Café del Mar Bali — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

Overrated, think twice.

I’m a beach club bum so when I heard of Cafe Del Mar opening up in Bali I couldn’t wait. Finally got to check it out on Jan 2nd right after the New Year.

Parking is huge. Service is…poor. Read on for the experience. Price is average, not outrageous. Place is beautiful, many great spots to take photos. Food was good, drinks as well.

It’s so sad that the bad experience began at the door. There was one hostess, just ONE, to welcome guests and handle all the questions. It opened at 11am that day so we figured at 1pm it wouldn’t be so bad. There was a line/queue. Waited 5 minutes. But come on, one hostess to greet guests?

Was informed there’s no more daybeds, only dining tables are available. Our group has 15 people so dining tables isn’t really quite the way we wanted to spend family time. Feeling left with no choice, I asked to see this dining area first to get a feel for it. Hostess said only 1 of us were allowed to go up. Wife was left downstairs. As I marched up to the front desks, there were more staff. One showed me the dining area but also informed me that there WERE still daybeds available. Hold on a second… the walkie talkie every staff including the hostess downstairs wears on and somehow she had no idea of the inventory? Hmm.. I asked to show me the day beds. There were two, the last two in the corner. Feeling the day might start to take an upside turn, I gladly took them.

Immediately told my wife to come up. 5 minutes later, she called and said they wouldn’t let her in because the hostess said no day beds were available and that it’s impossible her husband could have just grabbed one. Jesus… is this a circus? Is there no communication between the staff? I wound up trekking all the way back to the front with my hostess to usher her in. At this point, she was already upset at the service she’d received so far.

Finally sat down, the umbrella wasn’t put up yet. Wasn’t going to be roasted under the sun so we asked for one. 5 times we asked. Each time a different guy who disappeared and never came back. After 45 minutes, I asked for the 6th time. He told me there was no more umbrellas. I told him “look around you. Cafe Del Mar must have a budget for backup or extra umbrellas. Please go ask your manager or better yet, tell him to come explain to me.” Low and behold, we got a working umbrella 5 minutes later.

Why must a guest be agitated in order to get some service?

What a let down. Cafe Del Mar is a globally famous brand, one that represents top notched service and an amazing experience. Unfortunately these things cannot be found here. Although we had a good time and why wouldn’t we in the company of family and friends. But I will not be back. Finns VIP is far...

Been there around 4 pm today for late lunch/drinks and to enjoy the pool and this place is overrated, inauthentic, pretentious and unfriendly. So to start off you have a million cover charge or 250K IDR + TAX per pax similarly to other (better) beach clubs but to eat at restaurant only, no pool sitting or long chairs (in Mari just nearby which is beautiful and authentic and where food is waaaay better, you have long chairs and daybeds by beach for 1 mil). Food at casa de mar is so so, super slow to come and cocktails are watery and served in plastic glass... so classy for the cover charge asked... My aperol spritz was an absolute joke could barely feel any aperol and bought a juice to my kid, was told it is pre made not freshly squeezed as they could not remove an ingredient to which he is allergic since pre made. Also no beach access, there is some kind of ditch. But the real joke is before entering we specified we came to use pool and facilities, and after eating when asking one of the 20 iddle servers for towels, was told they did not provide any for restaurant guests, and to go ask reception if unhappy. At reception was told towel is to be rented at 60K per towel. LOL . Wish they had told be before that facilities did not include towels but just the pool which is unheard of in beachclubs...soon they may start to charge for toilet who knows xD Pls do urself a favor and go to La Brisa, Mari, Potato head or kudeta beach clubs where at least towels are free and staff is friendlier and the whole experience doesnt feel like a low cost ripoff where you have to pay any extras and they are just at you to milk you (without a smile). Btw club was more than half empty which speaks for itself when others are full. I ended up paying nearly a mil for 3/4 drinks and a pizza in the end, they could have at least lended 3 effin towels for that price srsly.... service was surprisingly really poor for Bali which is why i left this review. I will never go back that...

Our visit started on a high note - the atmosphere was fantastic and our server provided excellent service initially. The mushroom pizza was outstanding and definitely a standout dish.

Unfortunately, our experience took a significant turn when the sushi board arrived. The tuna was clearly not fresh, appearing very dark in color and having an off taste that made it inedible (photo attached). When we brought this legitimate food safety concern to the staff's attention, we were met with unexpected resistance.

When we brought this to our server's attention, they were clearly trying to help and handle the situation professionally. However, after what became an uncomfortable back-and-forth with the kitchen, it became apparent that the chef was making the decisions rather than management. Despite our server's efforts, the chef only agreed to comp a single dessert as compensation for the spoiled fish. For a restaurant of this caliber and price point, this response was disappointing and below industry standards for handling food quality issues.

The waitstaff was professional and clearly wanted to resolve the issue appropriately, but the poor food quality combined with the chef's inadequate response to a legitimate food safety concern significantly impacted our dining experience. A restaurant's true character is often revealed in how they handle problems - while our server tried their best, the kitchen's attitude fell short of expectations.

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