It offers Makassar-style squid and crab, Alor-style tamarind shrimp, and lobster cooked like they do in Aceh, with two kinds of chilli. There's a good wine list and staff are well informed and efficient. Prices are quite affordable considering the quality. Oh, and the bar is in fact created from an actual 200-year-old temple, which was set to be demolished until it was deconstructed and rebuilt here.
Kemang
Kemang is a good choice for a night on the town, with some great restaurants, bars and nightlife, including many exclusive places. For inexpensive grub check out D'Fest, which has 50 or so stalls.
D'FestFOOD COURT$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Kemang Raya 19C; mains 20,000-60,000Rp; h5pm-midnight)
Very sociable and popular open-air food court complete with stylish sofa seating and an array of international and local food stalls. It has Middle Eastern kebab joints, lots of Japanese options, soto (soup) places, roti canai (Malay-Indian flaky flatbread), plus a beerhouse. There's often live music here on weekend nights.
Kampung KemangFOOD COURT$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Kemang Raya 18; meals 50,000Rp; h11am-11pm)
A popular Kemang food court with permanent fried chicken and ramen kitchens and a handful of smaller stalls too, most specialising in Indonesian comfort food. It buzzes at night.
PayonINDONESIAN$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-719 4826; www.facebook.com/payon.restaurant; Jl Kemang Raya 17; mains 23,000-130,000Rp; h10.30am-10.30pm)
Something of a secret garden where you dine under a delightful open pagoda surrounded by greenery. Chefs prepare authentic Javanese cuisine from an open kitchen, and many dishes are served on banana leaves, echoing the rural Indonesian flavour.
Warung TurkiTURKISH$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-2905 5898; Jl Kemang Raya 18A; mains 45,000-145,000Rp; hnoon-9.30pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat)
Upscale Turkish fare prepared in a wood-fired clay oven and served in a high-design shell spanning three floors. They slow roast lamb and chicken, stuff their homemade bread and layer sinful baklava. Enjoy yours on the enclosed rooftop patio, with its glass ceiling dangling with lanterns.
Parc 19INDONESIAN, FUSION$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-719 9988; www.parc19.com; Jl Taman Kemang 19; mains 70,000-240,000Rp; h10am-midnight)
The industrial design, complete with a brick-and-wood bar and reclaimed wood seating, outdoes the menu, which wanders from pizza to kebabs to Indonesian favourites including a Balinese duck. But it's still worth it for the ambience.
ToscanaITALIAN$$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-718 1217; www.toscanajakarta.com; Jl Kemang Raya 120; mains 33,000-303,000Rp; h5.30-11pm)
Elegant Italian place renowned for its pizzas (baked in a wood-fired oven), pasta and risotto and great fish dishes (try the pan-fried grouper with potato and black olives). Also boasts a good selection of Tuscan wines.
Senopati
An upmarket restaurant row in south Jakarta stretches from Jl Senopati to Jl Suryo and lacks the expat overwhelm of Kemang. The high-speed traffic makes a leisurely stroll next to impossible, however.
Darling Rice ClubINDONESIAN$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Suryo 19; mains 30,000-70,000Rp; h11am-10pm; W)
Set above a showroom of cool vintage bikes, motorcycles and cars, this gourmet warung serves mixed rice dishes in upmarket environs.
TrediciITALIAN$$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-720 4567; www.facebook.com/trediciristorante; Jl Suryo 42; mains 72,000-265,000Rp; h10.30am-10pm)
A slice of authentic Italy in manic Jakarta, this Senopati mainstay is popular among expats for thin-crust pizzas, homemade pasta, outstanding risotto and perfectly prepared steaks. It even serves prosciutto and melon. This is an Italian kitchen to seek out and explore and the wine list proves it. Grab a table on the patio and stay a while.
Cantina 18ITALIAN$$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-2751 0539; www.cantina-18.com; Jl Suryo 25; mains 80,000-260,000Rp; h11am-11pm)
Three Italian pals from the motherland deliver upmarket Italian flavour with modern flare. They offer a terrific selection of antipasti and carpaccio and a selection of pasta and risotto dishes, as well as grilled seafood and delectable pork ribs in red wine sauce. The terrific food outdoes the chintzy design. Don't hold it against them.
