Bali Hai has good food. That is not an issue. The issue I have is the difference in price between dine in and carry out. For example, the same amount of food eating in will cost around $11. If you get the same amount food and carry it out, it will cost you $16 - $17. Why? Because they charge around $6 per pound for carry out. They​ are charging about $6 for your rice. They make sure you get a lot of rice. They are sticking it to their Carry out customers. Rice is cheap, carry out trays are inexpensive and you are not using the wait service. read more

Terrible customer service. And there is NO point in two bowls, you have to have the same rice and sauce on both. So literally zero variety.

The owner watches over your shoulder while you prepare your food, and refuses your business if she is unhappy at what you take. They apparently do not actually sell what they claim to sell. She threw away my food right in front of me, rather than allow me to even pay for it. Her actions did not benefit anyone, and constituted a loss on both sides. read more

We were seated promptly at 5:15 on a Friday evening. Waited 15 minutes for waitress to take our orders. Then waited 45 minutes for our food. Not once did our waitress check on us or refill our drinks. We watched other tables sat after us get their food and checks while we waited. Finally the waitress arrives with our food and it's ice cold. Clearly it's been sitting on the counter most of the time we've been waiting. We tell the waitress we won't eat cold food she replied, "Well it's been busy so what do you expect." The bare minimum I expect from a restaurant is hot food, madam. And so we left at 6:30 hungry and headed to another restaurant. We'll never be going back. read more

Terrible customer service. They accidentally got meat in my dish (I am a vegetarian) and then made a fuss about me not paying for it. I will take my business elsewhere. read more

The food was decent enough. They don't allow to go boxes for food you already paid for. I can't see good logic in that. Trash.

I love this place, I eat here at least once every 2 weeks. Lunch time can be really crowded so I will stick with dinner time. The chef tends to not really pay attention to much to the number of the heat for the spices so if you don't want it too spicy make sure that you asked for a low number. Other than that, it is a fun place! read more

Was excited about the new location. Came all the way from wake forest its 8:30. The sign on the door says they close at 9:30. We go inside and they say it's closed because there's no pork or beef left. The was a small amount left but everything else was pretty full and I don't eat meat anyway. They were still cooking food and several people were still there eating. We asked if we could still get food we didn't care there wasn't much meat . They still said no then we asked to ask manager then they came back and said there was no rice. They are suppose to be open for another hour! Very upset! Probably won't come back! Can't even get a to go box! If you want it all you have to get it to go and take it home! read more

Bali Hai is back... Initially, I was hesitant about going to this new location because of mixed feelings for the restaurant. Yes, their food is amazing. But their service can be either really bad, or just okay. Never did I have a pleasant experience regarding service in either the Durham or the old Raleigh location. However, this new Bali Hai located in Garner is quite different. The owner is still the same, but she was a lot more polite with our group. Additionally, the waitress that we had was an absolute pleasure! The new location is a lot bigger and cleaner compared to the rugged building that the Raleigh one used to be in, and the quality of the food is still amazing. The quantity of food that you get is up to you, depending on how how you can stack your bowl. I still and always will love the challenge of stacking my bowl as tall as possible (I would share my ways, but try your best!). Even though Garner is quite far from me, I'm excited to go back quite soon! Actually, probably going there tonight for dinner... (heh). read more

This place is not the same as the one on wake forest rd. The sauce was horrible. I order a D8 (combination of sweet and sour, and spicy) with curry and what I got was neither any of these thing. I wanted to support our friend but this will be the last time I come to this place. read more

Food was OK but they broke several rules of a reputable business. Their website says their dinner meals are 8.50. I was charged 11.29. I asked for a menu when we paid. Looked at the price and it said 10.00. The manager on duty said "oh the prices on the menu aren't current. The actual price is 10.50 plus tax." Who hands out menus with old prices? When I mentioned the website he said "yes it hasn't been updated in quite sometime. I told the manager but he doesn't do anything about it. " Their closing hours are listed as 10 pm. at 9:45 the waitress came to our table and said , "We are closing now." Who does that ? Will not be back. read more

I previously wrote about the proprietor of this restaurant and am posting again. Tonight I made the mistake of going back to Bali Hai. Again the owners were rude and insisted on charging $8.50 for a bowl of noodles for my son versus the $1.00 they charge as a side. Please note no children's menu is available. I have been going to Bali Hai for 23 years but will not be back. I recommend others not support this business in hope they will become more customer focused. read more

The food was good, the service was awful they never gave me a straw or more napkins when I asked. Also we ordered two bowls we went and got our first bowl of food no problem. When we went up to get our second they said we have to get both bowls at once. We were never told that and they said they would have to charge us twice if we wanted our second bowl. We told them we would just leave and they still tried to charge us for two bowls. read more

This was horrible!!.. no chicken, shrimp !!!.. and they don't offer all you can eat !! Which most Mongolian restaurants do... not worth $11.99 for one plate of food!! read more

