Al Fresco — Restaurant in Borneo

I recently had the opportunity to visit Ferdinand's, a popular sunset bar in Kota Kinabalu, and while the experience had its highlights, there were a few drawbacks that need to be addressed.

Let's start with the positives. Ferdinand's offers one of the most breathtaking views of the sunset in the area. The ambiance and setting are perfect for enjoying a picturesque evening as the sun dips below the horizon. The stunning vista alone makes Ferdinand's a standout destination for those seeking a memorable sunset experience.

However, one of the downsides I encountered was the difficulty in securing seats. On both occasions I visited, it was a challenge to find available seating due to the high demand. This can be frustrating, especially if you have made prior arrangements or reservations and still find yourself struggling to get a seat.

During one visit, I encountered an issue with the reservation process. I had specifically spoken to a server and reserved a seat, but unfortunately, a Korean couple took the available seat while we were waiting. When I brought this to the attention of the waiter, I expected prompt and effective resolution. However, I was disappointed when the waiter failed to manage the situation appropriately. Instead of addressing the issue and providing us with an available seat, we were asked to wait. As a result, we ended up waiting until 6:45pm, well after the sunset had passed, and it was getting dark. This oversight significantly diminished the enjoyment of the experience.

On the bright side, the food at Ferdinand's was outstanding. The quality of the dishes was top-notch, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flavors and presentation. However, the service in terms of wait times left much to be desired. It took a rather lengthy 30 minutes for our food to arrive, which is longer than what one would expect. Additionally, I encountered a delay in receiving my gin and tonic, waiting for approximately 20 minutes. These extended wait times were a notable inconvenience and detracted from the overall experience.

Another issue I encountered was the failure to receive the bill after making the payment. This lack of attention to detail by the waiter was disappointing and left me feeling slightly neglected.

In conclusion, while Ferdinand's offers an exceptional setting and a remarkable view for enjoying the sunset, there are areas that could be improved. The waiters could benefit from being more efficient and responsive to customers' needs, especially in managing reservations and seat availability. The food was excellent, but the extended wait times were frustrating. Overall, Ferdinand's has the potential to be a great place, but attention should be given to ensuring a smoother and more attentive...

Superb location, amazing view, you just can’t ask for more. I brought some friends who were visiting here from England in the afternoon to enjoy a nice cool drink and to relax and enjoy the sea view. It’s really that kind of place to do so.

We ordered 3 types of dishes, the Tandoori Chicken Pizza, beef burger and chicken burger. The pizza was amazing, nicely cooked and the tandoori chicken flavor was really delicious. Unfortunately we are unable to say the same about the burgers. It was such a huge disappointment. The burgers were nicely plated and presented, however the quality of the burger was really bad :( The buns were dry, and the beef patty and chicken patty were dry too. I had the beef burger, and i was expecting it to have this tender, juicy texture - like what you would expect a ‘homemade’ beef patty to taste like, like it will just ‘melt’ in your mouth with every bite, but instead it was dry and chewy, It was really hard to swallow that dish :,( We were genuinely surprised that a fine establishment like this will actually disappoint you like that. If it wasn’t for this, our experience will be perfect overall. We really hope the restaurant is able to improve the quality of their burgers...

What a shocker. First of all want to say all staff were smiling and polite and kind. But. Apart from that the whole experience was rubbish. We arrived and cleared glasses ourselves to be able to sit where we wanted. We ordered a couple of beers. These were forgotten, as it happens a few times, by the soon to become, bossy with his colleagues, gentleman who’s name I can only remember sounding like Fucidin. We ordered a simple sandwich/ wrap. As we sat down we saw numerous tables that were uncleared. One of which outside in sun remained uncleared all the time we were there which was an hour. So as I said we ordered two draft beers which when my wife went to the toilet she checked on. They hadn’t been ordered. She reordered. They finally came some 15/20 mins after first ordering. We then proceeded to check our food order some 4 or 5 times. Each time receiving a very confused face. Asked each time if it was beef or chicken. We ordered some fresh beers. Again we had to re order them a number of times. Each time being asked if we wanted any food. Ha. The system was devoid of any cohesion and just consisted of a bunch of, all be it generally lovely, headless chickens. Not what one expects...