Bali Nusa Indah

Had not been in a few years and was sad to experience its decline. There aren't many Indonesian restaurants and this used to be a stalwart. Service was seriously lacking - staff clearly was not motivated to provide any kind of customer service and the food was ordinary at best - it wasn't hot, it wasn't particularly tasty and the restaurant felt like it needed a makeover. We didn't feel inclined to stay for dessert or coffee.

I've been a fan of this restaurant since I moved into the neighborhood. In the past, the service has always been great, and the food good. This past week I went to the restaurant to celebrate my sister's birthday. There apparently was a tour group who had made reservations so instead of telling us they couldnt take us (which would have been fine as there are only a gazillion other restaurants in Hells Kitchen), they set up a table for us. The first thing was that they didn't wipe down the tables and chairs whole heartedly so I had leftover food on my chair. Then after we ordered our food, which came fast, the portions were much smaller than what I experienced in the past, and they were sold out of certain appetizers. I asked for water refills more than 2 times, and finally ended up finding the water pitcher myself before anyone would even come by and ask how we were doing. Given that they were busy, we decided to skip dessert and go elsewhere as it was obvious that we were not welcome as every time I asked for something, the server got exasperated. I go to pay and they inform me that they don't take AMEX. Instead of saying oh we changed our policy, the server got very aggressive and rude and said we haven't taken AMEX for the last 2 years berating me essentially in front of other customers. I know for a fact they had taken AMEX in the past as less than 3 months ago, I was at the restaurant ordering takeout. I checked my AMEX bill, and for sure, there were charges from this restaurant. Not sure what went wrong but overall experience was so horrible, I will never go there again. Do not recommend for large groups or any type of special occasion.

Honestly, there is much better Balinesian / Indonesian food to be had elsewhere...including in Manhattan. The food here is okay, and I wanted to like it, but I found it overly fatty (too much coconut cream) and lacking nuance of flavor. Also, I thought the prices were high for the portion sizes. So, all in all, if you're in Midtown West, I recommend sticking with Thai over this place.

This is one of the few places in NY where you can get a "rijstaffel" - this means rice table. It's a prix fixe menu (more fun with lots of friends) with 6 different curries! And also soup, salad, appy and dessert. Great fun to taste all the different dishes.

My girlfriends and I stopped in for dinner recently and we tried the eggplant curry, the chicken curry and the simmered beef in coconut sauce. Everything was delicious!! Actually that's probably an understatement--this might rank near the top of my list for best curries that I've had in NYC. Here's why I like it: the meat/vegetable were really fresh, and cooked just right; the sauce is thicker than most curries I've had, but not overdone on any of the flavors (i.e. not too much coconut, or too much spice). So yeah, the curry is a winner! Service was also pretty good, our orders came out hot and the waiters were attentive, but not hovering.

Two of us were had dinner here on an early Wednesday evening. The waitstaff was accommodating and gracious and the food was delicious. We enjoyed all the pungent flavors of the rijsttafel, lumpia and the teas. I would definitely go back there again.

We've eaten there only twice yet, but so far everything has been excellent. The wait staff are very friendly, the atmosphere is casual, and the food is truly fabulous! We will be back.