Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant

We ordered - alligator satay, pork ribs and Nasi Goreng. The alligator presentation was nice. The alligator satay was good but overpowered by spices or coconut (not sure). Ribs were very tender and the portion was enough for two. The fried rice in the Nasi Goreng was a favorite along with the fried cassava chip. Overall it was good, pricy and pretty. We had an 8pm dinner reservation on a Sunday night. The restaurant was packed when we arrived. It was a busy night so we waited a little longer for our food to arrive. Service was busy but attentive.

A letdown. We got the large banquet. Promising start with the sate presented with a still burning coal, tender and good sauces. The papaya salad side was the first sign of issues, being absolutely tasteless. The soup was warm and homey. The timing was quite bad from the start with the two appetisers taking an hour to arrive. The main course was the car crash which just kept coming. The minced duck parcels and chicken curry were the only slightly redeeming portions. Everything else was dry and overcooked. All the curries were lukewarm at best. Is it too much to even microwave them before service? This included the steamed fish, lamb, pork, seafood and beef curries. Throughout this meal, other than two kind waitresses, service was subpar. There was very minimal explanation of the dishes. The sate came with 2 sauces and a small salad. What were the two sauces and how they should be used, definitely not explained. Rice - if we ran out, can we ask for more? Nobody said anything. The dessert capped the disappointing meal. While the menu promised an assortment of rice cakes, it was replaced without warning by wheat pancakes and baked cakes. There was absolutely no explanation about the desserts, what do the sauces do? What are the cakes? We had to flag a waiter down to interrogate him. The black rice dessert was served in a small teacup for 2 people. Fruit was one thin slice each. This is certainly not a location I’ll be coming back to. Do not get the big banquet. I’m full but mainly filled up on rage.

I have spent a lot of time in Bali and know this to be authentic cooking The crocodile is OK but I find it a bit 'gimmicky' Food was almost all very well cooked and tender with good flavouring Ambience is pleasant and service very good Recommended

Bayleaf in Cairns offers an incredible Balinese dining experience! The BBQ pork ribs are tender and flavorful, while the nasi goreng is packed with authentic, savory goodness. Their mocktail, a refreshing blend of passion fruit, strawberry, and ice cream, adds a deliciously sweet touch. Definitely a must-try spot for a taste of Bali!

Best Balinese 🇮🇩 restaurant I never been to!! I enjoyed foods here every time I come to Cairns!! Of course, I will come back next time when I come back to Cairns!! Should have one in Brisbane 😍

Bayleaf Balinese offers a delightful escape from the Cairns bustle. While a bit removed from the Esplanade, the journey is well worth it. The restaurant boasts incredibly friendly and attentive staff who create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The food is truly the star of the show. We were blown away by the amazing flavors and generous portions. Every dish was bursting with flavor and beautifully presented. The selection of cocktails was impressive, offering creative and refreshing options to complement the meal. Highly Recommended: Despite the slightly further location, Bayleaf Balinese is a must-try for anyone seeking an authentic and delicious Balinese dining experience in Cairns.

Transported back to Indonesia……..the music, the decor, & the food really made me reminisce. Everything was so fresh and very well cooked, the prawn curry was a standout for me as it was loaded with fresh juicy prawns! I should also mention the corn fritters, crunchy little delights. The great food and awesome service I received here was fantastic and would highly recommend. 🙏

A sweet surprise. Authentically awesome. Fluked across this place as it was too wet to walk where we’d planned and this was closer to our hotel. Will definitely go back. Beautiful Balinese food. Good sized serves. Reasonably priced. One of the Chefs in the kitchen looked old school Balinese, and his passion showed in the food that came to the table.

Recommended by some friends, so we decided to visit. It was a good walk away from the town center where most of the restaurants were. The place was popping with customers; it was busy all evening long. They had a regular and a set menu, which is what we opted for. It consisted of mixed sate, be celleng base manis (pork in sweet soya sauce), be siap base kalas (Balinese chicken curry), ikan bakar (grilled fish filets), jasmine rice, and dessert. AUD$49 per person. Every bite was spicy and flavorful. The pork and chicken were tender. If you enjoy some heat, there was quite bit in the sauce that accompanied the pork dish. I was sweating but I kept wanting another bite of everything. Good thing the rice served to calm my taste buds. Dessert was refreshing and cooled everything down. I recommend it and will definitely return if I've ever there again.

