Ibiza has a lot of great restaurants and a ton of beach clubs (I recently visited 13 of them whilst searching for a party venue… Yes, 13). The island has enough day beds and bedouin chaise lounges to keep China in the textiles trade and it has more sunset view spots than Venus per capita… (This is an incredibly unreliable statement)

However, when the sun has set and you want to be able to wear shoes that aren’t sand-proof and made of cork, the real “wow” dining spots are few. There are a lot of restaurants that are chic and luxurious, but finding one with both and on a large scale with amazing cocktails is a rarity… that is unless you go to Bambuddha.

What is different I hear you ask? Well for a start the secluded location. Yes, there are of course others that are in the middle of deliverance nowhere, but few of them have such a grand discovery at the end of their off road tracks. Also, the decor is colourful, inventive and the huge courtyard makes you feel as if you have wondered into a hidden forest temple.

As personal similarity would have it, the owner John Moon has an Irish mother and a Cypriot father. Now, I’m not saying that this is entirely the reason for the success of this empire, but I’m definitely not saying it isn’t.

The Food:

They adopt the “sharing” philosophy. Being part Greek, I love this way of eating as it means that I have a legitimate reason to eat everyone else’s food.

We started with the Green Papaya Salad with crunchy vegetables crispy onions and a lime & chilli dressing

Caution to the wise, if you like your spicy food at the temperature of the sun (which I do), then you will literally love this. It has a serious kick to it but is also refreshing with its papaya and citrus additions. However, if you are chili adverse, then I would recommend that you drop that note into your order.

We also had the Spicy Salmon Uramaki with Salmon, Green papaya, Apple, spicy lime sauce. These were delish.

Other famous starters include the Atlantic French Baby Scallops, accompanied by steamed spinach, pickled fresh wasabi, a creamy sauce made from fresh wasabi root and topped with grated yuzu zest.

Next up was the Kee Mao Calamari, which translates as “drunken”. In theory you either have to be very drunk or really love spice. As luck would have it, I was both…. Kidding(ish).

The other dish that rocked my world? The Wagyu Bao – Wagyu beef with chili jam and Zhong sauce in a Chinese bun. I mean… what is not to love? I would have eaten a dozen of them.

One of the other stars for me was the, off menu Kowloon Spicy Crab Legs, Alaskan crab legs, roasted with Toban spicy creamy sauce, served with chilli flakes and slices of lime. It is named after its recipes origins in Hong Kong.

Next up was Pad Thai (served with Tofu, Chicken or Prawns). This was presented along side the Korean Bulgogi Chicken, served with Eringy mushroom, pear and cardamom puree. Erm, Yes.

For those of you who know your Thai, they also have many of the classics, including Massaman Curry.

For dessert, we had the Anni Xian Bing, (Mango and ginger creme brûlee with caramelised mango and fresh coconut). I am a BIG Creme Brûlée fan and loved the addition of Ginger and Coconut. I am always on the fence about Mango, but I realise for the vast majority of the population, this will be the winning ingredient.

It is also worth mentioning that their kitchen is open until 2am and so if you want to spend sunset at Ushuaia and then trot over for a swift Bulgogi, this is one of the only places you can do so.

In the 16 years since Bambuddha opened its doors, many trendy Ibiza restaurants have come and gone. When you can last a decade and a half as one of the islands most salubrious restaurants, you’ve got my vote for sure.

Bambuddha -BAMBUDDHA, Carretera de San Juan, km8.5 07840 Santa Eulalia del Río,
Ibiza