Alibi Bar / Club (Rasuna Said)

Alibi bar/club replaces Jackrabbit, which was buzzing a few years ago but failed to find its crowd (to know why, read the review I wrote about it here).

The team behind Alibi combines the owners of some of the most popular clubs in Jakarta (X2/Domain, Embassy (already closed)). It is a rather beautiful venue, impressive with a dark vibe and high ceiling. The bar is long, with sofas and tables occupying all the way to the DJ, which is slightly elevated from the crowd. It should be a nice venue for special DJs performance, much more intimate than X2 in particular.

The sound system is brand-new and top quality: same new speakers than in Stadium. Excellent sound delivery, that's Indonesia's at its best.

Music that night was Vintage Rn'B/Hip Hop from the 90s, which seems to be the new fashion with the mature crowd (30-40). It brings something different from the usual dance/house music played in clubs with a younger crowd. Unfortunately, there were more waiters than clients the night we went there - even though it was a Saturday night. That was a pity.

Staff was extremely kind overall. Food was good and not so expensive: The Club Sandwich@70K for instance. Local crowd only. Sophisticated, and mature as mentioned before: above 30yrs old. I suspect that the crowd that night were acquaintances of the owners though.

Overall:
Major turn-off: The place was empty and had no party vibe at all. I hope Alibi won't meet with the same fate as its predecessor, but if they do not improve the marketings and events, I don't see how they could survive very long... I see that they had a few good DJs coming since they opened and I think they need to keep them coming until the place is established...With a solid group behind it, I'm confident they will succeed.

Contact details:

Alibi Bar and Club
Cyber 2 Tower (BTPN) Jalan HR. Rasuna Said Kav. X-5 No. 13
Phone number: 082138620093 or +62-21 2902 1357
Blackberry: 29F10EF
https://twitter.com/ALIBI_Jakarta
https://www.facebook.com/AlibiJakarta

Opened until 4am from Wednesday to Saturday night.

Potato Head Garage (SCBD)

Potato Head Garage is the new branch of Potato Head, opened where the huge one-stop entertainment complex called Bengkel used to stand (Bengkel means Garage by the way). This area has now some of the most popular bars and nightclubs in Jakarta, including Lucy In The Sky and Fable. Probably the hippest location for nightlife in Jakarta as of today (June 2013).

For this reason, the area has become very crowded at night on Fridays and Saturdays, and it should be a stop for anyone who wants to mingle with the upper Jakartan class. For now there aren't too many foreigners as the availability of easy girls is limited... 

Back to Potato Head Garage: It is not my style but at least it is different from any other venues in the city. It is a huge warehouse-style room, with a 20 meter ceiling, many sofas on the side and a massive bar in the middle. The theme is a bit eccentric, with a sort of chapel next to the bar, a huge classical piano, and dozens of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Should be visited once.

I noticed the crowd is mostly groups of friends, Indonesians and Indo-Chinese, sitting together and hanging out very casually... The atmosphere reminds me of SHY Rooftop in Kemang... It doesn't get too wild, a bit like a warm-up venue. The most interesting area is the main bar, where you have people who came just alone or by two, and they seem more interested to interact with other people. The music is a bit loud also, not proper for talking when you are in a group. I imagine (I hope) it is different during day time.

I didn't eat in Potato Head Garage, only had a cocktail which costed around 10 USD. This is standard for venues like that in Jakarta.

Overall: Recommended for groups of friends. If you are alone or just with another friend, or on a date, I would avoid. Very trendy place today, but my prediction is that it will not last more than 2 years.

Also, the aircon is extremely cold. We were all freezing inside.

Potato Head Garage
SCBD Lot 14
Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav 52-53




Jakarta South

Telephone: +62-21 5797 3330
https://twitter.com/pttgarage
Facebook: Potato Head Garage (from where I took the pictures)

Opening hours:
From monday to sunday: 11 am - 2 am

MooVina (Plaza Indonesia)

MooVina was opened by the same team (Svarna Group) behind Ocha & Bella, the popular Italian restaurant on Jalan Wahid Hasyim. The concept of MooVina is similar with long wooden tables and a lot of plants and flowers surrounding the restaurant. There is also a special attention to design with a few surprising items, and most important of all, good food prepared by an imported chef from France.

MooVina is not a copy of Ocha & Bella though. It is inspired by a romantic idea of France for the atmosphere, and the food combines French favourites with Vietnamese grill specialties.

It opened at the beginning of October 2012 and I'm sure it will be quite popular during the next few months. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts about MooVina on this blog after you've experienced it.