Food, service and ambiance were all great. Loved the chicken soup and the chicken in the curry was tender and delicious. Do t miss this wonderful restaurant when in Cains.

Good service, ambience, and food presentation. We felt that the food prices were a bit high for the quality. We liked Balinese chicken curry and satay, but did not enjoy the chicken mie goren... :( The restaurant charged extra for Jasmine rice to eat with curry which was a bit puzzling to me...

Over the last 10 years we have been here more than five times and as embarrassing as it is to record, we have the same thing. How many restaurants are there around that have been able to serve the same thing for over 10 years. We go in hungry and have the banquet. We have learnt to stay nearby or even at the adjoining motel as being so stupifyingly full the best you can do is stagger to your room and fall into bed. You can have water, beer or wine. All is good with this tucker. Service is excellent and so is the food presentation.

Balinese/Indonesian food in Cairns? Of course we had to check it out, especially when a friend that used to live here highly recommended it. Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant is located across from the hospital. It's connected to the Bayleaf Hotel (same owners). We dropped in on a Tuesday for lunch (around 12:45pm). There's a massive amount of seating but it wasn't busy. Most groups were sitting outside so we did the same. Service was friendly but not too personable. The menu is short and sweet for lunch; a la carte (entrees and mains) or choose from two set menu options ($19.50 or $24.00 AUD). Pretty sure every table ordered the set menu. - 2x Set satu ($24.00 AUD each) - you get two salads, two meats, 6 mixed sate skewers and a fruit platter. It also comes with steamed rice, a pickled carrot/red onion/cucumber dish and peanut sauce. Totally worth the price, especially when you compare prices with the regular menu. - Lawar sayur - green papaya and vegetable salad. The salads were pretty basic. No wow factor but balanced out all the meat dishes. - Mixed sates - two skewers each of beef, chicken and pork. Chicken and pork were well seasoned and incredibly tender. Didn't even need the peanut sauce. Beef was a bit more chewy but still tasty. - Siap base kalas - Balinese chicken curry. Incredibly tender and moist but the curry lacked oomph. The sauce was mild and tasted watered down. My least favourite item. - Be celeng base manis - pork in sweet soya sauce. This was the complete opposite; addictive and flavourful sauce. The pork was oh so tender. Easily my favourite. - Buah (fresh tropical fruit) - Fruit platter had a good mix of passionfruit, mango, grapes, white nectarine, honeydew, watermelon and orange. Honeydew and orange weren't that tasty but everything else was top notch. Come for the lunch set menu. BBR was good quality Indonesian food.

We found this spot based on TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews and were not disappointed! We tried the mee goreng which came with a nice assortment of sate skewers and the fish in sweet soy sauce (recommended by our server when we initially were going to order the grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves). Both were delicious and full of flavor. Both dishes came with pickled vegetables which helped balance out the deep flavors of the main dishes. Service and food delivery were both very quick and efficient, but not rushed. Overall great value for the quality and taste of food received.

Went here for a light dinner. The highlight of the meal was the small satay sampler (pork, beef, and chicken). The small comes with six sticks of delicious, tender meat. The large comes with ten. They are served over coals and are amazingly flavorful and addictive. I recommend you order these. We also ordered the corn fritters which were forgettable. Thats all...a light dinner. Service is very friendly and we are willing to come here again and try some other foods. Hopefully we will come back hungrier next time.

This is a retreat from the loud esplanade area. Tucked inside the resort you can't miss it given the signature tiki torches flaming in front. The crocodile coconut skewers were a nice exotic touch and it's served with charcoal to keep them warm as you chat with your significant other. Noodles are a bit oily. Enjoy

this place is a great destination to unwind and have a traditional authentic balinese meal. i really enjoyed the quality of the food. i came here for breakfast and the portions were great. i am full and satisfied. the breakfast options was basic eggs and toast options and they have continental as well. i would not recommend this as a place you should go out of your way to visit. it's something you come across and need a place to rest/eat. the staff is sweet and awesome. all the best.

I have no special knowledge of Balinese or Indonesian food, but we had dinner at Bayleaf at the recommendation of a friend and - wow - the food was amazing! I had the fish fillet in peanut sauce with a side of steamed rice, and every bite was a delight. The portions were normal - not too big not too small. We sat in the front patio which made the experience even better, but in the end this was all about the food. Highly recommended.

