THE BOX - Restaurant — Restaurant in Ko Lipe

Were looking forward to some tapas and tacos tonight, been passing by the restaurant a few times and read good reviews about this place. It has a nice, casual ambience and appealing menu. But ended up really disappointed with the service compared to all the other restaurants on the walking streets.

We got a table within seconds by the waiter. Few minutes later, the table on the left side decided to order and we wanted to “kill two birds with one stone”. The waiter took their order but told us to “wait a moment” even though we asked politely if we could order too. There was also another waiter holding an iPad, who took order from a younger couple who were sat AFTER us. In the meantime we waited ten minutes without anyone asking if we wanted to start with a drink or not. My other half is usually a man of patience. But due the lack of service we decided to leave.

We expected more because this is probably one of the more expensive restaurants on Koh Lipe, serving Wagyu ribeye, tuna tartar, imported cold cuts or even Moët champagne.

If you’re the owner of this restaurant: you need to step up with the service game and teach the staff to become more organized and observant.

We ended at Elephant bar, the experience was quite...

This is in my list to try when I got to the island over the weekend. I came across this 2 years ago when i visited Koh Lipe. Walking passed the restaurant, I noticed it’s got a really nice vibe and bar, always busy and inviting. So 2 days ago I visited with a couple of friends. We wanted something simple, so we went for the pasta. A friend ordered the Pomodoro penne because he wasn’t feeling well from the night before, so wanted something plain and simple. I personally went for the pasta Arrabiatta because I think if a restaurant can screw up pasta, then I have little faith on the other dishes. My opinion is my penne wasn’t Al dente, it was on the harder side, a min or 2 more would have been a better texture. The sauce is good, while the pork belly is a little disappointing to me. The ratio between fat vs meat (i understand it’s not their fault on this matter) but it would have been nice if the pork belly is crispier and served hot-warm. I noticed my pasta was warm towards the cooler side. I didn’t finish my pasta, as I was really unsatisfied with it. The servers on the other hand were extremely friendly and helpful. So besides the food, we at least had a good service, and a nice...

The food here is delicious, but it did take a while to get our meal. The staff wasn't ready to take care of customers. There are better choices for both food and service at this price range.

The staff may need more training as they aren't familiar with the ordering system on the tablet nor fully know the menu thoroughly. We couldn't get a clear answer to know if raspberry mojito is using jam or fresh fruit.

After all, we decided to try mango mojito and got a glass of ice (for water) with some purple liquid stained on the brim. It wasn't very obvious becauae of the yellow light. There wasn't anything purple on our table.

Besides, wrong orders were sent to our table several times. Though water and glasses were on our table, the helper still sent another set (both bottle of water and another glass) to us. The restaurant looks having enough staff but only one of the helpers is really taking care of the tables, while the others looked confused.

The overall experience was just ok. Only the food holds our disappointment for what we paid for. This place is still potential if everything else could...