MooVina Restaurant & Bar
Plaza Indonesia 3rd Floor #119 and 4th Floor #06
Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta, Indonesia 10350


Phone number:
Le Jardin +62-21 299 24567
Mezzanine +62-21 299 23999

Email: whatsup@moovina.com
Website: http://www.moovina.com
Twitter: Moovina Jakarta
Favebook: http://www.facebook.com/moovina/

The photos of MooVina on this blog review were taken on the twitter account of the restaurant.

Moe's Place Restaurant (Kemang)

Moe's Place is an American-style grill joint located in Kemang and opened on September 2011.

We went there on a saturday evening and found the place busy but not full. Clientele was mixed, partly expats and partly Indonesians, mostly families. There is a terrace outside to sit and dine which faces the parking lot and the street and there is also an upstairs room which we did not check-out. Downstairs inside offers enough room for approx. 40 diners.

The atmosphere was relaxed, a tad on the noisy side but still ok, and the staff was friendly and very attentive; there was also a manager of sorts around who kept an eye on everything.

The menu of Moe's place is fortunately quite small; a fact I came to appreciate in restaurants. They specialize in ribs, both pork and beef, hamburgers, steaks and pasta.
We ordered the following: one big garden salad (85.000), one full serving of baby-back-pork ribs (230.000) , one serving of beef ribs (180.000), both meat dishes  with coleslaw on the side. Drinkwise we had two Bintang (25.000 each), one Heineken (29.000) and a small bottle of water.
The good thing was definitely the pork ribs, which were nicely cooked and seasoned and the meat actually fell from the bone. The portion was – sizewise – generous, even for my carnivorous husband.

Unfortunately this is where the good things end: My beef ribs were almost ridiculous; sizewise as well as qualitywise. Those ribs were not what you usually get or would expect whe you order beef ribs. No rib bone with a chunk of soft meat around it (as in the pork ribs or even iga sapi), but slices cut transverse to the bone.  Those slices were very thin, certainly less than a centimeter and very dry and chewy and not even remotely  what I had expected (and what I have been served before numerous times in other places).  I’d say the fraction of this complete dish being actually meat was like 60-80 grams max!

The Marinade, by the way, was the exact same than the one they used for the pork. Big disappointment from Moe's Place!

The coleslaw was anything but tasty. What is supposed to be a very creamy yet crunchy, sweet and sour and slightly tangy affair  was in fact just a handfull of threads of dry raw shredded and absolutely bland cabbage with no carrots and no dressing whatsoever.  I love coleslaw, so this was: Big disappointment number 2!

The fries, which I had ordered as a side dish were ok but the portion was again very tiny (exactly 11 sticks!). So, two slices oft thin, dry and chewy meat, 11 sticks of fries and a spoonfull of raw cabbage set me back  IRD 180.000,- This is almost 15 Euros. Definitely not worth it.

The garden salad we shared as a starter was somehow ambitious (some croutons, some slices of cheese on top) but it also disappointed - apart from looking very tired - with blandness and a serious lack of taste and/or dressing (except for very few spots of something very sweet). So, definitely no salad people here. And sadly no one around to be asked how a coleslaw or a salad dressing is supposed to taste or to be prepared. Shame! Another downside was the fact that the place  (inside) was infested with mosquitoes and we were hardly able to eat undisturbed; other patrons even sported one of those battery-driven fly flaps in an effort to keep their kids mosquitoe-free.

When the bill came there was one item on it which we did neither order nor eat. No big deal,  it was removed right away. Overall we paid slightly less than IDR 700.000 (almost 60 Euros) for one good and one bad meal, a very ordinary salad, three beers, and legions of mosquitoes. Given the qualitiy of the better part of the food we consider this heavily overpriced.

Overall:
Would we go back to Moe's Place? Dunno. If nearby, the husband might go back fort he pork-ribs only, which he liked, or try the hamburgers, which looked good from afar, but considering the overall experience (and my empty stomach even after dinner) it is not very likely.

Opening Hours:

From 11am to 11pm on weekdays

From 11am to midnight on weekends

Moe’s Place, Kemang
Jl. Benda Raya No. 1B Kemang  Selatan
Phone (0)21 7883339

Website: www.moes-ribs.com
Twitter: Moe's Place Kemang

Facebook: Moe's Place Jakarta

Note: This review is a guestpost by Doris. Picture taken on Moe's Place twitter account.

Qi Restaurant (Sultan Hotel)

Located in Lagoon Tower, near Sultan Hotel, Qi Dine & Lounge is a restaurant coming from The Rych Concept Group (also behing Airman Lounge).

Qi serves fusion cuisine Japanese with a French twist. Favourites are the Smoked Salmon Parfait, the Surf & Turf, or The Rych Drunken Veal Check.

I haven't tried the restaurant yet but was contacted by the management to write a small text about it. Please do not hesitate to write your own comments on this blog about the place.