6Drinking & Nightlife
If you’re expecting the capital of the world’s largest Muslim country to be a sober city with little in the way of drinking culture, think again. Bars are spread throughout the city, with casual places grouped around Jl Jaksa, fancy-pants rooftop lounge bars and beer gardens in central and south Jakarta and many more places in between. Cafe culture has really taken off in the last few years. All the malls have a Starbucks (or an Indo clone) selling extortionately priced coffee, but there are some very interesting and quirky local cafes emerging too.
The recent national crackdown on selling beer and alcohol has cost some restaurants their liquor licence and the ban on selling beer from minimarts was still in effect in Jakarta in 2015, even while the law was reversed in Bali. We'd heard of long-time expats having to purchase their home Bintang stash from the storage area of their favourite supermarket. On top of that, the so-called no-fun initiative capped closing time of all bars and clubs at midnight, although enforcement has been lax thus far.
Bars
oAwan LoungeBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.awanlounge.com; Jl Wahid Hasyim 127; h5pm-1am Sun-Thu, to 2am Sat & Sun)
Set on the top floor of Kosenda Hotel, here is a lovely rooftop garden bar that manages to be both understated and dramatic. There's a vertical garden, ample tree cover, plenty of private nooks flickering with candlelight and a vertigo-inducing glass skylight that plummets nine floors down.
It has a tasty bar menu, electronica thumps at a perfect volume, and the crowd is mixed local and expat. Weekends can get overly crowded. Midweek it's an ideal date-night rendezvous.
Potato HeadBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.ptthead.com/jakarta; Pacific Place Mall, Jl Sudirman 52-53; W)
Brilliant warehouse-style bar-bistro with remarkable artistic decor (including a vertical garden, lots of statement art and vintage seating) that also promotes music and cultural events. Great cocktails, great grub, great concept. Check the website for upcoming shows.
365 EcobarBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.ecobar.co.id; Jl Kemang Raya; h5pm-2am Mon-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat)
Occupying a minimalist, corrugated-tin prefab structure with walls scrawled in evocative street art, an island bar huddled with colourful bar stools and rotating DJs, this is the new cool spot in Kemang and it draws a regular, mixed Indo and expat crowd.
Tree HouseBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Kemang 72; h4pm-midnight Tue-Thu & Sun, to 3am Fri-Sat; W)
A great neighbourhood bar, Tree House is an intimate hang-out on a Kemang back street with rotating art exhibitions and classic funk, soul and hip-hop on the sound system.
Eastern PromisePUB
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-7179 0151; www.easternpromise-jakarta.com; Jl Kemang Raya 5; W)
A classic British-style pub in the heart of Kemang, with a pool table, welcoming atmosphere and filling international and Indian grub. Service is prompt and friendly, the beer’s cold and there’s live music on weekends. It’s a key older expat hang-out.
Kunstkring PaleisCAFE, COCKTAIL BAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-390 0899; tuguhotels.com; Jl Teuku Umar 1)
High tea or cocktails? You can have both, plus a divine Indonesian dinner in between at this re-imagined Dutch colonial, once Batavia's fine arts centre (it showed works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Chagall and Gauguin in its day). It remains a room filled with art.
The main Pangeran Diponegoro Room, replete with wall-sized canvases, is where you'll have traditional tea service with an Indonesian twist. Or come a bit later and enjoy a drink in the red-lit Susie Wong lounge, named and inspired by the infamous Hong Kong madam.
Cafes
Café BataviaBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.cafebatavia.com; Jl Pintu Besar Utara 14)
This classy restaurant doubles as an evocative place for a cocktail, a cool Bintang or a coffee.
Kopi Oey SabangCAFE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.kopioey.com; Jl Agus Salim 16A; drinks from 15,000-27,000Rp; h9am-10pm; W)
Gorgeous little cafe, modelled on an old Chinese teahouse, complete with antique tiles and vintage prints on the walls, marble table tops and a great selection of drinks. It serves Vietnamese coffee, turmeric tea and snacks that reflect Indonesia's heritage, including Dutch croquettes and Padang-style roti.
