Copper Bonnet Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Flores

I'd give this place 6 stars if I could. Easily the best restaurant I ate at in Indonesia.

It's just a shame only discovered it on my last night in Labuan Bajo and came again the next day for lunch.

If you're looking for an American or Aussie bar and grill vibe, this is your place. Really good atmosphere, nicely kitted out interior, top service (which is hard to come by in Indonesia) and excellent Western food at reasonable prices for the area. The kitchen staff clearly know what they're doing and use quality ingredients. You've also got a decent bar selection with a lot of top-shelf spirits. They do some craft beer and IPAs on tap.

On the Tuesday night that I visited, they were doing Taco Tuesday. Tacos were 75p / $1 each, really tasty and I knew the rest of the food here would be pretty decent. For a main I ordered the waygu burger (cooked medium), which tasted great.

The following day I tried the brisket sliders - very good but not on the level of American BBQ - and the Bánh Mi which was very tasty but a very western take on it, nothing like what I had in Vietnam.

Definitely the kind of place I'd frequent if it were back home. If I were being picky, the only improvements I'd suggest would be in the bread.

The brioche for the burger and the sliders was on the harder side of any brioche I've eaten. Also the Bánh Mi bread was more of a floury sub than a crusty french baguette that it should traditionally be. Lastly the garlic bread wasn't garlicky enough for my taste. Butter and oil with little notes of garlic could be improved with more garlic and some parsley. The sourdough bread used for this was nice and perfectly grilled though.

It's in an ideal location - there's a rooftop bar above the restaurant, accessible from the hotel next door, which overlooks the bay. I like that the restaurant offers free WiFi and took international...

This place is extremely ... ok.

I ate here twice - lunch and breakfast. (Silly me.) Both meals had substantial issues, but nothing so bad as to actually complain. (Because who feels comfortable to complain when you know your one meal cost more than that staff person made all day long?)

For example, the burger patty was extremely dry and overcooked, and so disproportionatly hot inside (to the point of burning me) that it must have been microwaved at some point in the process. The cheese in the omelet was like plastic and barely melted. (The potatoes/ fries with breakfast were quite tasty, and hit a spot.) My espresso was ok, but not amazing.

The staff were pleasant and kind enough, if a bit aloof. But based on what they likely get paid, I don't expect much else. Going on the food quality, I doubt they are getting much in tips beyond the additional mandatory service charge tacked onto the bill (which may or may not go to staff at the end of the day.)

If you're working remote, it's a nice place to sit and work. Well decorated. Good and inoffensive music. The staff leave you alone, but help upon request.

My overall takeaway is that this place is using low-quality ingredients and charging a premium price based on the fit-out and decor. (My burger with bacon was 200k, out the door.) It's basically emblematic the Canggu-style Balifornication of Labuan Bajo, which is really sad to see.

In short, if you're on a time crunch, I'd give this place a miss. There are nicer cafes to work from with A/C. And much better burgers at a local joint...

We came here on Taco Tuesday. It was early in the night so the restaurant was quite. When our tacos came one of my husband's tacos had an ant crawling around on it. We highlighted this to a member of staff. The food was returned to the kitchen. However the exact same plate of food was returned to us less than a minute later. We ordered two portions of Fancy Fries and they never came. I highlighted this to a member of staff and after some time ONE plate of fries was dropped down. We waited some time before we realised that they had forgotten the second plate of fries. I again had to highlight this to the staff. The staff were not even apologetic for any of the above. The bill came then and they didn't even offer to knock anything off the price after we had a really terrible experience. As mentioned the restaurant was not even busy so there really is no excuse for such misunderstandings with a simple order. The ant crawling on the food is also inexcusable and the fact that they just gave us back the same plate is really not good enough. So so disappointed after reading all of the reviews. Awful service and this place obviously doesn't have very...