A living, breathing flavour banjar (neighbourhood) in the heart of Ubud — complete with dessert bar, boutique stay, regenerative farm, and a culinary academy rewriting the rules

What started as a cheeky late-night dessert bar in New York has evolved into a curious sweet life in Bali. Room4Dessert — the brainchild of pastry provocateur and flavour philosopher Will Goldfarb — is entering its 11th year, and with it, a new chapter in edible storytelling, botanical mischief, and joyful rebellion.

More than a restaurant — it’s a universe of sweet resistance. A place to wander, to wonder, to taste things you forgot you loved, and unlearn what you thought you knew. One banjar. Five spaces. Limitless play.

THE MAIN EVENT: SEASON 19 — FIGHT CLUB

To mark the moment, Room4Dessert launches its boldest season yet: Fight Club — a 15-course tasting experience that fuses Goldfarb’s three-decade career into one irreverent, emotional, unforgettable journey. From savoury curveballs to sweet epiphanies (with a few palate punchlines in between), Fight Club is a living memory – told in bites. Soil and technique, patience and play, precision and chaos. A quiet act of destruction in a world of sameness — think IKEA scene, but edible — Fight Club embraces flavour, mayhem, and the sweet satisfaction of breaking the rules.

Here’s a taste: Lak Lak is pandan suji riff on the Balinese street snack, topped with whipped coconut yoghurt and trout roe. Inspired by a market stop in Kungkung circa 2017, and a little Cher – because do you blinis in life after love? Raspberry HK features local raspberries with black sesame ice cream, sesame nougatine, and black tea milk sauce. A tribute to a black sesame moment in Hong Kong – now reimagined in Ubud. Fries // Shake isKlungkung-style sweet potato fries from chef Dewi’s garden, served with cashew aioli and kluwak mole. Invoking childhood curiosity and calling into question all you thought you knew.

No waste. No pretense. No rules. Just flavour – at its most fearless.

WELCOME TO THE SWEET LIFE

Built on sweet resistance, the Room4Dessert banjar includes:

• Room4Dessert, the flagship tasting experience.
• Shelter Island, a boutique guesthouse wrapped in coconut trees and quiet magic.
• Powder Room, the local candy store for grown-ups, with natural wine and sweet treats.
• The Forest, a regenerative playground for ingredients, ideas, and education.
• Academy, pastry bootcamps for the next generation of sweet thinkers.

“We don’t just serve food — we share stories. We grow more than ingredients here. We grow ideas. We grow people. And if we’ve done it right, you leave a little more connected to the land, to yourself, and to each other. Sometimes, we even grow dessert.” – Will Goldfarb

STILL LOST. STILL LISTENING. STILL SWEET.

This isn’t a retrospective — it’s a continuation. A quiet celebration of showing up, staying curious, and sharing what’s been learned along the way. The Room4Dessert Academy carries that journey forward: a space where knowledge isn’t preached from a stage, but passed on through lived experience.

Because the sweet life isn’t something you master. It’s something you taste, and maybe even live.

ROOM4DESSERT: THE BANJAR (NEIGHBOURHOOD) 

Nestled in the heart of Ubud, Room4Dessert is more than a collection of venues — it’s a 20 year in the making neighbourhood designed for staying longer, going deeper, and engaging with food in unexpected ways.

Whether you’re nibbling healthy candy at Powder Room, checking into the boutique hotel Shelter Island, getting your hands dirty in The Forest, deep-diving into dessert at Room4Dessert, or joining a workshop at The Academy, this is where edible storytelling comes to life.

Here, fine dining doesn’t exist in isolation — it’s part of a bigger picture. One that includes soil health, community knowledge, and creative freedom. The Academy connects the dots, turning hands-on learning into lasting impact and nurturing the next generation of conscious cooks.

It’s not just about what’s on the plate — it’s about where it came from, who grew it, and why it matters.

This is the sweet life.

CHEF WILL GOLDFARB

Will Goldfarb is a dessert visionary, alchemist, and the unapologetically curious mind behind Room4Dessert. Born in New York and trained in Paris, he worked in some of the world’s most legendary kitchens — including El Bulli — before launching the original Room4Dessert in Manhattan.

After relocating to Bali, he reimagined the concept as something much bigger: a regenerative, zero-waste culinary banjar deeply rooted in local ingredients, sustainability, and storytelling.

Known for mixing intellect with irreverence, Will creates desserts that are both deeply personal and technically brilliant. He’s as likely to reference Shakespeare as he is the Beastie Boys on a tasting menu. He’s not reinventing dessert. He’s breaking it open, just to see what else might be hiding inside. Beyond the plate, he’s growing more than ingredients — he’s growing people, through mentorship, curiosity, and the freedom to mess things up on the way to getting it right.

Accolades & Highlights

• Winner, World’s Best Pastry Chef (The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 2021)
• Chef’s Table Season 4: Pastry (Netflix)
• Named one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America (2005)
• Author of Room for Dessert published by Phaidon (2018)
• Speaker & mentor in global culinary forums focused on sustainability and flavour innovation
• Founder, Room4Dessert Academy
• Led staff and community meal initiatives during the pandemic, restoring connection through food

Address: Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Kedewatan, Kecamatan Ubud, Bali 80561 Website / Instagram / Images

We are more than your dessert.

Here’s to 20 years of getting lost, and still showing up. This is the sweet life.