Gong Jatiluwih — Restaurant in Bali

JULY 2023 Sadly I have needed to change my review of October 2022. This review is of July 2023. (Yesterday)

Because July is high season, the area around the restaurant was bedlam although parking attendants did their best.

The restaurant was virtually full by 12:30 pm save for the many “reserved” tables (hint).

We were sat at a table and five minutes later ushered to the back building overflow because we had initially been placed on a reserved table.

The back room did not have a panoramic view, was also crowded and you really felt like “the overflow”.

Service was OK but not great. When drinks arrived my latte was literally cold (I think they forgot to heat the milk). They replaced it.

We ordered and the meals per se were fine except they came out over a period of an hour and a quarter so no-one ate together.

My wife and I said enough after an hour and a half when our meals had not arrived so we asked for the bill.

As the bill had not arrived after 15 to 20 minutes we went to the counter to pay only to encounter a line of customers trying to do likewise.

The poor girl behind the counter was doing her best but clearly over worked and under trained with no apparent or obvious system being employed.

We paid for what we ate and left very disappointed. We had taken friends and my sister (first time to Bali) to Jatiluwij and had spoken highly about it and the restaurant.

Clearly the restaurant was doing their best but if you offer a service and take money for it, you need to be able to deliver especially given prices there are far higher than many/most similar restaurants in the Legian area.

After our walk, our drivers (our friends for 20 years) told us our experience had been similar to others.

OCTOBER 2022 A lovely situated restaurant overlooking the famous UNNESCO Jatiluwih rice terraces. There is off road parking adjacent to the restaurant but you need to arrive for lunch no later that 1pm if you hope to get an easy park. There are parking assistants.

The restaurant itself is entered via a large set of rustic stairs onto essentially a large covered open air set of tables and chairs; all very nicely set out. We were lucky to be able to select a table right in front of the edge overlooking the rice fields but like the parking you need to get there a bit early. When we arrived at noon, there were four cars in the car park and probably four tables in use. By 1pm the car park had 20 cars and full as was the dining room.

The menu was good, the service was as you would expect in Bali, helpful, efficient and polite.

The price of the food was OK, probably a little higher that in Kuta, but the food was well cooked and nicely presented, but of course the star of the show was the view.

Another advantage to eating at the Gong Restaurant is that it is directly across the road from where you start you self guided walks of the rice terraces.

The photo and video are both taken from the restaurant’s balcony just a couple of metres from the dining tables; a magnificent view.

Overall a restaurant well...

[6 Oct 2023]

The view wasn't super impressive. It was nice but you won't be able to see it if you're seated at the back. According to my mum who walked around the premises, the view wasn't as spectacular as expected.

If you're seated at the back, I highly suggest getting an outside seat as for the inside seats, the music is 1) loud 2) houseflies will get in and will accumulate because the windows on the other end are glass and they will get "trapped" and get all over your food.

Service was ok, the server was friendly BUT they did forget our request when we asked for sambal chili :(

Food was ok. The meats are generally overcooked though. We got the rendang and the Hawaiian pizza.

I like how they have a few chips as the starter with sweet ketchup and garlic chili sauce. No issues about that.

The rendang flavour was pretty good but again, beef was slightly too hard for my liking. Wasn't a huge issue though.

The pizza was loaded with fresh vegetables and quite frankly, not bad. The chicken was tough though so yeah. The dough is the crispy type.

Overall it wasn't super impressive but we were fortunate to come when it wasn't crowded. Just wasn't really blown away by the...

The first time I went by myself to Gong Jatiluwih was in November of 2018, and I was happy. I had ordered fish and chips, and I enjoyed a well cooked and abundant meal, and an amazing view of Jatiluwih Rice fields. Today (29/12/2021), since I remembered that experience, I came back, taking my girlfriend with me. I ordered again fish and chips. The portion was one fillet of white fish (in 2018 there were 2 fillets) and a small side of french fries (half size of french fries I got in 2018). Sorry to say that, but that is not a good portion for an adult person. That one is a good portion for a 6 year old kid. My girlfriend ordered grilled mahi-mahi, with a side of rice. In the central part of the fish fillet, the fillet was still bleeding. We called the waitress, who brought back the fish to be grilled better. We are thankful for her kindness and her attention towards us. The other two sides we ordered (lumpia and samosa) were cooked well. Also the lime juices were nice.

As usual, the view of the rice fields is amazing, and made up for the dissatisfaction with the food.

Best...