Dua NyonyaCAFE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.duanyonyacafe.com; Jl Cikini Raya 27; h11am-10pm)
Primarily a cafe, Dua Nyonya is an intimate place on two levels that serves fine Indonesian coffee (from Bali, Toraja and Aceh) and traditional food including rice dishes such as nasi bebek goreng keramat (fried rice with duck). Classical music and art add to the ambience.
Bakoel KoffieCAFE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Cikini Raya 25; h9am-11pm; W)
Occupying a fine old Dutch building, twirling with ceiling fans, this elegant (if pricey) cafe offers strong coffee using beans from across the archipelago. Snacks and cakes are also served, along with nasi goreng and ayam bakar (grilled chicken).
A CUP OF JAVA
Java is so synonymous with coffee, one of the world’s favourite drugs – sorry, drinks – that in some countries the term java has become a catchphrase for a cup of the hot brown stuff.
Coffee was introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch, who initially founded plantations around Jakarta, Sukabumi and Bogor. Due to the country’s excellent coffee-growing conditions, plantations began springing up across Java, and even in parts of Sulawesi and Sumatra. Early on, the prominent coffee was arabica; arabica coffees were traditionally named after the port they were exported from, hence the common worldwide terms of java and mocha (from Yemen) for coffee.
Commonly thought of as a bean, coffee is actually a fruit pit or berry. Around 2000 berries are needed to make one pound of coffee. The most expensive coffee in the world, fetching anywhere between US$100 and US$600 a pound, is kopi luwak, a fully flavoured coffee produced in Java (it is also exported from the Philippines, Vietnam and southern India). What makes kopi luwak – also known as civet coffee – so expensive is the process by which it gains its unusually rich flavour. The local palm civet, a cat-like animal, gorges itself on coffee berries and passes the inner pit through its digestive tract unharmed. Along the way the pits are affected by the animal’s stomach enzymes and come out the other end smelling of roses (or rich coffee in this case). The coffee has been appetisingly nicknamed ‘cat poop’ or ‘monkey poo’ coffee.
Today, Indonesia is the fourth-largest producer of coffee in the world. Robusta has replaced arabica as the leading coffee of choice, currently making up some 75% of the country’s exports. For further reading on Indonesia’s love affair with coffee, pick up a copy of A Cup of Java by Gabriella Teggia and Mark Hanusz.
Clubs
Potato Head GarageCLUB
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-5797 3330; www.pttgarage.com; Jl Sudirman 52-53; cover charge varies; h11am-1am)
Leave it to the Potato Heads to convert an abandoned stadium into a massive thumping dance club, swirling with style. It serves food, and the decor is typically tasteful with a lean toward vintage, but this is first and foremost a dance spot where you and 1000 friends can get loose and rejoice in the night.
X2CLUB
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.x2club.net; Jl Asia Afrika 8, Plaza Senayan)
Huge upmarket club with a capacity to hold more than 2000. Expect a young crowd, futuristic lighting and three dance zones, though the music can be quite commercial.
CLUBBING IN JAKARTA
Jakarta has been one of Southeast Asia's biggest clubbing hotspots for decades, thanks to great venues (mostly dark and sleazy in the north of the city and polished and pricey in the south), internationally renowned DJs and bombastic sound systems.
Entrance is typically 50,000Rp to 100,000Rp, but includes a free drink. Clubs open around 9pm, and – up until recently – don't really get going until after midnight. However, at research time the new 'no-fun law' threatened to change all this, though nobody was quite sure what would happen. Clubs were functioning normally during write up, though attendance had slipped.
Take heart, there is always the underground scene set in Glodok, where clubs get so deep down and dirty that they make the UK's acid house scene of the 1980s seem like a teddy bear's picnic.
Online listings, such as www.indoclubbing.com, www.jakarta100bars.com and especially www.whatsnewjakarta.com, can all be helpful in planning a night out.
3Entertainment
Jakarta offers a range of traditional music, dance and theatre performances, as well as a solid live music scene: jazz combos, rock bands and singer-songwriters.
