The cave by Chef Ryan Clift unveils the 15th edition of its menu, bringing the Australian culinary artistry to a brand-new rotation of dishes that deconstruct and reimagine comfort foods through modern gastronomy techniques.
As the saying goes, the limit does not exist. This also applies to Chef Ryan Clift’s creative culinary prowess, which manifests itself in the quarterly seasonal degustation at his Bali fine dining restaurant, The cave by Chef Ryan Clift at The edge. Now at its 15th cycle, the menu still functions as an experimental playground where ingredients and flavours are reimagined in increasingly innovative ways.
The opening staple Bread & Broth, for example, takes on yet a new flavour. This time, it draws inspiration somewhere closer to home, infusing house-baked Parker House rolls with roasted shallots and garlics before serving alongside beef and roasted shallot butter as well as an oxtail consommé, mimicking the crisp yet aromatic palate of the Indonesian sop buntut.
Other familiar comfort foods find new interpretations in this menu, including a Philly CheeseSteak dish that replaces the street-style standard hoagie roll with a crisp choux éclair, while the thinly sliced beef is levelled up as MB5 Wagyu sirloin carpaccio and the cheese is elevated into a rich fromage fort sauce. Meanwhile, Lobster Thermidor is confited and enveloped in a rich cheese-and-lobster béchamel, finished with a fennel-lobster tuile for a delicate crunch.
Other highlights include a torched Black Cod served with dashi beurre blanc, bringing a Japanese inflection to the menu, as well as a Wagyu Beef dish paired with a rich Bordelaise sauce, a stuffed morel mushroom, fresh asparagus, and crispy fried potato terrine for a classic fine dining presentation.
It wouldn’t be a The cave menu without Chef Ryan’s signature, a savoury dessert made with foie gras. For this iteration, it’s the Foie Gras Tiramisu, which layers ladyfingers soaked in black tea and masala chai with mascarpone sabayon and whipped foie gras mousse, creating an interplay of warm spices cutting through the pungent tinniness of the fatty liver, accentuated by a sprinkle of pistachios and crystallised ginger on top.
It’s this daring gusto that continues over to the dessert creations. The Nitro Espresso Martini turns the cocktail into a coffee gelato that receives a theatrical makeover courtesy of liquid nitrogen-churned espresso martini meringue spooned tableside. The final course also follows The cave’s tradition of taking inspiration from chocolate bars. For this edition, it’s Ferrero Rocher’s turn to get this treatment, turned into Cave Rocher, an artisanal chocolate-and-hazelnut-covered disc concealing an ice cream bar, hazelnut sponge, crispy feuilletine, and salted caramel filling.
Available as a seven- and 10-course lunch or dinner with an optional vegetarian menu selection, this new chapter doesn’t hold back on the daring flavours or audacious combinations that have sustained The cave over the past 14 cycles. If anything, it goes above and beyond; after all, as Chef Ryan himself said, “Presenting a menu within a prehistoric limestone cave demands dishes that match this beautiful venue in impact, technical finesse, and lasting brilliance.”
The cave by Chef Ryan Clift
The edge
Jalan Pura Goa Lempeh, Pecatu
Bali 80361, Indonesia
T: (+62) 82144632077
IG: @thecavebali
