Italian In Gold and SIlver
Michelin-starred Chef Ezio Gritti brings refined Italian fine dining to Bali’s Sunset Road with the much-anticipated opening of Solata.
As the calibre of cuisine that can be found in Bali continues to rise, the Island of the Gods seems to attract more and more prestigious chefs from abroad to make their home here. The latest internationally renowned chef to come to the island is Ezio Gritti, who opened his new restaurant, Solata Bali, late last year.
Solata Bali is the second restaurant for Chef Ezio. His first, l’Osteria di Via Solata, can be found in Bergamo, Italy and has the distinction of having been awarded a Michelin Star, one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world. Chef Ezio is also something of a celebrity chef in his homeland, often appearing on Italian television. He has also cooked for numerous heads of state and has served as a personal chef to clients such as Giorgio Armani and Henry Kissinger.
In bringing his vision of Italian fine dining to Bali, Chef Ezio teamed up with an internationally renowned jewellery designer and a local expert in Indonesian antiques to create the charming setup for Solata. Located along the main thoroughfare of Sunset Road and set apart from Seminyak’s usual clusters of culinary establishments, Solata is a place that you will need to seek out specifically, which makes sense since the restaurant of a Michelin-starred chef should be a dining destination in and of itself.
Once you enter the restaurant’s main gates, you’ll instantly feel miles away from the traffic of the main street outside. Eschewing any elements of Italian restaurant kitsch, Solata is instead decked out in all manner of Indonesian statues, art and artefacts from the land of Toraja, highlighted by evocative lighting and high ceilings. In the front of the house, you’ll find a stylish bar, ideal for pre-dinner cocktails, followed by an outdoor and indoor dining area. The outside dining area is set in a lush garden with dramatically lit trees and plants bursting up between the stone tiles.
Solata only features degustation menus, no à la carte, so be prepared for a multi-course culinary experience. The degustation menus change often in order to take advantage of the best local ingredients that Chef Ezio can get his hands on.
For our visit we tried two different degustation menus: the Chef’s Speciality Menu, which featured six dishes, and the Vegetarian Menu, which featured five. The amuse-bouche for both menus was a tasting portion of gnocchi, homemade like all of the pastas offered at Solata, dressed in a simple tomato and basil sauce. The gnocchi had a firm, springy texture while the tomato sauce pleasantly balanced sweetness and acidity.
The first appetiser for the Chef’s Speciality Menu was a crispy roll of barramundi with an “exotic fruits garden.” For this dish, minced barramundi is rolled in bread, pan fried, and plated with potato purée and diced fruits, including mango, papaya, avocado and mango. The mild fish and the roll’s crisp exterior were pleasant, and the fruit salad provided a nice counterpoint. The Vegetarian Menu’s appetiser of crunchy vegetable strudel on a pecorino cheese fondue also showed a nice balance of textures and flavours.
The main pasta course was probably our highlight of the Chef’s Speciality Menu that day. It was more of Chef Ezio’s excellent gnocchi, this time dressed with a fish ragout. The tender morsels of fish and the light sauce were an excellent match for the toothsome gnocchi. The Vegetarian menu’s pasta course consisted of homemade pumpkin ravioli with a rich, delicate filling that was accentuated with parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar.
For the main course of the Chef’s Speciality Menu, Ezio served up minced oxtail, the meat’s slight gaminess offset by the use of Torajan coffee and a brown sugar sauce. Served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes, piped onto the plate like cake frosting, alongside organic vegetables, it was an interesting take on oxtail, a meat that is dearly loved Indonesians and Italians alike. The Vegetarian Menu’s main course featured large pieces of tofu cooked in a pasta casing, served with a refreshing salad featuring the bright flavours of ginger and honey.
Desserts are definitely a place where Solata shines, with Chef Ezio clearly putting a lot of work into their presentation. Each menu features a pre-dessert and dessert, making for an especially decadent finish to each meal here. One featured rolled biscuits, reminiscent of cannoli, filled with a luscious caramel and banana mousse. But the standout had to be the excellent dark chocolate soufflé, with a rich melty interior and a sharp minty cream sauce that highlighted the quality of the chocolate. They put so much pride on their desserts at Solata they even give you chocolates to take home at the end of the meal.
Eating at Solata is certainly an experience. At the end of our meal, the waiter showed off one of Chef Ezio’s prized golden frying pans from his collection of gold and silver cookware. They are not just for show though, as the precious metals are said to ensure better heat distribution while cooking, allowing ingredients to be cooked more evenly. Truly a singular chef, we’re interested to see where Chef Ezio takes Solata from here.
(www.solatarestaurant.com)
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CRISPY BARRAMUNDI ROLL
WITH POTATO PUREE, FRESH EXOTIC FRUIT AND LIQUORICE
INGRDIENTS:
• 1 fresh barramundi fillet
• Fresh marjoram
• Clarified butter
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices of bread
• Mango, papaya, avocado, yellow melon
• Melted liquorice
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 limes
• Potato puree
• Edible flowers for garnish
PREPARATION:
1. Prepare the filling by finely chopping the fish fillet and adding a little chopped marjoram, salt and pepper to it.
2. Sprinkle the slices of bread with a little water. Spread the filling on each slice and roll them up.
3. Brown the rolls in butter for 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown.
4. Clean each piece of fruit thoroughly before cutting them into small cubes and add a few drops of lime juice and a little lime zest, finely chopped.
5. To plate the dish, apply some of the potato puree and put the barramundi roll on top. Arrange a mixture of the diced fruit alongside the roll.
6. Complete with a few drops of liquorice.
