Scallywags Restaurant — Restaurant in West Nusa Tenggara

I had one of the most unpleasant and ethically troubling dining experiences I’ve had in Gili Trawangan, due entirely to dishonest communication and deeply unprofessional management behavior.

I came with a friend and inquired about the price of lobster. The menu said IDR 115,000 per 100 grams — but unfamiliar with seafood pricing conventions, I asked the chef directly if the price was 115,000 per lobster. He looked me in the eye and said “yes.” That was the only reason I ordered it.

Imagine my shock when the bill arrived: over 3,000,000 IDR — ten times what I had understood. When I raised this with the staff, I calmly explained that while I may have misread the menu, I had explicitly sought clarification from the chef, who had given me incorrect information. At that point, a decent establishment would have acknowledged the miscommunication and worked toward a fair resolution.

Instead, the manager immediately became aggressive, refused to listen, and doubled down on a technicality rather than take any responsibility for his staff’s error. I offered to pay 50% — which was more than fair, considering the circumstances — but he flatly refused and threatened to call the police. When I walked out, shaken, I was chased down the street by five staff members, and the manager attempted to put his hands on me while continuing to escalate the situation.

At this point, what was already a misunderstanding became something far worse: an atmosphere of threat, intimidation, and complete disregard for hospitality. I was shocked and appalled.

The only reason this review is not a zero-star (if such a thing existed) is because of one extraordinary staff member: Fahmi. Amidst the chaos, he alone treated me like a human being, pulled me aside gently, and explained that if I didn’t pay, the cost would be taken from the wages of the lower staff. He offered a modest compromise (a 20% discount), and spoke with kindness, professionalism, and maturity — far more than I can say for the manager.

In fact, Fahmi should be promoted to manager immediately, as he is the only person in that restaurant who understands what dignity, fairness, and guest experience truly mean.

To the owners: If you read this, know that this was not a minor customer complaint. This was a failure of ethics and leadership, and you ought to take a long, hard look at who you entrust with your establishment. If the manager is not held accountable, I assure you — this will not be the last review...

What a rip off!!! Incompetence galore!

First of all, we ate here for lunch when we arrived at Gili T. Only a few hours later I got Bali Belly, which happens a lot on the island (and no, definitely not from the fast boat or Hotel before) As I already had it I didn’t care about the hygiene anymore so decided to have a lobster for Valentine’s Day dinner (few days later). I was a bit sceptical before as I was there the day before and the lobster didn’t look very fresh and also had a steak at their bbq before which was barely edible. We had a look at the lobsters today and they were fine. Later when ordering, I came to the front and asked for 1kg, it was 865g on the scale and I even said 865 that’s perfect! Should have taken a photo of that as when the bill came out it was 1085g an extra 200g+. I am extremely good with numbers and have super vision and I am not stupid (like the staff made me feel). The staff chose to continue arguing with me about the 200k price difference and even weighed another lobster with no sense. Anyway, it was a long talk and super embarrassing how they made me feel so I decided to just pay for it. This is sooo stupid and incompetent how the situation was handled. The owners and the management really don’t know how to run businesses. The toilets are always filthy and we stayed at one of their hotels on Gili Air where we had rats in the wall munching at night time. Their response was, if it was my first time at the island. FYI, no it wasn’t, been on the Gilis and Bali many times and still didn’t encounter any rats in the walls except for your hotel.

Never again in any of their venues!!! And we are good customers! Super incompetent management and that’s coming from a venue manager and a...

On the first day we reached Gili we saw this place was packed and wondered what all the fuss was about. Well, we're still wondering now. To start off we were the only locals dining and the staff did not seem keen to get us a table, or wait our table after. Very lazy and no smiles were offered. I guess they don't want to make the effort to make the night special for every customer.

The food took long to arrive. The ala carte meals were surprisingly bland for the price we paid. We asked for medium sirloin steak and it was still pretty rare. And my dish, pork/veal in flour, was hard to chew as well and not very good. They just provide a lot of mushroom sauce on the side to cover up the fact that the meat is tasteless.

The salad bar was good though with plenty of options. In hindsight we should just have had the salad bar and skip the ala carte altogether. And the fresh seafood was also good, but exorbitantly priced. We had two medium sized prawns for 180 thousand. Literally just two pieces of prawn! In the end we paid around 600 thousand for two people. Which wouldn't be a problem if the food was good, or if the staff were kind. The only time they smiled was after we paid.

If you think this place has amazing food or is fairly priced then you have not visited the night market. Honestly you are probably paying for the tables and the 'view' here, not the chef's skills or the staff's service.

All in all it was a disappointing last dinner in Gili and we would have preferred another meal at the night market compared to...