Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Cairns North

A letdown. We got the large banquet. Promising start with the sate presented with a still burning coal, tender and good sauces. The papaya salad side was the first sign of issues, being absolutely tasteless. The soup was warm and homey. The timing was quite bad from the start with the two appetisers taking an hour to arrive.

The main course was the car crash which just kept coming. The minced duck parcels and chicken curry were the only slightly redeeming portions. Everything else was dry and overcooked. All the curries were lukewarm at best. Is it too much to even microwave them before service? This included the steamed fish, lamb, pork, seafood and beef curries.

Throughout this meal, other than two kind waitresses, service was subpar. There was very minimal explanation of the dishes. The sate came with 2 sauces and a small salad. What were the two sauces and how they should be used, definitely not explained. Rice - if we ran out, can we ask for more? Nobody said anything.

The dessert capped the disappointing meal. While the menu promised an assortment of rice cakes, it was replaced without warning by wheat pancakes and baked cakes. There was absolutely no explanation about the desserts, what do the sauces do? What are the cakes? We had to flag a waiter down to interrogate him. The black rice dessert was served in a small teacup for 2 people. Fruit was one thin slice each.

This is certainly not a location I’ll be coming back to. Do not get the big banquet. I’m full but mainly...

No idea why this restaurant only shows 4.4 stars. On approach we were attracted by torches and a lovely green atmosphere (despite close to the road). The terrace is not spacious, but far from cramped, like in other places. We felt a bit immersed into calmness, with low sounds, also other guests mostly talking in low voices, and decent music. The service was quick, attentive, very friendly and always up for a chat about food and the rest of the world. The Sayur Kalas (spiced vegetable curry with peanuts, had an extra dish of rice with it) was delicious, with a rich, creamy consistency, perfect seasoning and just the right degree of spice. Also the Nasi goreng (fried rice with chicken, mixed satés, fish fillet and sunny-side up egg) was delicious. The pork saté was very fatty (absolutely not my liking, so disappointing concerning the quality of the meat), but done to the point with the meat (where there was some) juicy and with a lovely crispy crust. It might sound plain, but even the egg was perfectly fried, not flabby at all and the egg yolk creamy. To our experience so far, AUD 87 for the meals, a beer and a cocktail is not overpriced, and for us, it was more than worth it. It felt truly Balinese. Pity that it closes at 2100 already. Suggestion: Make the hotel WiFi also available in the restaurant. However, in our opinion a 4.4 star rating is unjustified, and I hope all readers help to bring it to a more realistic...

Could be better

Great atmosphere and the food was amazing! We got the $55 entre main and dessert deal and it was absolutely delicious! The soup was definetly the highlight! The presentation was great too. It would have been better if one of the curries was vegetables as there was meat in every dish.

Extremely disappointed with the service!!! We had to wave our arms around for a few minutes every time we wanted a drink or our water to be replaced. They wouldnt even see that the water was empty when they got our drinks or dropped off food. It was a Monday night and not that busy either. It kept disrupting our catch up together. A very simple service mistake, made several times throughout the evening.

We had to call the waiter over again a couple times to explain how the meals worked for the deal... but we were still confussed as he couldnt explain it. We ordered WAY too much food for the 3 of us, even though we were asking how big the portion sizes were and if it was possible to order 2 of the deals instead of three to share between us. It seemed it wasnt possible, but he told us at the end it was... but we STILL dont know how it works!? We could have saved $55 between us. This guy had no idea... hence the 3 stars for a waiter who doesnt even attend to us and cant explain the basic...