Service was a bit uneven, so dropping to 4-star, but the food was outstanding and worth a 5-star. Lots of complex and exotic flavors. Well worth the visit just for the novelty of the rather rarely seen Indonesian cuisine. Standouts are sate lilit (minced seafood sate with fresh lime) and ikan bali (grilled fresh fish fillet in sweet & spicy chilli, tomato, soya sauce). Oh, and sit outside on the patio, among the greenery for more of a in-the-tropics feel.

Great, delicious, interesting food! The sampler menu is great value, you get to try loss of stuff. It's huge! Be prepared to be totally stuffed.

As a tourist, we were looking for something tasty, reasonably priced and low key as we were using dinner time to plan our agenda for the next couple of days of vacation. Upon entering the decor was quite nice with the option of sitting indoors and out. As the restaurant was about 1/3rd full, service was prompt and our server made relatively good recommendations based on our spice preference. For appetizers we ordered the assorted skewers and corn fritters. The skewers had great presentation and were relatively tasty. The fritters were a bit bland and the sauce that came with it was very salty. The papaya salads that came with both appetizers were a bit heavy for a salad but still balanced the flavors decently of the fried fritters and meat. For the main course we had the prawn curry which was delicious but be warned, don't order it if you don't like a little heat. Warning: this restaurant does not offer doggy bags. This is the only family style/Asian restaurant that I've ever been to that doesn't offer this. The server explained to us the reason was someone had gotten sick from their leftovers because they didn't properly store their food. I found this quite bothersome for three reasons: 1. Food wastage - we had enough food for at least two more meals, 2. I felt a bit cheated as we had ordered all this food, paid for it and weren't entitled to take it with us, 3. the restaurant offers pick up where customers are at risk of the exact same issues for why they banned doggy bags. In short, the service was good, the food was fine but based on principles of food wastage and their logic behind banning doggy bags I wouldn't go back. I hope they change this doggy bag policy as family style restaurants are known for having left overs and I'm sure I won't be the last frustrated customer to walk out.

Duck curry was good; coconut beef was more beef than coconut (bland flavour); cocktails were just sugar. We had good service from the front placing us in a table outside but the service went downhill from there. Our server seemed to pay attention to locals much more than tourists and she displayed it during our dinner numerous times. I ordered a drink twice from her that I never got, she tried to pass it off on the bartender's fault but she clearly forgot it twice. Went through dinner drinkless...BTW my drink order was a glass of wine. Talk about crummy service. She also forgot our take away cutlery which we asked for twice. Head in the clouds. It's too bad, we had much higher expectations of this place but the server ruined the dinner.

A true 5 stars for this unpretentious restaurant. I was in Cairns for 5 days and ate here twice. The atmosphere and service was great. The food was excellent and well prepared. The beer and wine selection was fantastic. This is where majority of the locals go to eat and came highly recommend by the hotel staff where I was staying at. Place was very clean as well. It was well worth the 8 block walk from my hotel. Good job guys.

Lovely Balinese food. We were staying in the hotel and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner here. Healthy and yummy!

Can't doggy bag leftover food, so you've been warned to not over order. I got this braised duck in curry sauce I believe... and my fiancé got braised beef in coconut sauce and the portion size were generous. Both dishes come with rice. Good thing we didn't get any appetizers because we sure did not finish our entrées. The food was succulent and flavorful. This place won't disappoint, however each dish can cost anywhere between $20-$35, but it's worth it because the ambience of the place is nice, food was delicious and staff was friendly.

The service was slow and dishonest. They forgot our order and when confronted about it, the waitress whispered for to the cook and later told us that our food was cooking and would be ready soon. We finally got our food after an hour and 15 minutes of waiting. An apology would have been nice, but when I mentioned it they kept diverting the conversation and saying they were busy. Admitted, the food was good, but maybe it's because I was starving by the time I got it. Ambiance was warm. It'd be a nice place for a (very long) dinner date.

Great food! (Although can be a little spicy). We were looking for a good place for dinner off the beaten path and found this gem. Nice sized portions, great wait staff, full bar, reasonably priced- found it a by cheaper than the options at Esplanade which can be a tourist trap.

I love this place. Have been coming for years and more recently after a trip to Bali we needed a food fix. It was amazing wish we could of had a bintang though!

