Smoke Bali — Restaurant in Bali

[Edit: Bali Belly. Poor hygiene. We had dinner here and it took us out the next day]

TL;DR -. Skip if you have the chance. Nice atmosphere and merchandise. Below average food. Poor culinary skills. Meh service.Much better restaurants in Canggu (Read: Muda By/suka)

Heard a lot of good things about Smoke, especially from the co-founders of Kynd on TikTok. Sadly, that was not my experience.

The first time I came to visit Smoke, I arrived at 9:45pm and was turned away that the kitchen does their last orders at 9:30pm. I wasn’t aware since its opening hours are at 11pm. My bad, but they recommended I try out Muda By Suka, just around the corner, which turns out to be one of the best food I’ve had in Bali.

But I still wanted to try Smoke, so I went back 2 days later to try Smoke again. I ordered the steak, grilled prawns, and brisket.

Prawns - Mushy, and lacking of flavors. The prawns didn’t taste fresh.

Brisket - tender and falls apart. For a bbq, I would say it actually pretty decent.

Steak - This dish disappointed my partner and I the most. When ordering, we asked for the chef’s recommendation of doneness (we always do that). The server (Alit, who seems like a really patient dude), told us it is medium rare and we ordered that. The steak came out and looked nothing like MR or the photo I posted below. It had a thick round of grey around the edges and thin layer of pink around the center. It was definitely a Medium Well and maybe Medium at best. I understand that cooking over open fire can be a challenge, perhaps the cook might have misjudged and the head chef at the pass might have missed out on it and sent the dish out. No worries, gave a feedback and ask if they can fire a new one. To my surprise, we saw the chef at the pass taking a look at the dish, and send it back to our table, insisting it is a medium rare. Now I’m no chef, but I’ve eaten enough steak to know what’s a MR doneness and what’s not. For a professional chef to miss it the first time, and insist that the doneness is correct after we sent it back, really was really disappointing. We had to send the steak back AGAIN and told them to please re-fire a new one. The new one came out looking like in the photos attached below, which is how a Medium rare doneness should be. The 1st steak was nothing like it. Even then, the steak was lackluster. It was lacking in seasoning and salt. We had to salt it ourselves a lot more. In comparison to the brisket, it pales in flavor and is drown out in sauce and literally left a bad taste in our mouth.

At the end of the dinner, we noticed that every single table was offered marshmallows except for us. It might have been a sincere oversight but we can’t help feeling like we have been punished for giving feedback to a dish.

Overall, it felt like the entire front of house and kitchen didn’t take pride and passion in their work. Or maybe they have been too arrogant and goy complacent. The only person that I felt deserved a shoutout was Alit, the server who had to debate with the kitchen on getting our steak redone. Thank you Alit. We left Smoke feeling disappointed and will probably never head back. Except maybe to buy their merch. They...

We visited here on a Friday night. The atmosphere was nice. However, we had the worst experience that will ruin our memories of Bali and Indonesia. We ordered exactly what we wanted on the menu: grilled shrimp and boneless “rib-eye” 400g (650k). And the waiter said “rib-eye” and put it down on our table, so we didn’t suspect anything and ate the boneless “rib-eye”. When it was time to pay, another waiter came and gave us the bill. The bill was different from what we ordered, and the price was higher (900k). I thought it was strange, so I asked him again, “Is this the rib-eye I ordered?” “Is it the same?” He said it was the same. Since we had already eaten the food, we had no choice but to pay much more and then searched on Google for pictures of “rib-eye” 400g that other people had ordered, and it was much smaller than what we ordered. This is a tactic to serve more than what we ordered and make us pay more. We can't see the exact amount of meat cut off. If we had complained, they would have made us look like bad customers in front of everyone. "They ate all the food and now they complain." Smoke Bali staff were scammers who took advantage of tourists who are not familiar with Balinese English pronunciation. If you must go to Smoke Bali, don't trust the staff. They are friendly in front of you and just rip off ordinary tourists like us. I found others who paid more money in the same way. When I go back to my country, I will repeat this review on another account, and also on my blog and YouTube. Smoke Bali staff with two...

Smoke Bali is one of those restaurants that manages to be more than just a place to eat, it is an atmosphere you want to soak up from the moment you walk in. The space has a dark, moody design with warm lighting that feels intimate and inviting without ever being stuffy. It is stylish in a way that makes you want to look around at all the details, but still comfortable enough to relax into your seat and settle in for the night. The music and energy matched the setting perfectly, giving the whole evening a slow, luxurious pace.

The food was the real star, full of bold flavors that showed real care in the cooking. Every dish that came out felt intentional and well put together. You could taste the smokiness and depth in the meat, but there were also fresh and thoughtful sides that balanced everything out. It was not just dinner, it was a full dining experience that had us talking about each course as it arrived. The service tied everything together, attentive without being overbearing, and always quick to check in with a smile.

What makes Smoke Bali stand out is how complete the experience feels. It is not just a good meal or just a cool space, it is the combination of everything that creates a memorable evening. The attention to detail in the food, the setting, and the overall energy makes it somewhere I would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a restaurant in Canggu that feels elevated yet welcoming. It is a place you want to return to, not just for the dishes, but for the way the entire night feels while...