THE BLACK SHEEP OF FINE DINING - BAMBUDDHA IBIZA

Founded by John Moon in 1999 and now guided by his son Jonjon’s quiet precision, this revered temple of temptation remains one of the most iconic dining destinations in Ibiza.

There’s a moment that stops people in their tracks when arriving at Bambuddha Ibiza for the very first time. It’s a breathtaking, somewhat visceral reaction to stepping into an exotic new world, akin to being transported to places like Ubud, Goa or perhaps Koh Lanta – most definitely not what one expects to find in this hidden pocket of the Santa Gertrudis countryside. The now-iconic restaurant and cocktail lounge, shrouded by an evergreen bamboo forest that sways in the Balearic breeze, is comprised of a cluster of striking, Balinese pagoda-style dining spaces (called banjaks – meeting places), flanked by a row of towering, ancient stone totem poles – the perfect place for balmy summer nights, esoteric adventures and of course, gastronomic worship at the highest altar.

Stepping into something otherworldly was always the intention of adventurer and entrepreneur John Moon when he first opened the doors to Bambuddha Grove (as it was originally named) in 1999. Infused with the essence of a lifetime of travel and escapades – and kitted out with thoughtfully collected decoration, art and objets to match – from South Africa to Southeast Asia and back again, the restaurant was, as John Moon once wrote: ‘a unique personal manifestation of my life’. The pioneering (and famously trademarked) culinary concept was MediterrAsian fine dining, taking its inspiration from the world’s ancient spice routes while amalgamating ingredients and techniques from the Mediterranean and the Orient. There was nothing else like it in Ibiza, and to this day, it remains completely unique.