Amidst Petitenget's urban jungle, Sardine tries to evoke the spirit of old Bali. With its open-sided, thatched restaurant/lounge, in a contemporary rustic style that uses native bamboos and recycled woods, overlooking its own working rice fields stretching to coconut palms, it just about pulls it off. With Slovakian-French owners emphasizing its eco-friendly credentials, Sardine's concept is wholesome, delectably light, delicately flavored "cuisine du soleil," with Asian and European influences, and super-fresh seafood chargrilled over coffeetree wood as the star player. Ever-changing lunch and dinner menus are dictated by seasonal home-grown produce, sourced daily from Sardine's organic farm, as well as by the availability of just-caught fresh seafood, handpicked from Jimbaran's fish markets. Sublime signatures include a manis clams appetizer, steamed in a spicy Balinese sauce, and mains like pan-seared diver scallops with mushroom ravioli and a parsley-truffle emulsion. The namesake fish comes in variable twists, such as smoked sardines with warm potato salad, Jerez vinaigrette, and caper berries.

Take a pre-dinner cocktail like the Bunga Rosella Cosmopolitan, made from the house's own rosella extract, at the refined front bar. The loungey terrace fronting the paddies is idyllic for digestifs and desserts like the Lampung shade-grown black pepper ice cream, which showcases a distinctive organic pepper from Java. Prices are steep considering portions are small and dishes mainly feature locally sourced seafood—as at many establishments, you pay for the surroundings. Lunchtimes occasionally coincide with harvesting and planting cycles in the paddies. Nighttime Sardine really comes into its element, illuminated by fire beacons under a ceiling of stars.