In Ubud, where restaurants have long drawn from Indonesia’s biodiversity, Locavore NXT introduces a new tasting menu that pushes its sourcing philosophy further. Titled ‘The Source’, the 16-course experience deepens the restaurant’s commitment to hyper-local ingredients, in-house production, and circular kitchen systems.
The menu traces ingredients back to Indonesia’s wild landscapes, fringe farms, rooftop gardens, and in-house fermentation projects. Guests are also invited to explore the Rooftop Food Forest during the meal, reinforcing the connection between plate and place.
Ingredient-Driven Highlights
Several dishes exemplify the kitchen’s approach to rethinking familiar produce.
Botanical Deception revisits Locavore’s kenari cheese in a plant-based composition inspired by an antipasto platter. As Chef Eelke explains:
“The texture of young coconut flesh has more similarities to seafood than we give it credit for. So we created a dish that explores that overlap. Bringing an essential umami layer into the dish, we add fresh seaweed and roasted seaweed bisque. Coconut flower is cooked into a stew, finished with aromatic lemongrass leaf oil. A dish that feels coastal, tropical and really bold in a way.”
The dish incorporates young coconut, coconut flower, and seaweeds, reflecting the coastal influences of Bali’s pantry. In the Root System basement kitchen, Silken Tofu demonstrates the restaurant’s circular production model. Chef Ray explains:
“The two dishes we serve in the (basement) Root System are built on the same three ingredients: mushrooms, coffee and soybeans. We produce our own soymilk from Javanese soybeans, then use it to make silken tofu and finally use the waste okara for the next dish. The mushrooms are treated with various techniques: lacto-fermented, blanched in vinegar, preserved and confited in coffee oil. Again, the leftovers from the process are used and become the shoyu and dashi. Nothing is wasted. They are cool circular dishes.”
Creative Beverage Pairings
The tasting menu is complemented by alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage pairings built exclusively from local ingredients. Developed collaboratively between the R&D kitchen (LabX), the fermentation team, and Head Mixologist Raka from the Locavore Group, the programme features experimental elements such as mushroom arak and Rooftop Flower pét-nat, incorporating ingredients grown on-site or sourced from surrounding rice paddies.
Optional Foraging Experience
New to this season is an optional foraging excursion designed to extend the meal beyond the dining room. Beginning with breakfast and coffee at NXT, guests travel to the jungles of Buhahan, north of Ubud, for a guided edible tour through local landscapes. The experience concludes with a wild lunch featuring traditional Balinese dishes prepared with ingredients gathered during the outing. The excursion runs approximately three to three-and-a-half hours and includes transportation.
Sustainability Infrastructure
‘The Source’ builds on the broader ecosystem of Locavore NXT, which opened in late 2023 as a multi-level culinary hub. The restaurant operates solar panels on the rooftop, a Circular Waste Centre for sorting and repurposing waste, and a Worm Sewage Treatment Plant where more than 20,000 worms process organic material for fertiliser and irrigation use.
Locavore NXT has received multiple sustainability recognitions, including the Ethical & Sustainability Award 2025 by La Liste and the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2025 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
With ‘The Source,’ Locavore NXT reframes fine dining as a layered system — one where sourcing, fermentation, waste management, and storytelling intersect through a 16-course tasting journey grounded in Indonesia’s natural landscape.
Locavore NXT
Jl. A.A. Gede Rai Gang Pura Panti Bija, Lodtunduh, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571
