I took a trip out to the extreme southern tip of Bali today for the purpose of trying out the Di Mare restaurant at Karma Kandara. I've heard several people rave about it lately, but as I looked at photos of the restaurant's spectacular view, I immediately had to wonder whether the praise I was hearing was based on the culinary delights or the visual. What I found was that the restaurant lacks in neither regard.

The Di Mare restaurant is located at Karma Kandara in Uluwatu, Bali. The restaurant is open to guests and public visitors alike. (Indeed, while we were there today, the crowd was a mix.) The resort is located about 40 minutes from Seminyak; about 25 minutes from the airport.

As you can see from the photo above, the setting is stunning. (I hope to drop by again soon around sunset -- I expect that the sunset views are nothing short of spectacular.) As you can also see from the photo, the restuarant is quite small. If you plan to come in the evenings reservations are an absolute must.

The menu is focused on seafood, with a smattering of pasta dishes and a few meat and vegatarian items to round things out. I ordered in line with the staff recommendations, starting with the Jimbaran Prawn Trio and taking the Grilled Opakapaka (Pink Snapper) for the main course. The Prawn Trio was wonderful -- 6 prawns served three different ways: grilled, boiled and tempura. They were served with three sauces: remoulade, a cocktail sauce and a soy-based tempura sauce. The prawns were large and perfectly cooked in all three incarnations. My dining companion ordered the same and I couldn't agree with her more when she said: "I could order another one of those right now."

The main course was a grilled filet of Opakapaka, served on thinly sliced tomatoes with carmelized onions, fresh greens, and a light touch of pesto. The fish was cooked properly and the flavours nicely complementary. My companion had a more traditional red snapper grilled with a light tomato sauce. While my dish was excellenet, her's held no surprises -- I came out on the better end of the main courses.

Service was attentive but unobstrusive.

In short, the food was good to excellent, the service spot on, and the setting impressive and enjoyable. I will certainly be going back and I expect this will become a standard destination when I have friends in town, as this is one of the special places in Bali. My compliments to the Karma team for creating this spot.

You can learn more about the restaurant at the Karma Kandara website: http://www.karmakandara.com/di-mare-restaurant/