The Whacko Beach Club overlooks the exciting marine sport activities of Tanjung Benoa, from an indoor dining venue serving local and international cuisine and a lounge that hosts chill-out sessions. It boasts a cosy restaurant, a large blue tiled lap pool with a swim-up bar serving signature cocktails, shaded loungers and draped cabanas on the sand.
The restaurant’s eclectic menu presents a wealth of Western delights, from pizzas, pastas and grills, to tempting local selections presented with a twist. Here, you can discover some authentic local tastes, such as traditional grilled seafood prepared with local sauces and dips, Balinese crispy duck, and the famous Indonesian beef rendang.
Scenes and Settings
While Whacko is a convenient spot to come ashore to and fill up and cool down in between parasailing and jet skiing, the beach club is a great alternative to Tanjung Benoa’s array of restaurants. In the evenings when the water sport excitement comes to a halt, the beach club takes on a lounging scene for those seeking a place to chill.
Inside the air-conditioned restaurant and lounge, it’s fresh and chic with white wooden tables and chairs, and several cushioned sofas and bright orange pillows. The floor-to-ceiling windows and white walls are free of any ornaments or curios, apart from a single rattan orb lighting fixture in the centre ceiling. Outside, wide parasol-shaded daybeds border the lap pool. At sundown, Live DJs at their turntables play chill-out tunes from afternoon to midnight every weekday. Weekends feature live entertainment from bands playing top 40 tunes to traditional and contemporary dances.
Tasty Selections
Whacko’s take on the traditional deep-fried crispy duck comes with a wholesome serving of yellow turmeric rice, Balinese-style satays, ‘pepes ikan’ leaf-wrapped grilled fish, crispy duck, and an array of traditional chilli sambal dips with spicy blends the locals can’t seem to enjoy a meal without.
Other servings are succulent pork ribs, grilled chicken or grilled snapper as substitute, the latter replacing the satay wraps with tiger prawn skewers. The traditional Balinese vegetable mix known as ‘jukut urap’ gets a modern presentation, offering a crunchy salad combination of bean sprouts, sliced snake beans and chopped cauliflower in a tasty coconut dressing. A bowl of clear seafood soup accompanies these traditional inspired dishes.
Executive Chef Lucaze Dimaz also introduces tempting Western cuisine such as antipasto buffalo mozzarella, comprising fresh tomatoes, Ligurian olives, Japanese Mizuna lettuce, buffalo mozzarella and pesto sauce. A seafood bouillabaisse features sautéed tiger prawns with tomato, herbs and is served with garlic bread. A great finish is The Whacko Balaram, bananas in crepe rolls served with palm sugar, coconut sauce and vanilla ice cream.
At one end is Whacko’s bar serving a range of cocktails. Signature blends include a banana choco, belle passion and its refreshing cucumber mojito. Whacko also has a selection of pizzas, baked fresh at a dedicated pizza oven, and tapas selections that include salmon macadamia, tuna, prawn rolls, fish fingers, and scallop gratin topped with fresh greens and dashes of sweet dressing.
Location: Jalan Pratama 99X, Tanjung Benoa