My boyfriend and I have been here three times in the last year.
Our first visit in September 2018 was extraordinary. The food recommendations from our waiter were excellent and his service exceeded my expectations. Our waiter was Ismael and he was beyond great! We couldn't wait to go back and we did (second visit).
Our second visit later that week was not what we had experienced on our first visit. Our waitress was rather inattentive and dismissive. The main courses were not brought at the same time. I mean who wants to eat their main dish while their loved one is just sitting there with nothing to eat! After this occurred our waitress went out of her way to ignore us. The food itself was again very good but the service was terrible. Despite this we then moved to the bar and made the best of it. However we were disappointed regarding the service. Never in my life have I been to a restaurant and the main dishes not served at the same time. You can expect this of a mediocre fast food place but not this restaurant. It was simply unacceptable. The manager did not seem to be very interested nor care as is normally the case.
Our third visit was September 2019. We requested Ismael to be our waiter which we did not get even though we later saw him and told him we had requested him to serve us. That was our first disappointment.
Upon arriving at Bambuddha, the host tells us we only have 2 hours to sit at the table and that after the 2 hours we had to move to the bar. We were appalled as this did not happen the previous 2 times and we were not told about this when we made the reservation. We then proceeded to sit down. We were given our menus and our waiter seemed very busy/stressed and in a rush for us to order. He was not attentive as he was running back and forth. It felt like the manager did not have an adequate number of servers in order to give quality service. Imagine you going back to a restaurant to celebrate your one anniversary and being rushed to sit, rushed to order and rushed to get out of the table. It did not feel good at all. Then there was the food. On the 2 other previous occasions my boyfriend was able to get the Chinese bread but in this 3 rd visit it seemed like asking for Chinese bread was like asking to meet the pope. The main dishes itself were just okay. My boyfriend ordered a curry dish on all 3 visits but this last one was very disappointing. I can honestly say I make better curry than what he was served.
My boyfriend and I then stepped out as he wanted to smoke a cigarette. While in the smoking area, our waiter cane to us and asked if he could bring the bill to us there so that they could give the table to another party ( basically for us to get out of the table)! At that point we were so mortified that we agreed and left. It was our initial plan to return to Bambuddha on our last night in Ibiza but it is clear that the food has changed, the service is lacking and simply not worth it anymore. So no, we did not go back.
Personally I would not go back to Bambuddha ever again. My boyfriend would consider going back simply because that is where we first met. However if we ever go back , I would accept no less than to have Ismael as our waiter. I am still in dismay over the fact that we could not have the waiter we requested. Something so simple and yet they couldn't accommodate it.
The best thing about this restaurant is this amazing excellent and knowledgeable waiter Ismael. We know that if we had had Ismael our experience would have been excellent just like it was the first time. Whether we will go back a 4th time is yet to be determined. I say no but my boyfriend says maybe because that is where we first met. So we will see.
In summary , I now describe Bambuddha as very overpriced with disappointing food/service based on our last 2 visits. read more