Bali Wine Bar & Grill

Awful service & skimpy, below-average food written by sacleftie
Last visited this restaurant on July 02, 2008

Our negative experience began with the hostess/waitress. She was un-informed, slow, pre-occupied, & unfriendly--almost to the point of being rude. It was our first visit to Bali Wine Bar & Grill, & we were unfamiliar with some of the terminology used to describe ingredients on the menu. When I asked her to explain the unfamiliar ingredients, she told me to read the introductory paragraphs on the menu--which did not describe the items that I asked her about. After our iced tea was served, it took a full 15 minutes to bring the lumpia, which was very skimpy for the price (3 small pieces for $8.95). After we finished the lumpia, it was a half-hour before our chicken entree was served. Never during this half-hour were we offered water or tea refills or any explanation for the delay. During this half-hour wait, we were the only people left in the restaurant, so it wasn't like the kitchen was busy. The chicken entree was very skimpy--two dry, unremarkably-seasoned pieces of chicken accompanied by a very small amount of sauteed veggies & a small bowl of rice.
Usually, sharing an appetizer & an entree is quite enough food for my husband & me, but these portions were insulting. (We are both small people & do not eat large portions.) Adding insult to injury, we even had to ask for our bill. This server was preoccupied the entire time we were there with talking to 2 women who were obviously there on restaurant-related business. Needless to say, we will never return to Bali Wine Bar & Grill.

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Yummies from the world written by tastesoftheworld
Last visited this restaurant on February 10, 2007

I am always looking for a place I can go back and feel comfortable and enjoy the food even more. This makes for a good meal, with friends a treat. Bali came thru the other nite. A friend was interested in Chinese food and we suggested a local spot. The match was perfect and the food was yummy. Both of us have already tried to re-create the tastes of Bali already at home with our more limited pantries.

The wait staff was friendly, and the background music was to our liking - often wondering who just played. Experience it yourself and make your palette jump. Kanpai

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Good Food, Good Atmosphere. written by LionHeart777
Last visited this restaurant on January 30, 2007

I’m a guy who really likes food; and being new to the Sacramento area I’m currently experiencing the thrill of finding new places to eat. I sometimes read reviews, but would rather have the experience myself rather than live through someone else’s likes and dislikes. Case and point: I did happen to find the review on Bali Wine Bar & Grill from back in Sept. of 2005. The review was negative and, like it should be, critical. However, I’m glad I decided to experience it for myself. The food was good from beginning to end. The service was warm and friendly. Like the review pointed out…very “cozy.” I didn’t have any of the negatives the review pointed out. I’m not sure if the review prompted the changes, but if it did I’m glad. Now almost two years later, and experiencing Bali for the first time, that is definately one of the places I will frequent when the tummy is a rumble’n.

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Problems in Bali written by safesurf
Last visited this restaurant on January 02, 2007

We just got back from an "experience" at Bali. First let me say that just because a place can put nice flowers on the table and tasteful art on the walls doesn't mean they know how to serve good food at a fair price. We waited one hour (I checked my watch) for our food and had the excitement of hearing the kitchen staff's musical choice (acid rock) along with the intended restaurant music (light jazz). The combination--like the food "fusion" at Bali Wine Bar and Grill didn't work. The $15-17 dishes were in our experience exactly below what we would have expected from any cheap Chinese restaurant--with one notable difference: the price. A big bowl of noodles soaked in oil with a few hastily cut non-discript veggies thrown in. Rice that seemed fried in oil with pieces of meat thrown in. The experience was a lot like what you would expect at a cheap Chinese restaurant. Okay, to be fair there were several things that distinguished it from cheap chinese: the art, the music, the wine list, the hour cooking time and the over-the-top prices.

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