So I had not been here since it relocated from the northern end of Raleigh. The setup is much nicer, but overall approach is still the same. One difference, your food is now brought to your table. The taste though didn't seem to be the same. It's wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as I remembered. My wife had issues later actually, even getting only the Teriyaki sliced version All in all, not impressed and probably won't make this a regular stop read more

Brothers and Sisters, It is with a heavy and ironic heart that I must announce the passing of a beloved friend of my family for 20+ years - Bali Hai Restaurant. After years and years of devotion to this Raleigh /Durham landmark, it has recently been sold and is operating under new management. And BOY does it show. Why would you mess with perfection? Why would you change everything that made this standing room only lunch? Literally - they had to cut off the line at lunch. Today there are about 7 people here. The most amazing rice ever made is gone. And I mean gone. They don't have the old recipe. You cannot take home leftovers - of any size (whether you stuffed or not, you cannot take leftovers home). Their takeout rates have skyrocketed. A large container of rice used to cost $5.95. It's now by weight and costs $12.56. The main cooking island secret sauce seems to be what the new owners paid for, so that's still there - BUT every single thing is different in only the way new owners and management can screw it up. My heart is broken. After 23 years, I'm saying goodbye. #balihai #raleigh #durham read more

It's pretty good. Vegetables are all cut fresh daily. And not too long of a wait for a Saturday night maybe 10 minutes? Only bummer is you can't take home leftovers. And /brown rice was white rice with soya sauce on it... read more

Great to have bali hai in Raleigh again! I've been going to the one in Durham since the original bali hai burned down in Raleigh. The owners of this bali hai are the same as the ones in Durham and the fix tastes exactly the same. I recommend fried rice, combo #5 (go #9 if you like spicy), with noodles. The noodles are a must. Rice refills are free. read more

Best Mongolian Restaurant in the area... Service can be spotty and it takes a couple trips to get what you want dialed in... But once you do well worth it. read more

I have been going to the one on wake forest road for years and I went to give this place a try. Oh man this place disappointed me. As soon as you walk in it smells like the same food as its old place but the food is not. They skimp out on the sauce that make the food so good. They ran out of fried rice during lunch when there was only about 20 other customers. But the best part is when we asked for a take home box for our food that we paid for they said no, it's for to go customers only. That's it not coming back. read more

I was a big fan of the original Bali Hai in Raleigh and was bummed when fire destroyed the place. I dined in the Garner location for the first time last night. The server was friendly and attentive. I was pleased to see all the veggies and meats that were the mainstay at the old location had returned to the new location, and that they were all sliced and julienned as I remember. The overall taste was nearly as good as I remember from the old location. It was still excellent in the new location, but I recall nearly always being wow'd by the flavor (a D7 with a double shot of curry) at the original restaurant. I'll definitely return to the new because it's Bali Hai! read more

Love the food, but the service has otherwise turned me away forever. Went in for to-go lunch and they charge by the pound now; instead of the number of bowls. I added chicken to my order, which is an extra charge. However, when it was time to check-out, first, I noticed they added a lot more rice than before. Second, I was charged for the extra chicken, but also the chicken was included in the weight charge per lb. (That's being charge twice for the same item). Third, I asked for soy sauce packets, three to be exact and was told I could only have two....two only. I again asked for one more and was hatefully told, no...only two. They must be suffering for money! Double charging, fixing the weight of your to-go order and won't give a customer an extra packet of soy sauce...especially after you charge for the chicken by weight and as an add-on item. Good luck. You will continue losing customer each day until none. Again, love your food, but don't want to pay extra and get serve rudely. Remember, your customer are your business. read more

Great Mongolian. FAST, excellent service. One of the best regular eats on my list! The flavor and quality is fresh and unique. I love how quickly the servers get me in and out no matter how busy they are. And it's fun to pick your own add ins!! read more

Where do you buy your food by the pound and can not take your left overs home...these people are money hungry

Ok, so the food.. isn't bad. The huge problem I have is that they don't allow you to get a box for your left overs. We paid $42 for 3adults (because the child price is only for 2-5yrs old) and 1 child. You can only go through the line one time, and can't get extra sauce when you ask for it at the table. I will never eat here again just for the fact that I couldn't bring home food that I purchased and didn't even go overboard on. I'm surprised they're still in business?! Never again. read more

So let me start by saying I've been going to Bali Hai since I could start remembering memories back when they were on Wake Forest Rd. so it's not like this is one of those first time going reviews. Would I go back...probably, but only because my fiance, friends, and family still enjoy the food. Besides not letting you take leftovers (which I'm on the fence about understanding, BUT it's not a buffet so still makes no sense), now that the old cooks aren't there anymore, the sauces have been all over the place. My fiance always get a 10 and is fine, but now he's adding way more hot sauce to his food since it isn't spicy. My brother in law got a 7 and he called to say it was bland. I got a 5 and it tasted like when I got sweet and sour. Yes, service is bad, but let's be real what real Asian restaurant has phenomenal service, no organization in tables and servers so it's gonna be horrible. It's not Ruth Chris people. I will say the island to get food is way better than the cafeteria line and the dread you feel when you see THAT person who is building a pyramid on their tray...no wonder they don't allow leftovers. I would suggest they get nicer people checking out tickets instead of some person scowling at you for paying. All in all, we would go back, but probably not often. The drive is kind of long for somewhat the same food. However, whoever hasn't been before should try, just don't have a five star expectation for service and look forward to the food and your experience will be great! read more

