El Merkat Bali — Restaurant in Kuta Selatan

I have attached a photo of my meal at El Merkat in response to the accusation of being a liar by restaurant management (comment below). I had the cod entree and falafel salad for the main. I never said I was at the restaurant yesterday, I had been there earlier in the week. It's clear that the disgusting attitude is shared by their management as well, not just the waitstaff. Also, I created multiple reviews yesterday because that's well within my rights and I had great service literally everywhere else I visited in Bali. When I arrived there was only myself and a couple at the next table who were almost at the end of their meal. Ratna was the waitress and left me sitting there for almost 20 minutes without any recognition until the couple called her over and asked her to serve me.

After taking my order she didn’t come back to the table once and when I had finished my meal I was left waiting another 15 minutes without any recognition. I was beginning to run late so I tried to call over to her and she walked right past me and started laughing to her coworker. He was the one who ended up coming over and bringing me my bill.

As I am a polite and friendly person (who had barely any interaction with this girl) my assumption is that she had an issue with my skin colour. Everyone’s welcome to their own ignorant opinions but if you’re working in customer service you should treat everyone with same respect regardless.

I am so shocked and disappointed by how I was treated and wouldn’t advise anyone to go here. The food was nice but nothing special. There’s plenty of other places to try in Bali with far better food, atmosphere...

Very impressive place with nicely set spaces and comfy atmosphere.

The tuna poke bowl left a lot to be desired. The ingredients are very high quality, however there is no cohesion or any kind of “bite” on the actual cooking side of this dish. Fruit felt misplaced, rice was nigh tasteless, barely a drop of dressing on the greens, sauce on fish almost non-existent, and when asked for more I got what transparently was just a really spicy soy sauce. A dash of sesame oil, or some toasted sesame seeds, or some rice vinegar or really anything to go along with “soy + capsaicin” would have made the whole experience at least palatable. Girlfriend assures that yesterday there was more sauce, but 1) that makes me worry about standards in kitchen 2) sauce does not add any cohesion anyway. As it stands the dish feels not thought through at all.

The cheesecake was absolutely divine - perfect amount of firmness in the dough, amazing character on the outside charring, and extremely creamy inside with an otherworldly flavor. Possibly too creamy, but it didn’t try to melt and fall off the fork at all, and the taste is to die for. The berry jam served on the side was good. Flat white coffee was good too.

Will come back...

Come here on a regular basis and have yet to be disappointed by the staff or menu. Staff are polite and service is always on point. Clean, family friendly establishment with a welcoming vibe. Seating available inside and out, with smoking permitted outside. Menu is mostly western dishes. Prices are bit higher than most restaurants but quality warrants it. Easy to find as it's on the main road. The only downfalls I've experienced are; the traffic noise, weak wifi and some of the clients they attract. If its not shoeless and/or shirtless tourists then it's the roaring, chest pounding entitled expats wanna-be entrepreneurs talking business for all of Uluwatu to hear. It seems family and friends are not the only things some travelers leave at "home," manners, respect, and common decency are also left behind. To rid the bitterness of the attracted clientele I strongly recommend the chocolate royal; texture, flavor and all around sweetness...