HONESTLY’S VERDICT

In a word: Cool

Food: Reliably tasty, quality ingredients and brilliantly innovative

Service: Smiley, attentive and effective

Presentation: Perfect mash up balancing chunky, airy and Balinese!

Ambience: Naturally cool with funky tunes playing all day long

Location: The top end of Hanoman, but you can forget about the hustle and bustle as you hide behind lush green bamboo and take in the mix of clean modern and Balinese design

Value for money: Absolutely; quality ingredients and intensive production methods make for a slightly more expensive cuisine, which i’m more than happy to pay for, plus it’s no more expensive than Ubud’s other raw-friendly hangouts

Worth a visit?: Without a doubt!

****Very sad to report that Clear Cafe in Ubud, Bali, burnt down in November of 2014, until their next incarnation, the cafe is closed.  http://ubudnowandthen.com/fire-at-clear-cafe-food-for-thought/

Our thoughts, and your funds would be kindly received to support the workers and owners of the cafe: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/206721/4fe6f6fc1a/1469553699/ff36baf72f/****

As I embarked on a month of (mostly) raw cuisine during my yoga teacher training course at the Radiantly Alive studio in Ubud, on the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia, Clear Café became a favourite hangout for it’s super cool feel, friendly service and great range of raw cuisine options from dawn to dusk.  It’s the sort of place you come to linger over a long drawn out breakfast or meet up with friends for an evening feast.

Clear also has a fab little express counter where you can pick up all sorts of raw and baked goodies, from their Raw Sprouted Granola to all sorts of sweet and savory cookies,  granola bars, and crackers.  Plus they have cute little jars of samples if you just need to take the edge off that sweet craving as you walk past!

You’ll find Clear at the top end of Hanoman Street in the centre of Ubud, it’s set back from the street, the entrance, with it’s bamboo, lush tropical shrubs and water feature, gives you a taster of what’s to come as you enter through unmistakably Balinese doors and into a cool mix of urban, natural and traditional.  It’s a mash up that really works; there’s a cool an airy feel to the place, natural light streaming in, coloured glass mixed with wood, bamboo, stone, all prettied up with vases of exotic flower, potted orchids and set to the sounds of really great chilled out tunes. Bliss.

Food:

Food-wise, Clear has breakfast through to dessert with everything from modern Western to Far Eastern and traditional Balinese, topped off with a vast range of juices, elixirs, smoothies, and hot drinks on the menu.  Plus, they’ve got a great range of raw, vegan and vegetarian options to please the most discerning yogis!

The range of juices are all bursting with freshness and exotic flavours, whether you opt for the Edgy Veggie; a mix of cabbage, celery and aloe juice, or one of their sweeter tropical fruit affairs like the Papua Paya; a delicious simple blend of papaya and lime.  They also serve a traditional Balinese turmeric drink, the Twilight Tonic, and other herb and spice-laced concoctions.

The Rockstar Oats is a super creamy dairy-free porridge served with coconut cream, strawberries, banana, a touch of cinnamon and a fresh sprig of mint.  I topped my Rockstar Oats up with a side of banana, honey and extra cinnamon just because I can, and this is when it really starts to feel more like superstar porridge!

Clear’s Raw Sprouted Granola; a choice of spirulina or tropical fruit, is served up with fresh seasonal fruit, usually papaya and banana, and a cute little jug of creamylicious cashew mylk.  This stuff tastes way better than regular sugar-laden granola, and this raw sprouted version just might be a wee bit better for you, especially if you bravely go green and opt for the spirulina granola – don’t worry, it’s absolutely delicious, packs a superfood punch and doesn’t taste green at all, me like!  Oh and I have to mention the cashew mylk is just heavenly – rich and creamy, I was craving it for weeks after.

The ginger tea comes hot and strong made with fresh ginger rather than a powdered mix that you find in some places.  It’s served up in a rustic chunky teapot with more than enough to nurse a girl through a long lazy brekkie.

For lunch or dinner, I’d highly recommend the raw Lifefood Pizza, raw Amigo Burritos, raw coconut wrap spring rolls or any one of the salads from the menu.  I also delved into the raw soup domain but found the full on flavours and heaviness a little too much for me, however, if you’re into raw adventures, I’d definitely recommend trying the Bali Flower Soup, a mix of avocado and cauliflower, it’s quite the taste sensation.

As for desserts, the Triple Chocolate Layer Cake is a favourite of many, it’s a raw chocolate dessert with, as the name suggests, three layers of frozen chocolatey goodness on a crust base made from some sort of seed and coconut concoction.  However, for me, the prize has to go to the Mudslide Pie – a sensational mix of chocolate and coconut cream on the same base as the triple choc.  I rate the mudslide over and above the triple chocolate any day of the week!

Presentation:

Everything is served from chunky rustic bowls, teapots, mugs, etc.  There is real attention to detail at Clear; whether it’s the food or the deco.  The place is decorated with vases of fresh local exotic flowers and the openair stairwell to the seating area upstairs is a haven for orchids, bamboo and water features.  Another great little quirk is the bathroom, this you have to go and see for yourself!

Pricing:

Price-wise you’ll find yourself paying the same as anywhere else in Ubud for delicious and innovative raw food.  The juices tend to come in smaller serves than elsewhere, but I’m all for quality over quantity plus I don’t feel we really need to fill ourselves full of juice when there is so much quality food to be had!

Service:

On my numerous visit to Clear, I always had attentive and smiley service no matter how busy the place was.  Indeed twenty five of us dinned one evening and the service was amazing – orders were taken quickly and food was delivered before you had the chance to finish conversation with the person next to you!  Really impressive.

Clear Cafe has to be one of my MUST visits whilst in Ubud, whether you’re into raw cuisine or just want to eat darn tasty food in beautiful surroundings listening to chilled out sounds.  I will return.

Contact:

Jalan Hanoman No. 8, Udub, Bali, Indonesia

Tel: +62 361 889 4473

Web: www.clear-cafe-ubud.com

Email: clearcafe[at]yahoo.com

Opening hours:

8am until 11pm