The Cave By Chef Ryan Clift is over 25,000 years old. — The Cave Bali/Instagram
Indulging in unique experiences, especially when you’re travelling, is one way to create unforgettable memories.
For food enthusiasts, this usually entails seeking out unique local fare or hidden gem eateries.
If you’re not claustrophobic, there is one food-related activity that your mind will continue to digest in delight long after you polish the last morsel of meticulously-crafted meal off your plate: Cave dining.
That may sound “Flintstone-esque”, but it’s certainly not something a lot of people can say they’ve done on their travels.
Ranging from casual to fine dining, cave dining is a one-of-a-kind experience, as finding a restaurant set in an actual cave is a rarity. (We do have a well-known one here in Malaysia, but we’ll get to that later.) Not many caves possess an environment conducive for long hours of sitting and consuming meals.
Here are a few cave dining options that you can consider visiting on your next vacation.
Let’s start in Bali. As its name indicates, The Cave By Chef Ryan Clift is a subterranean restaurant with offerings curated by the eponymous chef.
Part of the luxury resort The Edge Bali’s property, the restaurant is set within a cave that is 6.5m underground and said to be over 25,000 years old. With only 22 seats available for diners, you don’t have to worry about overcrowding. However, you do have to make a reservation on The Cave’s official website beforehand.
Open Tuesdays to Sundays, there are two degustation menus to choose from, depending on whether you prefer sitting to a seven- or 10-course meal.
The menus are refreshed quarterly by the chef, with the most recent changes made in July 2024.
Another underground cave, but this one is even older (said to be between 120,000 and 180,000 years old) and even further below ground level (over 10m!).
Kenya’s Diani Beach is where you’ll find this coral cave, which has housed the Ali Barbour’s Cave Restaurant since 1983. If the name reminds you of Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves, that was exactly the intention of founders George and Jackie Barbour.
Its longevity is a testament to the restaurant’s charm. From the ambience to the food, everything is unforgettable. Its most unique feature is the “open ceiling” in the main dining room. Natural holes overhead are utilised as skylights, which look especially stunning on starry nights.
Being near the Indian Ocean, seafood is understandably the restaurant’s speciality. Its menu offers largely continental cuisine, but if you want a little taste of Africa, try the Swahili Kukupaka – described as “Barbour’s spiced chicken legs in a Swahili coconut sauce”.
The menu is readily available on the restaurant’s website, where you can also make a reservation. Open daily for dinner, though children under 12 years of age are not allowed in from 8.30pm.
The Secret Cave in Bali only has one table per night. — Raffles Bali/Instagram
Back to Bali, this time for the most intimate cave dining experience. Also on the property of a luxury resort (Raffles Bali), The Secret Cave is an apt appellation for this secluded sanctuary.
You’ll have no worry of anyone intruding on your romantic dinner for two here because, aside from the assigned staff, no one else will be permitted in the cave. It can only be booked by in-house guests and only one table is offered per night.
Details of the dining packages and reservation are available on the resort’s website, which, if you browse through, you might notice also lists the cave under “Wellness”.
Since this cosy cave doesn’t have a permanent restaurant setup, it doubles as a meditation venue when not in use for gastronomic purposes. Trade the dining table with massage tables, as the resort demonstrates in its Tibetan singing bowl meditation session, and you’ll have a serene space for wellness activities.
Caves Of Hella is a cool spot. — Caves Of Hella/Instagram
Tired of the tropics? Head to Iceland for a cool (in both senses of the word) dining experience, set within the man-made ancient caves found in the small town of Hella.
Caves Of Hella, as they’re known, is a collection of 12 underground caves whose reason of existence remains a mystery. These sandstone caves are believed to be among the oldest archaeological remains in the country.
Four of the caves are open to the public, with one of them utilised as a dining spot by Hotel Ranga. Within it, you’ll get to partake in the luxury resort’s three-course Viking Feast, consisting of gravlax, lamb shank and a skyr dessert.
Available only as private dinners, bookings must be made at least one week in advance on the resort’s website.
You can additionally join a guided tour of the caves, a service also offered by the resort. Exploring them will take about an hour.
With a seating capacity of 700, La Gruta is the biggest cave restaurant featured on this list. It’s also the longest in service as it has been operating since 1906.
Not be confused with the hot springs of the same name in San Miguel, La Gruta (Spanish for “the grotto”) is located in San Juan Teotihuacan, one of Mexico’s Unesco World Heritage Sites. Take the Number 5 exit near the Pyramid Of The Sun and walk about 200m to reach the underground restaurant.
You can try exotic offerings here, like grasshoppers and ant eggs. On the weekends, diners are entertained by Mexican folk and pre-Hispanic dances. There is also a lighting ceremony, where you light a candle and place it within the cave. You will leave the cave a “reborn” individual.
A little further down the road is a smaller cave restaurant called La Cueva (aka “the cave”). It offers similar weekend entertainment as its bigger neighbour, but what makes it stand out is its huge natural skylight (similar to the aforementioned Ali Barbour’s).
The family-run Topdeck Cave Restaurant has a homey feeling to it. — Topdeck Cave Restaurant/Instagram
If done right, setting up a dining establishment inside a fairly small cave can give it a homey – rather than claustrophobic – atmosphere. Take Topdeck Cave Restaurant for example; here you’ll feel like you’re dining at a friend’s house.
This Cappadocian business owes its cosiness to the fact that it is ensconced in one of Goreme’s cave houses, specifically the family home of Mustafa Ciftci – the restaurant’s owner and chef.
Mustafa and his wife, along with their daughters, opened up the space for tourists to come and savour authentic Turkish cuisine in June 2011. The eatery remains a must-visit to this day thanks to the good food and even greater hospitality the family provides.
Open daily (except Tuesdays) for dinner; booking ahead is advisable as the place – with 10 tables, including four low tables with floor cushions – can only accommodate up to 12 diners at a time.
A 260-million-year-old cave houses Jeff’s Cellar in Ipoh. — Sunway Hotels’ website
A list about cave dining wouldn’t be complete without Malaysia’s very own Jeff’s Cellar. You can consider this for your next staycation, since it is part of The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh, Perak.
Fret not if you’re not a guest at the 5-star wellness retreat, you can still dine here with advanced booking, which you can make on the resort’s website.
While at it, take a virtual tour for a preview of the tropical paradise you’ll find yourself in.
Down a path surrounded by lush greenery, you’ll reach a rustic wooden entrance with a few steps beyond it leading you into the 260-million-year-old limestone cave, which was formerly a literal bat cave before it was turned into the founder’s private wine cellar and eventually the award-winning fine dining establishment it is today.
Another set of ascending steps near the entrance leads to the bar section that’s separate from the main dining area. Do note that you must follow the dress code (smart casual) and children under 12 years old will not be granted entry.
Word of advice, you will need a portable light (or your partner’s smartphone light will do) if you’re planning to take photos of your food. The romantic lighting in the cave makes for a relaxing evening, but not for “feeding your phone before feeding yourself”.
And trust us, you will want to capture every plate.
