Downtime Cafe — Restaurant in Bali

There's an English & Bahasa version for this review. The first one is in english. The second is in Bahasa. Untuk ulasan Bahasa Indonesia harap scroll ke bawah dikit

(english version) Comfortable place, really good food & a wide range of fun board games to play with your friends, suitable for small to big groups. You have to pay 35k/pax fee to play the board games, but if your purchase from the menu is higher than 35k, you only have to pay 10k for the play fee. So you at least have to spend 35k anyway. The price range for drinks is: 12-31k IDR; the price range for food is: 29-90++k IDR, but it's worth the price considering the taste & quality (also it already include tax & service fee!). Had the onion rings & they were spectacular. Best onion rings I ever had. The hazelnut chocolate milk tea is also phenomenal. The service is also really good. There are two stories so it's not too crowded even when busy. Most patrons seem to be foreigners/tourists, but there are also a considerable amt of locals. For students: it's a great place to unwind with your friends at the beginning of the month or on/after payday (lol). Sadly not wheelchair accessible at all. No ramp to enter the building from the (v slope-y parking lot). You also can only access the second floor via stairs. Hell, you even need to use stairs to go down to. The toilet..

(Versi Bahasa Indonesia)

Tempatnya nyaman & bagus, makanannya enak & board gamenya banyak banget. Buat main board gamenya, perlu bayar voucher main seharga Rp35rb/orang, tapi kalo beli dari menu (per orang) lebih dari 35rb, vouchernya diskon jadi 10rb doang. Intinya mau makan atau engga lu tetep keluar minimal 35rb kalo main. Rentang harganya sedang ke tinggi. U/ minuman: Rp12rb - 31rb. U/ makanan: Rp29rb - 90ribuan. Tapi menurut gw itu sepadan banget sama rasa & kualitasnya.. Dan Harga segitu udah termasuk pajak & servis, jadi ga kaget waktu bayar. Gw nyoba onion ringnya enak banget, onion rings terenak yg gw coba. Hazelnut chocolate milk teanya juga enak. banget. Servisnys juga bagus banget. Gedungnya ada 2 lantai, jadi kalopun rame ga sesak. Kebanyakan pelanggannya bule, tapi ada juga yang lokal. Bagi mahasiswa: tempat ini bagus buat hangout di awal bulan atau waktu gajian lol. Sayangnya ga bisa diakses pengguna kursi roda sama sekali. Gaada ramp buat masuk ke tempatnya, & u/ ke lantai 2 harus pake tangga. Ke toilet pun harus turun...

Quite a fan of this board game cafe, there’s only 1 other board game cafe and each has their pros and cons. 3.5 stars if I could, nearly 4. We love that they’re pet friendly!

For downtime, I really like the depth of their board game collection - from heavy to light games there’s something for everyone with a Member card that gets you access to premium games at an affordable price. It’s likely the best collection in Bali. I would say there’s room for improvement in the decor/vibe of the place - as my gf put it, it kinda feels like a retirement home 🙈 on the second floor particularly. Bathroom needs improvements. The competitor has a more modern, warm, feeling - more comfortable tables/seating, mood lighting, music, etc. I do like the use of call buttons at Downtime though!

There’s a few tasty food options here at downtime with the pop chicken being a fave, but I do wish there were a few more healthy options like a fruit and/or smoothie bowl with yogurt/granola something simple. Besides the salads on Downtime’s menu (which I’ve found not as satiating as I’d like), almost all items have a fried element in it, which leaves you longing for something fresh/cold especially on hot days.

The location is good, comparable with the competitor, with more plentiful parking. The views are lovely from upstairs also. Staff is lovely as always.

A few constructive points that would up my rating: A) Even 2 items on the menu to satisfy the freshness factor would bump up a star immediately. B) bathroom update would also be an immediate star. C) Would love to see a voting system for patron-requested games to add to the collection/play options! D) Perhaps longer term, improving/updating the vibe and comfort of the space - take advantage of the views too!

I hope this doesn’t come across as too harsh, our group frequents both board game cafes, and to be honest that’s due to the spread of game options. I hope these points are taken as constructive and not harshly as that’s not the intent. We enjoy this cafe quite a bit! The competitor doesn’t serve meat options by choice, and is a con point for them, with a less full...

The ambience was nice and relaxing, and service was great. You can play board games here (some other patrons were playing monopoly, and the staffs helped explain the rules to them). The place is also pet friendly, there was a patron that brought their cute chihuahua there.

I ordered the chicken apple salad, great vinaigrette, varied choices of greens, apple was crunchy and refreshing, chicken was nicely cooked, but it came with nuts (peanuts, I think) which was not mentioned on the menu (note for people with nuts allergy) . The peanuts does add additional texture to the dish, but if I had known about it, I would have asked for it to be omitted. Also, the portion is surprisingly large, which was great.

I also had the garlic shrimp umami spaghetti, this dish is a bit disappointing tho. The pasta is slightly overcooked, and could use more salt in the pasta water. I could clearly smell the umami sauce (not sure what it is, maybe oster/fish/soy sauce, but definitely Asian), but I did not really get that umami punch flavors. Sauce is too dry, having more starchy fat emulsion sauce, with stronger umami source (msg/nutritional yeast/mushroom seasoning/tomato paste/shrimp stock) would have been better. The tomato and shrimp elements also felt like they were separate elements rather than part of the dish.

For desserts I had the chocolate mousse, it's light, and fluffy, with the right amount of sweetness to it. I personally prefer richer and darker chocolate mousse. But their mousse is pretty great as well, since I don't feel like I'm in a food coma after eating it with how light and fluffy it was.

For drinks I had the osmanthus oolong tea, very fragrant. And you get hot water refill for it as well. (but the osmanthus fragrance definitely fades after refills)

I would give an overall 4 star for the food, and 5 for the service and ambience. Also IMO price was very cheap, so you get great value there.

Definitely will be coming back and taste their other dishes...