Chai'Ba Authentic Indian Cuisine & Bar — Restaurant in Kuta

Being in the restaurant business for over 30 years and owning Indian restaurants both in England and Canada, my wife and I enjoy trying restaurants wherever we travel. Over the last 32 years we have visited numerous Indian restaurants in many countries, with the usual disappointment. And we approached Chai’ba with much the same attitude. We were both quite surprised and thoroughly impressed that our expectations were more than met here.

Hands down they made the best old fashioned I have had here in Bali and my wife’s fennel Mojito also unusual but on point. So a great bar tender and a great beginning.

The appetizer, chicken seekh kebab was juicy, tender, perfectly spiced and cooked to perfection. The lemon fried chicken also very tasty, which my wife had as her main and I ordered the lamb organ Josh, although very tasty was more like lamb curry, I have always made it, served and seen recipes in which the dish is made in a Karai with little sauce and sometimes with nuts. Nonetheless excellent flavour. The garlic naans were very good, thinner and smaller than what I am used to, but a suggestion would be to have cooked them a little longer as the edges were still a little doughy and raw. We would have loved to have finished with a traditional dessert, but alas here is where I feel the the restaurant may have fallen slightly short as it seems they do not make any. The server must have been new as she was a little tentative, but she was attentive. Maybe having new servers shadow before placing them on floor may help in making am even better guest experience. Overall, out of the two top Indian restaurants in Bali from what I have read, and after trying both, this one is a hands...

We ordered tandoori roti, but the waiter served us tawa roti instead. We corrected the waitress, informing her of our original order. Instead of promptly fixing the mistake, she asked us to eat what was served first, which we politely refused. After that, she went to the kitchen and had a discussion with other staff members. During this time, our table of eight was left waiting with only curries on our plates and no bread. After more than ten minutes, a different waitress apologized and finally brought us what she claimed was tandoori roti. To our surprise, we realized that they had simply reheated the same tawa rotis in the tandoor and tried to pass them off as tandoori roti. When we questioned this, the manager came over and insisted that we had ordered chapati, not tandoori roti, which was not true. This was a truly shocking and disappointing experience for us, especially as Indians in a restaurant that claims to represent Indian cuisine to the world. I am not usually someone who criticizes businesses, as I understand the hard work behind running a restaurant. However, I felt compelled to share this experience because of the mentality, lack of professionalism, and what I can only describe as fraudulent practices at this...

My dining experience at this restaurant was, unfortunately, a disappointment, particularly concerning the quality of the Indian food and the standard of service. The Dhal Makhni, a dish I was particularly looking forward to, did not meet expectations. Its preparation was inconsistent with the traditional style; it appeared to have been pressure-cooked, which caused the lentils to split from their skins, resulting in a thin and unauthentic texture. Given the premium price, this was especially frustrating, as the quality did not reflect the cost. ​The service also left much to be desired. A simple request for bread was handled poorly; the wrong item was delivered initially, and when it was brought to the staff's attention, the same mistake was repeated instead of being corrected. ​As someone who specifically travels to Bali for good food, I was genuinely let down by this visit. I believe that with a focus on improving the authenticity of their recipes and enhancing their service training, this restaurant has the potential to better serve its customers. I hope these constructive comments are taken into consideration for future...