Herbivore by Locavore

A Filipino logic at the Ubud pass

Local leaves, roots, herbs, and fruit set the first terms of the plate. Kel Zaguire, Chef at Herbivore by Locavore in Ubud, works from that material with a Filipino culinary grammar, letting Balinese sourcing meet the instincts of another island kitchen. His station sits inside the Locavore Group’s plant-based evolution in the former Locavore space on Jl. Dewisita No.10, where the old local-ingredient discipline has been narrowed to flora only.

Zaguire’s role here is interpretive as much as managerial. He leads a kitchen that begins with Bali and arranges the work through Filipino structure: acidity carried cleanly, sweetness given restraint, vegetables treated as primary matter rather than substitute. That is enough to give the place its hand. Herbivore by Locavore is not a vegan version of another room’s habits; under Zaguire, it has its own method, anchored in Ubud and attentive to the ingredients close by.

Fourteen movements from seven courses

The menu is advertised around 7 courses, yet the table often receives a longer sequence, with snacks and sweets bringing the experience to 14 courses. That expansion matters because the kitchen works in increments. A bite can introduce a leaf or spice; a later course can return to the same thought with heat, fermentation, smoke, or a softer texture. BBQ tempeh carries the program’s confidence in Indonesian staples. Keramas seashore harvests bring the coast into a plant-led frame. The stuffed sweet potato bun gives starch, sweetness, and filling the weight of a main gesture.

The beverage program follows the same route rather than standing apart from it. Rice-based alcoholic pairings and non-alcoholic pairings sit beside the tasting menu, with local herbs and spices doing quiet work in the glass. The kitchen’s approach is modern, but the discipline is not novelty for its own sake. Each course has to make a case for a plant, a preparation, and a place. In a room devoted entirely to vegetation, repetition would show quickly; the craft is in keeping the sequence moving without losing its local ground.

The counter keeps the kitchen close

The room keeps some of the old Locavore intimacy: a downtown Ubud address, a bar counter with sightlines to the kitchen, clean cutlery, decorative crockery, and Indonesian ikat upholstery set into a modern, rustic frame. The atmosphere stays quiet enough for the pass to matter. Plates arrive with the staff’s explanation of components and pairings, so the table does not have to guess at the sequence.

Service is formal without becoming stiff. The room is intimate, refined, and relaxed, which gives the cooking room to land course by course. From the counter, the work reads as a series of small decisions: how much char on tempeh, how bright a rice-based pairing should be, how far a dessert can lean into local fruit before sweetness takes over. The final memory is not a category of dining. It is Zaguire’s stuffed sweet potato bun in the former Locavore room.