Despite being a newcomer to the Jimbaran dining scene in 2013, Cuca Restaurant quickly gained popularity with its artisanal tapas and desserts, brought to you by husband-and-wife chef and restaurateur team, Kevin Cherkas and Virginia Entizne. Cuca offers a unique and exceptional sharing experience with highly innovative dishes using ingredients that are locally and sustainably grown. Best spot is at the long table where you can enjoy Chef Cherkas' special tasting dishes while viewing him and his culinary brigade in action at the open kitchen.
Cuca Bali Restaurant opened mid-2013, in a leafy coconut grove and beautiful gardens right next to the Kayumanis Jimbaran. A project of passion and love of the culinary arts by husband-and-wife, chef and restaurateur team Kevin Cherkas and Virginia Entizne, Cuca established itself as a must-visit dining destination on Bali, particularly for those 
looking for a unique and exceptional sharing experience. To enjoy the true Cuca Bali experience, it is best to go for is the chef’s tasting menu that takes you on an amazing culinary journey through Chef Cherkas’ seven artisanal servings of tapas and desserts (there is also an a la carte menu).
Our welcome treat and prelude is the Sun-gria (IDR 65,000), one of Cuca Bali’s unique sangrias, called digestive ‘Cuca brews’. It is also a first impression of the team’s attention to detail – a bottle containing the refreshingly pink thirst-quencher (red wine and brandy soda) bears its own label, and comes served with a highball containing four colourful fruity ice cubes. Other inspired brews include the Moon-gria (a white wine alternate) and the Iced Rose with hibiscus ice, brandy, wild honey and lemongrass (IDR 60,000).
The modern fusion cuisine at Cuca Bali is highly innovative, drawing inspiration from local Balinese and Indonesian dishes. A spicy amuse bouche of candy floss coated in ‘bebek betutu’ spices is a bold start to a meal. Baked Lombok scallop follows after, topped with a toasted butter crust and mashed cauliflowerand which comes served resting on a bed of polished black pebbles. Another single mouthful that is truly flavoursome. Third serving is the Cuban style grilled baby corn; two mini cobs sprinkled with young parmesan, fresh lime and parsley. The corn, just like the rest of the veggies used, are sustainably grown in the plantations in the Bedugul highlands of central Bali. Cuca's concept is that all the dishes served comprise 100% Indonesian ingredients, with the only exception of a few international wines. Even to the point where they have their own farmers and growers working directly with them who supply exclusively for Cuca.
The BBQ octopus follows after, prettily laid out with thin slices of green apple, Asian gazpacho and caramelised cauliflower. It is a lovely combination between the succulence of the octopus and gazpacho with the zesty interludes of apple. The main course consisting of a soft-boiled egg resting on a nest of grated potato and pulled pork is a fantastic creation. Sliced, the egg yolk melts down and finds its way through the potato to the strips of pork, adding juiciness to this satisfyingly meaty treat. The Cuca tasting menu ends with a highly creative dessert, peculiarly namedthe ‘Bali Breakfast’. The bowl comes with whipped coconut and an egg yolk-like mango sphere. Stab the yolk and let the runny mango steadily ooze, then you mix it all with the cream and the frozen passion fruit beneath... voila! It’s surely a dessert you’ve never had before.
Chef Cherkas’ tasting menu is available for only IDR 480,000. The tapas menu, a la carte, is divided into sections: ‘harvested’, ‘hooked’ and ‘farmed’, and prices range between IDR 50,000-150,000, astonishingly affordable for the high quality. Members of the kitchen brigade share the same hospitality as the service staff, swift and always ready to guide you through the experience.
