complimentary Munchies (Free)

From the house, we were presented a welcoming snacks to kill some waiting time.

# Coconut Kiss (IDR 90 k) – cherry, coconut, pineapple and grenadine

In the non-alcoholic cocktails section, there were several choices. After asking for a recommendation, the waitress said that the Coconut Kiss was lovely. So I went on with this choice. It turned out to be a blended version of mocktail. With a very standard appearance, the taste of this coconut kiss was superb. I loved the cherry-dominant notes since it was really fragrant, sweetish with some sort of sexy flavour. The coconut was there, subtle but still brought relaxing flavour while the pineapple and grenadine kicked this drink up a level. It is perfect for a hot summer.

# Prawn Bruschetta (IDR 95 k) – crispy baguette, tomato and basil salsa

I ordered this too just for fun. We waited pretty long until this bruschetta was ready, and apparently, the bruschetta was really good! I just really love the topping of the bruschetta which was super delicious. The  prawns bits and pieces, along with the tomato and basil salsa blended amazingly well, causing a burst of flavour when I had the initial bite. The bruschetta is to die for!

After enjoying the last bit of the bruschetta, sadly, we had to leave. We were still chasing time to visit another place and  it was almost 7.30. I asked for the check and paid, then quickly left (with the buggy cart too). It was sad because we had to leave very soon and at the same time, I was disappointed too and I made a promise to myself to visit this place again later, but not during this kind of hours.

Oh, after talking to the barista, I found out too that they actually had a deal where you can enjoy your dinner (in a romantic manner), down there by the beach and accompanied with the courses from the chef! The price, well, it was a bit out of reach for me, but if you want to have the best dining experience, you might want to try this place out! Call Ju-Ma-Na Restaurant if you want to know more information. 🙂

Ju-Ma-Na Bar | Ju-Ma-Na Restaurant | The Banyan Tree | Bali 
Jl. Melasti, Banjar Kelod, Ungasan, Bali 80364, Indonesia
Phone: +62-361-3007000
Website: http://www.banyantree.com/en/web/banyantree/