Turkish and Mediterranean food in a cute, intimate setting

Rise Mediterranean & Aegean Kitchen is a cosy and charming eatery that serves something other than the vegan and overly westernised food that is plentiful in Ubud. The cuisine at Rise has Greek and Lebanese influence, but the focus is mainly on classic Turkish dishes.
Ambience & Amenities

Rise Turkish Kitchen has two floors. The main floor is a relatively small, open-air space with about a half dozen tables. The wall art and knick-knacks everywhere make it feel like this is someone’s home. There are two small tables on the patio facing the street, but the view is of the laundromat and spa across the way.

It’s a similar unenclosed space upstairs. The second floor will probably be a quieter area if you want to eat or work in peace. The toilet is up here too, and it was a well-stocked sitting toilet with everything I needed.
Menu
Rise Mediterranean & Aegean Kitchen’s menu is small, with only seven mains. However, you can eat true Mediterranean style and make a full meal with a few small tapas and salad.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Food

The Hummus (Rp. 50,000) had a chunkier and oilier texture than I’m used to. The bread that the restaurant gave was disappointing. There were only two pieces, and it was thin and unsatisfying. It was like dipping a tortilla into the hummus. We ended up using a lot of this hummus on our other dishes and eating the rest with a spoon like it was soup.

I didn’t like the Lentil Balls (Rp. 50,000) much. I think there was too much parsley for my liking, and it was a little bland, even with a spritz of lime. We used our hummus on these lentil balls, which made them a bit better, but I only ate one of these and left the rest for Mark.

All was forgiven once we tried the Iskandar (Rp. 90,000). We ate many of these during our time in Turkey, and it’s one of my favourite dishes. The Iskandar at Rise Aegean Kitchen is hard to ignore. The table next to us kept staring at ours and eventually ordered a plate of their own because it looked so good.
The bread on the bottom was thick and chewy, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I don’t know why Rise didn’t give us this bread for our hummus. I doubt the beef came off a vertical rotisserie, but it was tender and fell apart in our mouths. Everything was smothered in a generous layer of rich tomato sauce with a helping of chunky plain yoghurt on the side. The grilled red pepper is very spicy and a very Turkish finishing touch. This Iskandar was delicious, and we were fighting over how to split it fairly between us.
Saturday Worthy?
Our tapas didn’t meet my expectations, but the Iskandar saved our meal. If we lived in Ubud, we would come back here and not bother with anything else. We would just order a plate of Iskandar each. I wouldn’t say that it was as good as I had in Turkey, but it’s a decent enough attempt that filled my craving. Restaurants focused entirely on Turkish cuisine are few and far between in Ubud, so if you like that sort of food, Rise Mediterranean & Aegean Kitchen is worth a visit.
Price for 2 Pax: Rp. 245,000
Iskandar: Rp. 90,000
Hummus: Rp. 50,000
Lentil Balls: Rp. 50,000
Bintang (Small): Rp. 35,000
Fresh Ginger Tea: Rp. 20,000

Rise Mediterranean & Aegean Kitchen
Address: Jalan Sukma Kesuma No.21, Peliatan, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm Monday to Saturday, Closed on Sunday
Alcohol Served: Yes