Cultural Performances
Museum Wayang holds wayang kulit and golek (puppet) performances on Sundays between 10am and 2pm.
Check the website of the Jakarta Arts Council (www.dkj.or.id) for event listings.
Taman Ismail MarzukiPERFORMING ARTS
(TIM; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-3193 7325; www.tamanismailmarzuki.com; Jl Cikini Raya 73)
Jakarta's premier cultural centre has a great selection of cinemas, theatres and exhibition spaces. Performances (such as Sundanese dance and gamelan music events) are always high quality and the complex has a couple of good casual restaurants too.
Live Music
Jazz lovers should check out www.jakartajazz.com for event listings.
Jaya PubLIVE MUSIC
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-3192 5633; Jl Thamrin 12; h5pm-2am)
Conveniently located in the heart of town, this pub caters to an older crowd and showcases live bluesy rock and jazz artists. Also serves food.
PhoenixLIVE MUSIC
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-722 1188; www.phoenixjakarta.com; Jl Wijaya I 25)
Formerly the Nine Muses Club, this upmarket European-style garden restaurant and lounge hosts acoustic performances on Wednesdays and Fridays, plus some jazz nights and DJs on Saturdays.
7Shopping
Jakarta has real retail appeal. The capital has handicrafts from across the nation, gargantuan malls stuffed with big brand and luxury labels (though prices are rarely a bargain) and lots of galleries full of interesting contemporary art and design goods. Jl Kebon Sirih Timur, just east of Jl Jaksa, has a number of shops that sell antiques and curios.
Because of the traffic in Jakarta, it is best not to try to cover too much ground. You could end up seeing a lot of exhaust fumes and no shop windows.
DON'T MISS
SALE SEASON
The annual Jakarta Great Sale (JGS) festival caters to the capital’s avid mall-goers, and plenty of tourists from Malaysia. Held at many shopping centres in Jakarta during June and July, it features slashed prices, midnight sales, competitions, and social and cultural activities.
Cikini & Menteng
The destination for glitzy malls, all manner of electronics and one hell of a flea market.
Flea MarketMARKET
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Surabaya; h8am-4pm)
Jakarta’s famous flea market is in Menteng. It has woodcarvings, furniture, textiles, jewellery, old vinyl records and many (dubious) antiques. Bargain like crazy.
Plaza IndonesiaMALL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.plazaindonesia.com; Jl Thamrin 28-30; W)
This mall is centrally located and very classy, with a wide selection of stores that includes leading Indonesian design boutiques and the likes of Cartier and Lacroix. Check out Toko Ampuh for local medicines and remedies and Batik Karis for high-quality Indonesian batik. In the basement there’s an excellent, inexpensive food mall.
Grand IndonesiaMALL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.grand-indonesia.com; Jl Thamrin)
This luxury mall contains a tempti
ng plethora of luxury fashion outlets, good local and international restaurants, and a cineplex.
PasarayaDEPARTMENT STORE
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.pasaraya.co.id; Jl Iskandarsyah II/2)
Opposite Blok M Mall, this department store has two huge floors that seem to go on forever and are devoted to batik and handicrafts from throughout the archipelago.
Mangga Dua MallMALL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jl Mangga Dua)
The place for electronics, DVDs and CDs (and even Russian watches) with numerous other malls in the area.
Kemang Area
Edgy art and trendy design for the expatriate and upwardly mobile Jakartan.
PerimeterARTS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.perimeterspace.com; Jl Kemang Raya; h10am-7pm)
Set in the uber-hip Kemang Icon lobby, where rotating shows included an exhibition from artist Agus Suwage on our visit. If the weird and evocative hold much allure, poke your head in to see what's on.
ColonyMALL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.colony6kemang.com; Jl Kemang Raya 6; h10am-10pm)
In a city splashed with splashy malls, each one bigger and glitzier than the last, this understated but tasteful shopping centre stands out. It has a Periplus ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %021-718 7070; Jl Asia Afrika, level 3, Plaza Senayan; h9am-7pm) bookshop and a cool cafe called Liberica – attracting all the Indo and expat hipsters. There's also a shabu-shabu Japanese restaurant, a Pilates gym and more.
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 10