I think Bayleaf deserves a bit more credit than it's getting from the other reviews here. It's not the greatest spot in the world, hell it might not be the greatest spot in Cairns, but it was exactly what we needed. We had a flight from Melbourne that landed in the late evening and we wanted a nice dinner before heading up to Port Douglas. Bayleaf was one of the only places still open, and had great reviews on TripAdvisor, so we checked it out. Having been to Indonesia, they do a great job of serving up some authentic Indonesian favorites (e.g., nasi goreng) as well as some local adoptions (mostly seafood). The cocktails were delicious as well - wish I could have tried some different ones, but you can't drive drunk in Australia either. Our table was out on this nice patio hidden away behind some bamboo shoots so it had a nice vibe as well. Food: 4/5 Value: 4/5 Service: 3/5 Atmosphere: 5/5

We stayed at the hotel adjacent to the restaurant so decided to give it try. It is decent, but would not go out of our way to eat here again. When we walked in we had to wait about 5 min to be acknowledged. The bartender was chatting with the sole patron at the bar, and the restaurant was about 1/4 full. We finally got asked if we had reservations. We said no, and the server rolled her eyes at us. We were finally given a table outside with the other "non-reservation" people. Normally I would not mind this but it was over 100 degrees outside, and they shut the doors to keep the AC in and there were no fans on the patio. Our service was awful. Our server finally came out after 10 minutes and we ordered drinks. She came back 10 minutes later and asked if we were ready to order. Well, we were still waiting for drinks! She came back 5 minutes later with a tray of drinks - beer and red wine - and set them down. Nice, but we ordered juice, a cider and white wine. She sighed, went back inside and came back with a cider and pineapple juice. We had to wait another 15 minutes for her to come back with the wine and for me to be able to tell her that this was not the mango juice I had ordered. We finally got place our food orders after the apparently difficult drink order we placed was sorted out. We ordered a curried chicken dish and the leaf wrapped duck. Our food came in about 30 minutes, and we served rice from the communal basket and told to let them know if we wanted more. The food was decent - the duck was bland and definitely needed the sauces served with it. The curry was better, but nothing spectacular. We asked for rice three times, and never got it. - maybe because we were not in their section. Our server kind of forgot about us as we were behind the doors outside. We never saw her again after taking our food order. We finally gave up on the rice or getting more drinks, and since we were roasting outside we decided to leave. Other patrons outside were also commenting on the poor service outside. When we walked in the restaurant it was less than 1/4 full. There was NO reason I could see that we could not have sat inside to be a-cooler or b-possibly get decent service. Quite frankly, we could have walked right out of the restaurant without paying our bill and they would not have known! We had to wait by the kitchen to get someone's attention to pay our bill. All in all, we were there a little under 2 hours. Of that time, a good hour and 15 minutes was spent waiting for service. I would have preferred that time to enjoy the experience itself and not getting irritated about the lack of service. Decent food, but nothing spectacular. I had better experiences with the restaurants on the Esplanade and in hind site wish we had just walked over there.

Waited an hour for our food then Mgr told us another table got our food by mistake He then gave us a bowl of styrofoam and thought that would fix everything-NOT!! Won't be back

Came here for dinner while visiting the Great Barrier Reef. Was highly recommended by our tourist guide book (Fodor's). The ambiance was very authentic with the tiki torches and all. We weren't seated in the best area though as it was close to the kitchen and far from others. The service was a little slow for a restaurant that wasn't too full, but they did serve us crispy fried chips with some tasty pickles. We had spiced vegetable curry with peanuts and assorted seafood braised in yellow coconut milk. The spice level for these two South Asians was perfect. The vegetable curry had more flavor than the seafood curry. It was a lot of food and we had a lot of leftovers. I liked the pickles on the side.

The food is really outstanding, we ordered 3 starters and 2 main dishes, everything shared. The curry is just delicious. Everything was, really. The only downside is the service is kinda slow, but the waiter was very friendly and helpful. Loved it!

Walked over from our hotel, takes about 1/2 hour, but you can walk along the water. Restaurant is on the corner, has inside/outside seating, attractive and off the tourist drag, seems to be a mix of locals. Service was prompt, we were seated without a reservation, even though it appeared very busy. We ordered the Balinese set dinner which had an enormous amount of variety, pork, chicken, fish, beef, various pickles, satays and a wonderful aromatic soup. Portions are not huge but we were three people and could not finish everything. Desert was a mix of jackfruit, passion fruit, paw paw, citrus, then there were tiny coconut and sago palm cake pieces. Wonderful dinner, attentive staff.

