The visit to Betty Lou was actually a popped-up one as it's initially not available in our Bali trip's itinerary. Yes, we just decided to try this place when we were already in Bali, as my friend got the recommendation that this place was a must-visit one. Located at the currently trending Seminyak area, where most of the recently hunted restaurants and cafes were located, the place's very visible and hence could be found easily.
The quite sizable venue is actually located at the second floor of the 2-storey building, whose first floor is occupied by The Holy Crab. Betty Lou's actually a very new comer, just approximately one-month old when my friends and I had our very first step in the restaurant. Apparently, both these restaurants come from the same group, Ersons Foods, who's also the owner of the Holy Smokes; yes that well-known Texas BBQ Joint in Jakarta. Well, I've never been to Holy Smokes so I knew nothing about it, yet my friends actually noticed it even before we're told, since they said that the design style of the venue, the sauces bottles, and even the menu did remind them of Holy Smokes. The fact that it's also located at the same spot at the Holy Crab tickled my friends' curiosity to ask the waiter and finally we figured out that my friends' wild-guess was proven true.
Exactly similar to Holy Smokes, Betty Lou does bring the concept of casual American dining, serving Texas-style slow-smoked BBQ and other Southern-America's comfort foods. Woohoo!! Another full-of-meat dining, another tons-of-protein lunchie!!
Honestly sharing, I had no idea on what the name literally meant as it simply sounded like a lady's name. Funnily, I did not know if it's intently put there or it's just a coincidence, but there's a huge lady-face painted on the wall which raised my random assumption that she's Betty Lou. LOL
I was impressed by the homey design of the venue with clear bright white walls, some hanging plants, gigantic windows all over the spots, and long sofas available at almost all corners. Another scenery to enjoy was the live performance from the kitchen as it was covered by glass, allowing the guests to immediately watch how their dishes were cooked from scratch. Not only that, if you enjoyed doing people-watching, you could sit at the balcony area, where they did put long table and chairs where the guest could dine while having the view of the road in front of the restaurant.
Actually, at the time my friends and I reached the venue, it's still 5 minutes prior to the opening time at 11am. Sorry to say, but just like typical restaurants and cafes I found in our beloved country, opening time stated's almost always not the real opening time. The people're still busy preparing for everything even it's already a quarter passed the stated opening time. Fortunately, the waiter gave us very warm welcome and was very friendly in assisting us with all the questions we raised, including about the dishes.
Being there in the midst of hot and sunny Bali, there it was, the three of us ending up ordering three different cold and refreshing drinks. The red-colored Tropical Iced Tea basically tasted like Rosella tea, unlike my imagination of Tropical Iced Tea, which in my thinking would come with combination of fruits. Another tea-based beverage was Betty's Mix, which was simply lemon tea. Still with lemon, the third was Betty Lou's Strawberry Lemonade, serving lemonade with strawberry syrup and fresh strawberry cuts. All of them were pretty nice thirst quenchers, yet my palate still went with the mainstream, choosing the second one as the best.
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| From left to right Betty's Mix (IDR 30k), Betty Lou's Strawberry Lemonade (IDR 35k), Tropical Iced Tea (IDR 20k) |
Moving to the foods, as a first-timer I let my friends to take the decision on which ones to opt for. My suggestion was just to the point that I wanted to try both their appetizer and their main course; and for main course, I did want the pasta besides the signature protein dishes.
Parmesan Zucchini Fries (IDR 60k)
Starting with quite a dilemma if we should go for Nachos, Sweet Potato Fries, or Fried Onion, we then chose to be anti-mainstream for our appetizer, ordering these parmesan-crusted fried zucchini fingers. At first, I thought it would taste weird as I'd never had or even heard zucchini being deep-fried in my lifetime. Unexpectedly, this appetizer flawlessly left remarkable first impression to all of us. It was a complete combination of texture with crispy coating and juicy content. Being served with the house tomato dip, it was such a great opening.
Texas-style Wagyu Beef Brisket (IDR 170k)
Main part of the dish, the wanted star making us giving a try on this place, the Wagyu Beef Brisket. Being marked as Betty's favorite on the menu, we didn't think twice when we pointed it as the main dish to order. Presenting marbled wagyu beef brisket, which was wood-smoked up to 18 hours and served with Betty Lou's signature BBQ sauce, this was indeed the true representative of Texas barbeque! Regardless the appearance did not look as gorgeous and appetizing as the pink-colored one we saw on Instagram, yet taste did not lie. The beef was faultlessly tender and juicy, giving that heavenly indulgence in every single bite. My taste bud's even already highly satisfied enjoying the meat without adding any additional sauce since it's well-seasoned and so flavorful. But if you're the type who fancied richer seasonings, you might add either original or spicy barbeque sauce provided on the table as much as you desired. Oh yeah, and not to forget, you did get extra side-dishes to accompany your luscious beef. You're free to choose 2 from the following selections: home-cut fries, burnt carrots, mac and cheese, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, creamy coleslaw, BBQ beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, and fresh greens. Mine this time was with corn and fresh greens. Being naturally sweet, the corn impeccably complemented the savory beef; whereas for the veggies, they astonishingly turned out palatable as well with additional vinegar and olive oil dressings.
Creamy Crawfish Spaghetti (IDR 120k)
Looking at the ingredients blended in the plate, this pasta seemed to be a complete answer to various preferences for pasta sauce, having both tomato and cream. Mixing these two different components, which were commonly standing alone, the flavor delivered was balanced, not being too sour, and the after taste was also nice as it was quite light in terms of texture, not being overly creamy. Well, I deeply loved creamy pasta sauce and I usually enjoyed it in restaurants. While for tomato-based pasta sauce, I used to think that only my mom could make it best. However, combining the two of them into a single plate, it was surely paradise! Sorry mom, but this time, this version did spoil me too much, especially with those extra cheese added *wink*. The spaghetti itself was immaculately cooked al-dente and the highlight of the dish, the crawfish (which was commonly known as freshwater or mountain lobsters), was so fresh and generously given, landing the ultimate satisfaction to the palate enjoying it. So Lousiana!
Thanks to anyone who had recommended this place to my friend and bigger thanks to my friend who had successfully convinced me to add this new comer into our list. It was such a great pleasure to be one of those who visited this restaurant at quite early timing and all the dishes did worth every single minute I spent in prior waiting for the preparation. Marvelous job done and keep up the awesome work, Betty Lou!
Taste: 8.5/10
Place: 8/10
Service: 8.5/10
Price: 8/10
Thanks for Reading! :)
BETTY LOU
Address: Jl. Petitenget No. 50, Kuta Utara, Bali
Phone: (+62 361) 474 1391
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 11am - 10pm
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