Elevating summer dining experiences on the island, Miss Fish offers fresh cuisine and a festive ambiance to complement Bali’s sunny days and balmy evenings

If you’re headed to Bali anytime soon, Canggu is the place to be for a lively wining and dining experience. In recent years, the coastal village has transformed into a destination buzzing with creatives, especially on the gastronomical side. 

Since its grand opening in December 2022, Miss Fish has attracted diners around the world for their inventive omakase experience. Located in Berawa, Canggu, the restaurant facade is designed with seaweed or wave-like patterns. Inside is a bar and dining area with plush seating across marble tabletops, with a spread of earthy yet elegant ceramics. Connected to the bar and patio is the Miss Fish lounge perfect for after-dinner drinks.

While their executive chef Carlos Barvo—who prefers to be called Bli (Bahasa for “brother”)—is meticulous with his food preparation, he is unaffected in his demeanor and shows the warmth of his Barcelona roots. 

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As he wields a Hashira knife, the Spanish-Colombian chef tells us how he trained as the “gaijin” among top chefs from Japan, then later moved to Bali to do private catering in villas around the island.

What started as an all-seafood restaurant, Miss Fish has quickly developed into one that includes high-grade meat dishes (all halal). The restaurant is also known for its fun nightlife in the secret bar behind the main restaurant bar.

Barvo’s well-loved knife glints as he swiftly slices bright, translucent sashimi. Laying out our dishes, the chef tells us our omakase will progress from sour and salty to sweet.

To start, we have the “AKA Happosei” as an aperitif—mixed with gin, sake, Aperol, yuzu, and an aloe vera-flavored soda. Topped with tiny flowers, the fruity drink packs a fresh punch after a hot day under the sun. Paired with the drink is a spicy truffle edamame. You can smell the truffle musk drifting across the table. The soybeans meanwhile are infused with a generous truffle infusion.

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The appetizers are just as inventive. Barvo’s directions on the sour-to-sweet progression become clear in the tom yum shiromi. The white fish is cut into thin slices and plated like a lotus then topped with sour shiitake, baby starfruit, tom yum vinaigrette, and lime oil. In a heavy stone bowl is a ceviche with the Peruvian leche de tigre and citrusy ponzu, colored with pink, pickled onion, jalapeño, and mangoes. 

Spice is typical to many of the dishes in Bali and some of these tastes trickle into Miss Fish’s food. The spicy tuna hosomaki uses traditional Japanese methods for the preparation of the sushi rice then is flash-fried with tuna and sriracha ingredients.

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Another particularly innovative dish is the salmon norimaki. The glistening raw salmon is somehow engineered into a thin seaweed wrap to keep the flavor of the fat then topped with tobiko caviar, a dollop of sesame mayo, and a sprinkling of chives.

From the silky flakes of the ebi tempura tiger shrimp to the satisfaction of the ginger garlic karaage chicken, each course maintains the essence of modern Japanese cuisine—all while being consistent with twists, such as the “exploding” corn croquettes with a unique curry dip.

The hamachi temaki rolls are wrapped in gloriously crisp nori. Even for those who are not fans of tartare, the shio koji steak tartare is a must-have. The hand-cut wagyu is served with a quail yolk and togarashi chips to scoop up the top-grade meat. The sweetness Barvo mentioned at the beginning of our meal ended with the foie gras giomaki with a smidge of brown sugar.

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At the heart of Bali, Miss Fish offers a unique taste of Japan in this reinvented omakase. The restaurant offers a luxurious quality of food at sensible prices. Later in the evening, the Miss Fish lounge spills over into the restaurant with live jazz music or DJs with techno sets. With such a combination of sophistication and cool, a dining experience at the restaurant must be capped off with a whiskey highball to cheer “Kampai” to Miss Fish.

Photos by Michelle Aguirre. Special thanks to Ferdi Salvador.