La Finca

A while ago, I discovered and started following on Instagram a restaurant in Bali called La Finca. For months, I drooled over their food photos, craved their beautiful Sang Ria's and imagined myself relaxing with both in their beautiful Mediterranean setting. Last week, I snuck off to Bali for a quick 3 night trip to meet up with my parents during their 2 week stay. It didn't take much to convince them to try La Finca with me after showing them the photos I had admired for so long. Due to a tight itinerary during my stay which involved catching up with family friends and a surprise birthday party, we could only manage to get there for lunch.

I emailed the restaurant the week before my stay and got a fast and professional response from the founder and owner, Thomas. He also reassured me that they would be able to cater for my mum's gluten intolerance and offered to let us order off the less limiting dinner menu rather than lunch one, giving my mum more options for her meal.

La Finca is located North of Seminyak on Jalan Subak Sari. It first opened in June 2013 for dinner and started offering a lunch menu in October that same year. With his mixed heritage and upbringing in many different cities all over the world, such as Hamburg, Paris, New York Tokyo and Singapore as well as spending many Summer's in Ibiza, Thomas moved to Bali after spending many years in Jakarta. Upon finding partners who shared the same dream he did, La Finca opened. Thomas wanted to recreate the rich and rustic cuisines of Ibiza as well as the easy going atmosphere. Although I've never had the pleasure of travelling to Ibiza, it was easy to imagine that that was where I was sitting while dining at La Finca.

Whether you're after casual drinks before or after dinner, an intimate, romantic dinner or a fun meal out with friends or family, I think La Finca is a place to try. It has a beautiful courtyard garden feel to it, with a huge cushioned daybed area and beautifully rustic tables and chairs surrounded by pressed metal lanterns and decorations hanging from the trees. The Mediterranean feel is carried through into the main restaurant area with huge bamboo pillars, beautiful lanterns and the loveliest table set up I've seen. Sharing the photos on Facebook and Instagram, the thing most people commented on were the gorgeous plates. It was a lovely atmosphere to come in to. I can imagine how inviting and lively it would be at night time, with everything lit up, people chatting while enjoying their drinks and the laid back vibe.

One of the advantages of being the only people in the restaurant is the great service you get, although I'm sure that the service would be just as good during dinner. We were promptly seated and given menus upon arrival and the food came out quickly and nice and hot. We decided to order a bunch of tapas which was perfectly fine with me as I love having a chance to taste a few different dishes. We decided on:

Patatas Bravas Con Chorizo crispy potatoes with spicy bravas sauce and chorizo. If you're not a fan of spicy like I am, this dish isn't for you. The sauce had a definite bite to it, but I loved it.

 

Albondigas Con Salsa De Tomate Y Queso Feta beef meatballs with fresh tomato sauce and feta. This was probably my favourite dish. The meatballs were juicy and the sauce was deliciously sweet. I would have very happily ordered another serving. It was just bursting with amazing flavour.

 

Gambas Islas Baleares truffle garlic prawns with white wine sauce. Although the prawns were the tiniest bit overcooked, it had a lovely flavour and not too garlicky. I think the dish should come with a bit of bread to soak up the delicious sauce that's left, but freshly baked rustic bread is available on the menu.

 

Calamares Fritos De La Casa house recipe crispy fried calamari with squid ink aioli. I love calamari and I loved the crunchy batter on this as well as the delicious aioli. I think a bit more seasoning on the calamari and through the batter wouldn't go amiss.

 

Setas Crujientes crispy mushrooms with paprika aioli. Mushrooms are my absolute favourite! The paprika aioli complimented the dish perfectly but I think it would be better to come in a separate little dish; there wasn't enough of it for the great serving of mushrooms. Again, some more seasoning would be great to bring out the flavours more.

 

 

And Ensalada Mixta a mixed salad with a medly of greens, cucumber, purple sweet potato, grilled corn, red onion, boiled egg topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. Although I didn't try this salad, my parents absolutely loved it, especially the Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

To top it all off, my mum and I shared a half pitcher of Sang Ria which was delicious!! Full of fresh fruit and not too strong. My dad wasn't very impressed that they only had one kind of beer on the menu so more options for those beer fanatics would be great.

The Sang Ria's come in 2 sizes: a jug and a half pitcher. A half pitcher for $15 got us a couple of glasses each so the drinks prices are very reasonable. Their happy hour even includes 20% off your second jug, 30% off the third and so one. A great deal if you're dining in a large group!!

My parents and I all really enjoyed the restaurant and I'm so glad I got to give it a try. We left with smiles and full bellies after paying what came to a very reasonable bill. I look forward to returning to La Finca again, for dinner next time so I can enjoy the full experience and try some of their enticing mains!

I would highly reccomend La Finca to all of you. Definitely try to go for dinner so you can enjoy the more extensive menu and what I imagine would be a lively yet easy going vibe. Click here to check out their website.

 

Address: Jalan Subak Sari number 77, Batu Belig

Website: www.lafincabali.com

Email: enquiry@lafincabali.com

Telephone: 0361 2105080 or 0361 2740088

 

Posted with Blogsy