CasCades Restaurant, Best Breakfast in Ubud, Viceroy Bali, Ubud, Indonesia

Breakfast at Cascades is something special and worth visiting even if you are not a Viceroy resident.  The freshness of the air by the river, the splendid natural surroundings, bursting with green and vibrant flowers, the gentle greeting and service of the delightful restaurant staff is bound to set your day off to a sterling start. The beauty of the surroundings aside, the breakfast menu is uniquely tempting.  Eschewing buffet style, they serve an a la carte menu with tempting combinations, both traditional and unique abound with flair. Readers may be aghast at the amount of food mentioned for two people’s breakfast here, but I urge you to remember this was two morning's work!

We select black coffee and lemon and ginger tea from the list of hot offerings and freshly pressed pineapple juice from the cold. The milk for the coffee is fluffy and the ginger tea refreshing to kick off the day. Who can be on a tropical island and not take a fruit platter? This one is prettily presented, with a delicately prepared selection of seasonal fruit, including Monica’s favourite, mangosteen.

We’ve been recommended to try the Mango Trifle, a house speciality. So glad that we did. A fluffy light cloud of yoghurt that appears to have been whipped, is threaded with a fresh mango puree and topped with soft oatmeal. This is a definite must have. We always share our dishes but this one is so good, half is not enough so I order a second, which arrives without a blink. It’s a healthy dessert for breakfast and it is absolutely delicious. 

Another original house speciality that Chef is very proud of is Balinese Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict being one of my favourites, I am eager to see what the Balinese style has to offer. Glowing with colour and tempting to the fork, two generous helpings are presented on the plate. In place of bread is a herbed vegetable rice cake, which we both agree is better than bread and a humourous twist on the Indonesian use of egg on rice, Nasi Goreng Kampong. Egg is luscious, rice cake firm and flavoursome, Balinese spiced hollandaise - delectable, and a special treat is asparagus hidden beneath the sauce. Not ones to spare our treats, we have added a side of smoked salmon, which is good quality wild salmon and not too salty. Dried Javanese beef... so sweet and delicious we thought it was dried fruit.

Our second egg dish is a French style Camembert Omelette with a side of crispy bacon. Yes bacon is available on the menu, and crispy it is indeed. A perfect complement to the light omelette delicately infused with just a whisper of camembert. A delightful finish and we look forward to the next day’s opening treats.

Day Two  

Today my tea is Orchid Oolong, fragrant, with a vanilla-like caramel aroma; very refined and elegant. The vibrant colours of the juices wake up our eyes in the misty morning. Beetroot and apple is sweeter, almost berryish yet just slightly astringent. Carrot and ginger juice is a complete zingy refresher! Eyes open and ready for the day.

Orchid Oolong Tea with a view

First to arrive are Citrus Pancakes, soft orange zest infused crepes filled with banana and caramelized strawberry. It’s served with a dense and vibrant berry compote and a light and fluffy cream. We both agree that it’s a decadent dessert-like brekkie.  

Monica has also ordered a healthful option, which is a delightful mix of toasted muesli with nuts, fruit coconut and more of yesterday’s delicious whipped yoghurt.

The house twist on smoked salmon scrambled eggs, is served in a fine leaved pastry shell with the salmon topped with chives and pickled ginger. It’s a wonderful loose dish with the egg cooked the way I like it, just a little oozy. 

Our vegetable frittata is denser than yesterday’s French style omelette, herby and with plenty of veg.  Caramelised tomatoes, zucchinis and majoram complete the dish, though I couldn’t resist another side of smoked salmon. Yes I know, Opulent! 

As there are three pastry chefs on site and we are assured that all pastries are made in a cold room, we agree that the pastry basket is a must try. Buttery croissant, just perfect with the locally made organic guava jam, a thickly filled pain au chocolat, an almond pastry with toasty almonds and cinnamon, so moist it just melts in your mouth and tiny petite muffin, with pineapple coconut and citrus zest. I promised you, we only nibbled on each one. Decadent!

We thought we were done but the manager insists we are trying the pancakes with maple syrup, so we concede. No lunch for me today then! Pancakes are served with cream and choice of maple syrup, palm sugar syrup chocolate sauce or seasonal fruit coulis. They are delightful, American style pancakes, raised and fluffy.

I finish with coffee over ice – delightful!

Reason to visit: Deliciously Decadent. Splendid Setting, Courteous Service, Original and Traditional Breakfast options served A La Carte.  

Viceroy Bali

Jln. Lanyahan, Br Nagi, 

Ubud, Bali 

80571 Indonesia

+62 361 971 777

resv@viceroybali.com