On the cliff-tops of Jimbaran, the Ayana Estate’s latest hotel now boasts a cozy Mediterranean venue.
The terrace at Ayana Segara Bali’s Scusa Restaurant. (All photos: Ayana Hotels)
Indian, Indonesian, and Japanese are just a few of the myriad cuisines represented at the Ayana brand’s 90-hectare integrated resort in southern Bali, but guests in the mood for authentic Italian fare should make a beeline for the brand-new Scusa Restaurant inside Ayana Segara Bali. This inviting spot — the hotel’s third dining venue after all-day diner Karang and rooftop bar Luna — is accessed via a stairway leading down from the lobby level to an open-air courtyard with a tiled wall fountain.
The kitchen is led by chef Umberto Sbardella, whose career has taken him beyond his native Italy to luxury hotels in Qatar and the UAE. Scusa’s menu covers everything from meats and seafood crudo to pastas, soups, and salads, all using fresh local produce and herbs plucked from the on-site Ayana Farm. Signature dishes include stuffed calamari with sauce vierge and confit tomato; a modern take on the ancient northern Italian recipe for pesce in carpione, featuring mackerel, garden vegetables, and citrus mayo; and grilled grain-fed striploin beef with carrots and spicy black kale. Pasta-lovers should not miss Sbardella’s personal favorite: pappardelle with lamb ragout and a topping of pecorino fondue and sage.
Left to right: Chef Umberto Sbardella; Scusa’s mackerel in carpione.
Inside the main dining room at Scusa.
The newly minted restaurant is located on the lower ground floor of Ayana Segara Bali.
Scusa’s wine list is made up of fine Mediterranean reds and whites, with bottles sourced from boutique vineyards in Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, creative interpretations of classic cocktails riff on Balinese flavors and use infusions of island-grown fruit such as mango and soursop. For instance, Scusa Ginger Splash mixes vodka and orange liqueur with sour honey alongside roasted ginger and fruits; Scusa Punch is a concoction of pineapple rum, homemade falernum liqueur, passion fruit, citrus, and bitters.
P49 Deesign — the Thailand-based studio behind Kimpton Kitalay Samui and the interiors of Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok — offset the indoor-outdoor venue’s white walls with blue accents, hanging rattan lamps, wood furnishings, and polished stone floors. Arched doorways and rustic terra-cotta pots add visual interest, and beyond the main dining room, the shaded terrace faces a decorative pool interspersed with octagonal seating areas.
Scusa is now open for dinner service from 6 p.m. daily.
The chef’s stuffed calamari with sauce vierge and confit tomato.
Left to right: A view of the main dining room; Sbardella doing the final plating.
The bar inside Scusa.
