Bebek Tepi Sawah Restaurants

I visited the original branch of Bebek Tepi Sawah in Ubud a few years ago. I was disappointed at that time as it was expensive, overcrowded with groups of tourists, and the taste was really unexceptional. I blacklisted it in my mind and considered it a tourist trap.

In the past few years, the brand has opened outlets everywhere in malls in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali. I thought that the management may have changed and that it would be worth having another try. I did so in Beachwalk in Kuta.

My first impression was not too good. I was greeted by an apathetic waitress that I felt I was bothering. She gave me the menu and left. It took me 10 minutes to get another waiter, more friendly, to come to me and take my order.

The menu features all kinds of Indonesian and International dishes with a large choice of drinks. It is so big that I cannot imagine the team in the kitchen is able to prepare them all correctly.

Since Bebek Tepi Sawah means "the duck from the rice paddies" I thought I should try the duck of course. The price was 96,000rp (+16% tax and service) for a half duck. The food brought was not better than the one I could eat in a warung for half that price. It was a bit overcooked actually and I still prefer places like Bebek Kaleyo or Bebek Pak Slamet compared to Bebek Tepi Sawah. I also took a "100% pure" orange juice (Rp20,000++) which had been diluted with water.

Overall: Bebek Tepi Sawah is just a typical chain restaurant and there is really nothing special about it. I will not return unless I don't have the choice. It seems that the reason they were able to expand so quickly in Indonesia is by giving away franchise rights quite easily, which of course impacts the quality.