Qi Dine & Lounge
Lagoon Tower next to Sultan Hotel Complex
Jalan Gatot Subroto, Jakarta

Phone number: +62-21 572 7239
Email to qi.rsvp@therych.com
BB pin : 27D088D9

Facebook : Qi Jakarta
Twitter : @Qi_indo
Website: www.qi.co.id 

Opening Hours:

Everyday from 11am to midnight (later on weekends)

Prive Club & Mezza9

Privé is the nightclub replacing Indochine. It is a mid-to-upper class venue, popular mostly with Indonesian but you'll always find a few foreigners there. The new management has been rather successful compared to the previous one, and the club has a good image and decent crowd on weekend. Expect mostly commercial music unfortunately.

Also comes with 2 restaurants, Mezza9 and Privé Kitchen Cosmopolitan.

Operational Hours : 


Mezza9 : Everyday 11am – 11pm. 


Prive Club : From Wednesday to Saturday (9pm to 3am, 4 am on weekends). 



Privé Club & Mezza9


fX Lifestyle X’enter 8th floor


Jalan Sudirman, Senayan, 
Jakarta

Reservation & Info : +62 877 822 89045


Phone number : +62-21 2555 4489 


Fax : +62-21 2555 4490


BB PIN : 21FB5A10 



Facebook (where I took the pictures): Prive or Prive Club Jakarta

Twitter : @priveJKT
Web Site: www.privejakarta.com
Email: marketing@privejakarta.com / herard@privejakarta.com

Otel Lobby (Kuningan)

I visited Otel Lobby just before Ramadhan, and was quite disappointed by the place. This lounge/restaurant was opened by a famous Indonesian socialite, Gaby Bakrie, the wife of one of the brothers of Aburizal Bakrie. As such, it is popular with Jakarta's richest.

We ordered 3 burgers (I wish we had tried more dishes but that's all that we wanted...) which were OK but the meat was rare, with blood dripping all over our hands when we were eating. My two carnivore friends had no problems with that, but I thought it was disgusting and could not finish.

The music was loud and terrible: Lady Gaga, Rihanna, David Guetta... The same you would get in X2 or Red Square, even though it was 7pm, in a restaurant supposed to be stylish.

The atmosphere of the place was dull, very un-happening. It was crowded, but the tables are so far from each other that it doesn't feel lively.

Overall: I will not return to Otel Lobby because even though it is expensive and pretentious, it fails to deliver on the basics. Just after our food was finished, we actually moved to nearby Bluegrass to have a drink.

 

Otel Lobby Jakarta

Bakrie Tower Annex Building
Jalan Epicentrum Tengah
South Gate Entrance
Kuningan, South Jakarta

Phone number: +6221-299-41324

Twitter: http://twitter.com/otellobby
Email: dissa@otellobby.com
Website: http://otellobby.com

Opening Hours
Everyday from 11am to 12pm (until 2am on weekends)

Bluegrass Grill & Bar

Bluegrass Bar & Grill is located next to Epicentrum Mall, off Rasuna Said street. A good place to meet other expats, it became popular quite rapidly after opening and it still is. The food is American: Steaks, ribs, burgers, wings, nachos, etc... Nothing very original and it is on the expensive side (similar with other venues like Union, Loewy, etc..). Surprisingly, I realized that there wasn't such a big offer in Jakarta for this type of food for those who expect a stylish design and decent quality. Along with the 24-meter bar, I think this is what explains part of the success of Bluegrass. 

On the minus side, the service could be greatly improved, and in particular the friendliness of staff.

Overall: I recommend a visit once in a while for a casual, after-work eat.

Bluegrass Bar & Grill
Kompleks Rasuna Epicentrum
Jalan HR Rasuna Said

Jl. Epicentrum Tengah
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
Phone number: +62-21 2994 1660

Opening Hours:
Everyday from 11am to 2am.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluegrassjkt

Twitter: Blue Grass Jakarta

TeSate (Jakarta)

TeSate is an Indonesian cuisine restaurant located in the malls Plaza Senayan and Pacific Place. It is usually very crowded, even though it is quite expensive in my opinion.

I visited the TeSate Pacific Place, where I ordered the Jimbaran Grilled Fish (Rp180k for 400 grams!). The food looked delicious and the recipe seemed creative, but I found it lacked freshness (see the lemon on the picture for instance). For this particular dish, I recommend you to try Baruna Seafood restaurant in Menteng instead.

In spite of that, I recommend TeSate to Indonesian food lovers who are looking for dishes more elaborate than those they can find in warungs or street food stalls. Their menu features an interesting variety of dishes and it is indeed a culinary journey through Indonesia. Expect to pay around Rp200k per person for a full meal + drinks.

Latest news about TeSate Indonesia on Facebook: Click here.

