The Botanist by Desa Eko — Restaurant in Bali

Edit from night 2: We went for dinner a second time here and it was even more disappointed. I had the veggie bolognese (added chicken) the lentil balls were so dry, there was barely any sauce in the dish, and the pasta had no flavor. I even asked my bf to try and he agreed. He had the Cajun chicken burger, it was served without the described cheddar cheese, and the bun was not toasted either; we both agreed that it also lacked flavor, it had no spice at all. It’s a shame because the ingredients do taste fresh but the overall meal is tasteless. So those are 3 main dishes we have tried that really fall short of description and expectation. For the price paid, it’s not fair.

However we had the passion truffle and choc/nut bar for dessert and those were yummy!

Review night 1: Cozy, charming place, great deco and very friendly and knowledgable staff! Sweet place for a date with the fire pit, cards and games available. We had the Mezze platter (photo; generous for a sharing platter and very tasty), Malbec, the pepperoni and tartufina pizzas. We wanted the cheese fondue but it was not available (we arrived at 8pm). Everything was great except the tartufina pizza. Was quite disappointed as it had no truffle in it at all (which is the point of a tartufina pizza), barely any parmesan, and the dough was not thoroughly cooked. It was mostly dough, some tomato sauce, mushrooms and an egg. Overall lovely though and will...

I gave The Botanist multiple chances, hoping they would live up to the hype, but each visit has been a disappointment. The restaurant has clearly invested heavily in marketing – their videos and promotional materials are top-notch, and they do a fantastic job of drawing you in. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end.

The food, which should be the star of any restaurant, is consistently lackluster. Despite trying various dishes over several visits, I found that the flavors never quite hit the mark. Bland, uninspired, and often poorly executed – it’s clear that the kitchen is struggling to keep up with the image their marketing team has built.

It’s frustrating because The Botanist has so much potential, but instead of focusing on gimmicks and aesthetics, they desperately need to prioritize the taste and quality of their food. The only reason people seem to flock here is the lack of alternatives if you’re not in the mood for Indonesian cuisine. But even that isn’t enough to justify the consistently mediocre meals.

I wouldn’t recommend wasting your time or money here. Until they step up their culinary game, you’re better off looking elsewhere for a...

Unsure of the taste standards of customers who previously visited here but the food was terrible. Customer service was below standard with lack of understanding the customers needs allergies and intolerances. The food itself was an abomination with no taste, the one dish I was able to stomach backfired on me only to be told it was cooked in oil I am unable to eat despite making this abundantly clear, thank god it was not an allergy otherwise I would have met my demise somewhat quickly. The location and entry to the ‘restaurant’ is nice however dangerous - WEAR FLATS - and take a torch as lighting is minimal when climbing down what felt like a cliff side. The ‘restaurant’ itself is more comparable to a Costco seating area. Overall I wouldn’t recommend this place. Food is bland if it does make it out the kitchen without several prompts. Extremely expensive and do not bother with the wines as they are mislabeled. Not worth the time, hassle, money or...