Mannekepis is rare thing in Bali, a Belgian restaurant. It is also a great bar, a jazz venue and has  a patina of experience despite its relative youth. Mannekepis opened to curious audience is it a bar? A bistro? A live music venue? Belgian food in Bali? It has however, quickly established it self as a popular and lively place to meet, eat, and enjoy jazz tunes with other jazz fans. It has a dedicated following yet also manages to attract tourist. Having never really eaten anything at Manekepis, despite being a regular myself, I looked forward to correcting this. A saturday night , Valentine days in fact was perhaps not the best time to  try it as I warned it would be busy. In fact, there was never a sign that the kitchen or the floor staff felt overwhelmed. everything arrived quickly, hot efficiently and with a smile. This certainly due to the fact that Belgian owner Yannick is a veteran, with over twenty years experience in the business of Belgium.

People rave about the steaks here and many people never get beyond them, so my partner and I decided to put the kitchen to the test. Duck confit was featured on the specials menu for the evening and it was fabulous piece of perfectly cooked duck Maryland, delightful crisp on the outside and moist tender within. The Belgian specialty was an incredibly rich dish, wonderful to eat but possibly best during a snowfall. The meat sank beneath in the fork, the gravy was worthy of a straw, I can totally appreciate Belgian food now, and not a waffle in sight.

The Band played, the wine flow, the bar filled and it was there we ended up until closing time. Mannekepis has a way of enfolding you. It is charming from the long bar to the hand made black and white tiled floor, the quirky jazz poster  and the bistrostyles tables. There is an open terrace upstairs with tables for dinning and pool table. Mannekepis is located in JL Raya Seminyak, just pass made’s warung . Regular live music nights are on Thursday and Saturday with special program offered occasionally.

Source : Now Bali