My husband and I visited this restaurant on our first night in Cairns. It was a Wed. night and while the restaurant was busy, there were plenty of spots open. Yet, when we arrived, we were told that it would be a 1.5 hour wait. The waitress took us to the back bar to get drinks while we waited. We ordered our drinks (which were the best part of our experience) and were starting to find other options since we didn't want to wait that long for a table, especially when we could see spots open. Then, the waitress came over and said that she had found us a table. The food is average at best. It's pretty standard curry dishes and rice dishes that you can find at any good thai / malaysian place. The best thing were ordered were the corn fritters, which had a really good sauce. If the food were stellar, then perhaps it would make up for the god awful service we had. We sat down at our table, and the waitress who came to take our order didn't welcome us in any way, didn't try to see if we had any questions about the menu, but simply very abruptly asked if we knew what we wanted to eat. After we ordered, our appetizer came out relatively quick. However, between the appetizer and main courses, it took us 45 - 50 min to get our main dishes. People who came after us and had much more complicated dishes were getting their food before us. Our waitress NEVER came back to check on us, even though we both had empty drinks, and because of the A/C situation, would have probably ordered 1-2 more drinks. We had to call other waitresses to check on our food and only then did someone notice we had empty drinks. Our appetizer dishes had been empty for a long time before anyone cleared it. People around us got new forks and knives for their main dishes, while we did not. We were told that the rice was unlimited, but they only came one time to serve us rice with our meal and never checked on us. It was like pulling teeth to get the check from them. Overall, terrible service and okay food. Especially on a hot day with their A/C barely working, I would not go back. Very disappointed.

Just delicious and authentic. Loved the presentation too. Our faves were the satay, Babi guling (suckling pig) and duck parcels. Oh and save room for dessert, mango sago and kaffir lime creme brûlée was amazing.

Friday night is my and my partners evening out to try a different restaurant each week. Tonight the Bayleaf, this is one of those places you wish to visit and try all the dishes on the menu, tonight we decided that starters are to be gedang mekuah and soto ayam soups followed by house special, pork cooked for 3-4 hours and ikan Bali a spicy fish dish, all That we both thoroughly recommend. Service was excellent and although literally a full house by 8pm, timing between courses was good. Booking is recommended by all accounts, they are busy and have 2-3 sittings of an evening, don't miss this restaurant if you are in cairns.....

Good location. 5 minutes after seated the next waiter asked us again if we had a reservation. They do weekend specials so no Babi Guling as on the photos from previous guests was not available. The weekend special was sold out. We ordered the rijsttafel and tried several dishes. Good quality and tasty. The desserts were the less favourite.

Nothing wrong with Bayleaf but the food is just average and does not live up to the praises posted in many Trip Advisor reviews. Nice service and decent wine selection. We started with Sate Illit which is minced seafood on lemongrass skewers. Probably should have tried the Croc alternative. Main courses were ayam panggang ( twice cooked chicken) and hasil laut panggang ( grilled seafood mix). Decent serving sizes but not amazing flavors.

Visited Bayleaf a few weeks ago and loved everything. Probably the best meal we had in Australia. The duck curry was absolutely amazing. I wish it was easier to get Balinese food in New York.

Pretty happy with this place. We came here for lunch and did the set menus. The sweet soy pork was outstanding, but for the most part all the food from two set lunch menus were great, the curry chicken was the least impressive, but still good.

I came back again and again to Bay Leaf. The food was authentic Balinese. The decor was relaxed with soft lighting and tasteful Balinese decor. The service was pretty good. One night we had someone a bit new, but he tried his best. The other two times we had an experienced waitress and she was great. I suppose it is a bit hit and miss. The prices are very reasonable and they have a fairly good vegetarian selection. If I lived here, this would be my 'go to' restaurant.

Great atmosphere all by itself on the hotel section of Cairns. Staff were very accommodation and the cocktails were cheap. Really good value, had the Crocodile sate for entrée which was very rich and well presented. Mains were great, Nasi Goring and Sweet Pork Curry really nice. Definitely worth a visit.

The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice too (we sat outside). My husband and I were in Cairns for 3 days and this restaurant was definitely our favorite.