Delicious food! I was so happy to hear Bali Hai is back even though they are all the way in garner. I have visited the one in Durham but it was never as good. However, the way they weigh the food now for takeout is not so great. The cashier would bag the food, then throw the forks and napkins into the bag before weighing. If you don't get rice with your food, it cost more per lb. I'm not sure where this concept came from but that's a bit over the top. read more

Disappointed that my child who is a teenager couldn't take home his leftovers which wasn't really a whole lot he just wanted to eat it later because he wasn't able to eat it all at the time because of the medication he takes. I even offered to pay extra for a take out box but the answer was still was no. I also could not get extra sauce for my dry meal either....I was told that I should have asked for extra sauce before it was prepared. It's just too many unnecessary rules, a major turn off, and a total waste of time and money. What was supposed to be a pleasant night out with my son turned out to be a major disappointment. We both have no desire to return. read more

The one in Garner the lady was very rude and kept on repeating that we can't take out the food that we paid for but could not finish. As much as I like the food, I will not go there again. I miss the old one on wake forest rd. I didn't understand why you can't take the food that you paid for but, are unable to finish it to eat later. read more

taste is good. better quality but smaller quantity than crazy fire. I will recommend if you do not eat much... read more

This place is by far the worst Mongolian restaurant I have ever experienced. First off, they are shammers and nickel and dime you for every penny, charging $1.00 for noodles, $.50 for chicken, add on charges for this and that when instead they can just charge the REAL price and call it a day. Have you ever heard of a Mongolian restaurant assuming it's a luxury to have noodles? Give me a break, Bali Hai. Not only is this place a total sham, the food is not at all good. In addition, you only have a few choice of sauces and get this, you are not even allowed to add it to your own bowl from the bar, same for noodles lol. The cook at the grill is only allowed the do this. Also, as an added bonus (sarcasm) can you imagine how generous they are to give each customer 1 napkin each. Yes, 1 napkin. No more, and the napkin is thin and from the dollar store. What a joke. Save your hard earned time and money people, this place is a joke. read more

Amazing food! There are things I've always wished the owners would do to improve the relationship with the patrons. Such as charging by the weight so that you are charged for the amount you eat. Therefore, allowing take out boxes for the food you have paid for. BUT the delicious food is always dependable! read more

I'm a 25 + year loyal customer. So glad to see the new location open! HOWEVER, the first time we went the food was exactly the same and delicious, but on the 2nd and third visits the flavor was off and really not good. I complained and started my selection/bowls/stir fry over. What arrived at my table was still wrong (by historic standards). I talked to the owner at the register, but she would hear nothing of it!! Here we are again tonight and again, the flavor is off... has a burnt taste. Anyone else have this experience?? read more

Would not recommend to anyone. The owner has too many rules and policy that aren't necessary. For example if you don't finish your food you aren't allowed to take it to-go. And I have 2 kids who can't finish 1 bowl by themselves so they share, well unfortunately you aren't allowed to do that either. The owner has a bad attitude and is very disrespectful. Now food wise it's very bland, no flavor and too oily. Bad management overall and will not be returning again. read more

Best thing around!!! We have missed the Wake Forest Rd location terribly since it burned down. When I heard this location was opening I was beyond thrilled. It's family owned and operated. Great food/great prices! Best Mongolian food anywhere! read more

Went in thinking it was a good place to eat with good food considering all the past reviews I read about this place. Went in and didn't get such a good impression but I figured I still give it a try. Once I got my food and had a taste of the "chicken" I was absolutely disappointed it felt like I was eating foam! Never been so mad to spend money on lunch like this time! read more

wow, what can i say...Worst service ever, there is none. It's dirty, disorganized and change in flavor...Been going to N Raleigh local for years and years and this one just taste different and it's way way way different. like previous reviewer said, owner watch over you like a hawk. Very long wait when bz too. I've never experience worst experience than this local. read more

As other reviewers have mentioned this place is a big let down from the the one that used to be on Wake Forest Road. I ordered a B-8 cooked well and got something with almost no spice that was barely cooked. Other's in my group had similar complaints. The service is slow. Our drinks were not refilled. The wait staff overtly ignored me when I tried to get their attention. They tried to charge my friend $91.14 for a $9.14 meal and shrugged it off by saying 'sometimes the machine does that'. That was the second time they tried to overcharge him. Won't be going back. I miss the one on Wake Forest. read more

The taste is very good, familiar as what my father' dishes. However, the options are too limited. Only three kind of meats, and the white rice is not good. read more

Best mongolian ever. I've moved to houston and they have tons of imitators, but none get it right like bali hai. Whenever I go to Raleigh I make sure to visit. Great food great price. read more