Opening Hours: 

Every day from 10am to 11.30pm (2am on weekends)

TeSate Senayan
Plaza Senayan, 4th Fl Bl CP Unit 414
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8, Jakarta
Phone: (021) 572-5521
Fax: (021) 572-5521

TeSaTe Pacific Place
Mall Pacific Place level 5 unit 62-63
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52 - 53, 12190, Indonesia
Phone number: +62-21 579-73653

Pesto (Italian Restaurant)

Pesto is a stylish Italian restaurant specializing in pastas and pizzas. Its vintage, industrial design is quite similar to other venues in Jakarta such as Loewy, Potato Head or Immigrant. If you enjoyed the theme of those places, you should be delighted in Pesto.

I visited the restaurant in the middle of the afternoon, at a quiet time, but there were a few customers still. I imagine it is popular, even though its location is not so busy for Jakarta. At night, they organize special events occasionaly, you can check their twitter, Pesto, for more information.

I was not really hungry that day so I only had a Margherita pizza (Rp52k++). It is a simple dish, yet ideal for comparison since I've tried it in many Italian restaurants. I must say that the pizza in Pesto tasted below average: The one in Trattoria, PEPeNERO or Sopra is better and cheaper for instance. It wasn't too bad, but the crust was not crispy enough, and there was too much cheese (which didn't taste like good mozzarella).

I cannot comment on the rest of the food menu, but from what I've experienced, Pesto is great for the atmosphere, and average when it comes to taste. If you've tried another food item there, please share your experience on this blog by leaving a comment.

Overall: I liked Pesto, even though my pizza was unexceptional. I think the design and atmosphere is worth making the trip, especially if you get a window table, which have a great view on Jalan Thamrin.

Opening Hours:

Everyday, from 11am to 10.30pm (12pm on weekends)

Pesto Italian Restaurant

ANZ Square, UG Floor  

The Podium, Thamrin Nine  

Jl. Thamrin No. 10

Central Jakarta

Phone Number: +62-21 299 37320

Website: Pesto Autentico Jakarta

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pesto.autentico

South Beauty (Chinese Restaurant)

 

South Beauty is a chain of Chinese restaurants, very popular in China for their Sichuan food. They opened their first international branch in Jakarta at the beginning of 2011 and positioned it as an upmarket venue.

I visited South Beauty at lunch time, but i think it is the kind of restaurants you should go to during the evening as the atmosphere is cosy and dim-lighted. As you can see on the pictures, the interior is quite spectacular, with lights and furniture selected to impressed the visitors.

The menu is very long, and interesting to read as many of the dishes are not usually seen in restaurants (at least the ones i go to): Sea cucumber, shark's fin, abalone, etc... But choosing was difficult since everything was extremely expensive:  Only the accompanying dishes cost less than Rp100,000... I tried a few things: The spicy and sour black fungus (Rp35k++), the braised e-fu noodles with mushroom in abalone sauce (Rp38k++) and the stewed beef with pickled bamboo sauce (Rp108k++).

Stewed Beef with Pickled Bamboo Sauce (Rp108k++)

My first surprise was that it was very spicy! It was difficult to finish the mushrooms for that reason, even though the taste was perfect. I enjoyed the rest, but I've had better Chinese food before at much lower prices.

Overall: South Beauty serves excellent food in a stylish venue. I recommend you to try it once at least, but you must be ready to spend a lot of money. I paid Rp250k for my meal and I didn't even try any of their specialties. If you want to do South Beauty the right way, expect to pay at least Rp400k for a full meal.

Opening Hours:
Everyday, from 11.30am to 3pm and from 6pm to 10.30pm

South Beauty Restaurant Jakarta
Thamrin Nine-Podium, Upper Ground unit E, F
Jl. M.H. Thamrin 10
Central Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 29937227

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SouthbeautyJKT
Website (global): South Beauty Chinese Resto Group

Tartine Restaurant FX Mall

Tartine is a moderately priced eatery focusing on tartine, a french word for a slice of bread topped with anything eatable (just like a sandwich without a second piece of bread to close it). It is not haute cuisine but it is good enough and creative. Tartine is also very pleasant in its design: Elegant, yet simple and homey. For the price you pay, it is worth it not so much for the food, but rather for the atmosphere, very cozy.

Opening Hours:
From Sunday to Thursday: 9am to 12am
Friday and Saturday: 9am to 2am
Live Music from Wednesday to Saturday. Happy Hours: From 4pm to 6pm = 50% discount.

Tartine Restaurant
Jl.Sudirman Pintu 1 Senayan
FX Lifestyle X'nter Lt.FB No 02A.03
Jakarta, Indonesia
Phone: +62 21 2555 4222

Check their facebook fan group Tartine Restaurant for more information about events, discounts and pictures.

My own (bad) pics from my visit: