Bobby D's (Kemang)

I haven't been to Bobby D yet, but it was recommended by a reader of Jakarta100bars. His comment was:

"Hi Thibaud, I'm in bobby D's now and haven't found a review for it on your site. It's a nice layout, apparently the guy that owns it is Australian. Had some food here which was quite nice.

The staff are quite friendly here too. They have a pool table as well...check it out :)"

I checked their facebook (where I took the photos) and it looks like a simple place with quite many events of all kind: Salsa, Sports, Sexy Night, Cuban, live music...  The prices seem reasonable too... Probably a good restaurant and bar to socialize in Kemang...

If you want more info, check one of the following:

Website: www.indoheart.com
Twitter : twitter.com/bobbyds_jakarta
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/BobbyDsRestaurant
Facebook:  Bobby D's Kemang

Bobby D's Restaurant and Bar

The Mansion at Kemang, Shopping Arcade GF 001-003

Jl. Kemang Raya No.3-5

Phone number: +62-21 2905 5488/99

HP: 081808048894/93

BB Pin: 275fo2cf

Email: bar@indoheart.com / event@indoheart.com

Opening Hours:

Every day from 10am to Midnight.

Apollo Bar and Lounge (Bellagio Boutique Mall, UG Floor)

The new gay bar in Jakarta. They have live male dancers, sometimes foreign models. People from both sex are welcome.

They have salsa nights on wednesday, with the possibility to take lessons just before.
They also seem to have introduced an occasional lesbian day on friday called "Lips & Lace", but it isn't very clear of when it actually happens..

Entrance fee on most busy days + special events cost something around 80,000 rupiah with a drink included.

You will find more information on their website here: Apollo Jakarta

Update November 2010: Apollo has been closed during Ramadhan and relaunched in September 2010. Currently the most happening gay spot in Jakarta, with a lot of special themed nights. They have a facebook fanpage: Gay Jakarta Fanclub.

Contact details
Apollo Bar Jakarta
The Bellagio Boutique Mall,
UG level, Mega Kuningan,
Phone number Apollo : (62-21) 9130-8423
info@apollo-jakarta.com

Open: Wednesday till Saturday until 4:00AM and on Sunday from 3:00PM to 11:00PM.

Black Canyon Café - Salsa Nights - (Dharmawangsa square)

Black Canyon Coffee is a Thai coffee house chain that has over 150 cafés in Siam, and is extending rapidly in the rest of Southeast Asia.

I don't know if it is the same in the other Jakarta branches (like the one in Cipete), but in Black Canyon Dharmawangsa, they have quite popular salsa nights on Saturdays. Otherwise, it's a regular bar sitting on a mall. If you only care about partying, no reasons to go there unless for those special Salsa nights.

Black Canyon Coffee does not sell alcohol except beer so if you're too shy to dance, do a warm up before. Girls seem a bit desperate to find dance partners in Jakarta, so it's a good opportunity to meet young, smart and independent indonesian ladies.

Update May 2011: I believe there are no more salsa nights in Black Canyon. Apart from Mistere (every Thursday/Rp100,000), you can try Hacienda in Senayan Arcadia on Wednesdays if you are looking for a place to dance salsa in Jakarta.

Contact details:
Black Canyon Coffee Dharmawangsa
Dharmawangsa Square Unit 27-28
Jl. Darmawangsa VI
Jakarta Selatan 12160, Indonesia

Phone (62-21) 739 5446
Website: Black Canyon Coffee Jakarta (it's the website for the Cipete branch, but the menu is the same).

Eastern Promise Pub and Live Music (Kemang)

Eastern Promise is a friendly, laid-back expat pub with several rooms, each with a particular atmosphere. You have a quiet bar in the entrance, then a dining room for eating British and Indian food, and in the back a beer garden with live music for partying. Also on the side, a billiard/darts room, and a sports-watching room. Eastern Promise is usually very crowded, especially on weekends, with a lot of expatriates mostly above 35.

Surprisingly, many Indonesian girls go there to hang out and I would put it in the OK bars to meet single women in Jakarta. I don't know if they met there, but there are always quite many mixed couples in EP.

There are special promos or events almost everyday, so be sure to check:
Facebook pages: Eastern Promise or EP (the latter one is more updated)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/easternpromise
Website: http://www.easternpromise-jakarta.com/ (new site - April 2011)

Eastern Promise
Kemang Raya No. 5
Jakarta Selatan
DKI Jakarta - Indonesia

Phone number: +62-21 7179 0151
Email: lens.ep@bugilsnews.com

Hacienda Salsa Bar (Senayan Arcadia)

Owned by the Red Square group, the Hacienda Grill & Bar is worth mentioned in this Jakarta nightlife blog because it has a good salsa night every Wednesdays from 9pm to midnight. On Tuesday as well, they have a live band playing Mariachi songs.

Food-wise, it is also a restaurant (not tried) with Mexican specialties. You might want to check their website for more information: Hacienda Jakarta.

Contact details:
Hacienda Jakarta
Plaza Senayan Arcadia
Unit X - 105 Jl. New Delhi No. 9
Pintu 1 Senayan
Jakarta, Indonesia, 10270

Tel. +62-21-5790-1469
Fax: +62-21-5790-1444
Email: haciendajakarta@gmail.com
or info@haciendajakarta.com

For more information about events, you can try their facebook: Hacienda Fan Page.

Mambo Caribbean Bistro (Bellagio)

Mambo Caribbean Bistro needs to be mentioned in this blog because it is the only place in Jakarta, to my knowledge, with a Caribbean nightlife theme. Especially, they have zouk and calypso, which are both very popular in France and should make at least one of my friends reconsider moving or not to Jakarta :-)
Some more popular music styles are played there too like salsa and merengue, according to Mambo's weekly schedule:
Ladies' night is on Monday with free drinks, snacks and salsa classes for girls.
Salsa is played and danced on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Wednesday has Tango classes for free.
On weekends, they have more upbeat Latin tunes and no cover charge so it's good to include it in a pub crawl.

The restaurant has specialties from various islands of the Caribbean. Plus a lot of snacks. Not great dining but friendly and not too expensive. The logo for Mambo makes the place look family oriented but it is not, it is a real bar.

Mambo Caribbean Bistro
Bellagio Boutique Mall Lantai UG
Kawasan Mega Kuningan

Tel: +62-21-300 66179
Email: mambobistro@yahoo.com
Website: Mambo Caribbean Bistro Jakarta (from which I took the pictures)

Mistere - Salsa Club and Bar - Live Music - Karaoke (Hotel Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan)

The Live Music room in Mistere

Mistere is the bar of the Ritz-Carlton Mega Kuningan. It features two different areas: One is similar to a nightclub with a scene for live bands and one less dark with Latin nights on Thursdays (Salsa) and Saturdays (Tango).

The crowd is what you would except from Ritz-Carlton, high-class with many expatriates and businessmen. You also have many ladies above 30 years-old (and some much older) that come for the latin nights and also, I suspect, to look for gigolos. I always see some odd couples in Mistere of old girls/young studs and it doesn't seem like big love to me. There are also some escorts, mainly in the live bar. It is very subtle but I observed one guy is always there with a few girls and he seems to be the pimp. He chats with customers and introduce them to one of the ladies, some of them are quite beautiful I must admit.

In the salsa room of Mistere

Mistere is one of my favourite venues in Jakarta, even though I don't dance salsa. I think the bands playing live are always quite entertaining and the sound system is great. The entrance fee is Rp100,000 and you will pay about the same price for any drink. That is not so much more expensive that other bars and clubs in Jakarta with similar standards.

It has a very expensive karaoke also (package start at Rp3.5 million) with great equipment and excellent service.

Following bombings in July 2009 of the Ritz Carlton and Marriott Hotel, the places have been closed for an short period of time.

Update March 2011: Salsa night do not happen on Tuesday anymore, only on Thursday. You also have a tango night on Saturday.

The room in Mistere for salsa and tango is now known as the Champagne Lounge to differentiate it from the live music room, the Live Bar.

Opening hours:
From 6pm to 2am (later on weekends). Closes on Sunday and Monday)

Contact details:
Mistere
Ritz-Carlton Jakarta
JL. Lingkar Mega Kuningan
Kav. E.1.1 NO.1, Mega Kuningan
Phone Number Ritz Carlton Jakarta: (62-21) 2551 8888

Be careful, there are TWO Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta, on in Mega Kuningan, and the other one in One Pacific Place. Mistere Club is in Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=345223995795
Website: Mistere Jakarta Ritz-Carlton (with the drink list and the prices)

Only One Club (Club 01) (5th floor, Mall FX, Senayan)

Only One Club is a modern, stylish club that is a bit quiet, but it has some interesting latino nights all week, except on Friday and Faturday when it hosts regular clubbing nights. Prices are moderate (35,000rp for a beer, 60,000 for a hard drink).

It hasn't found its place yet in the Jakarta's nightlife scene, being very similar in the concept with Red Square and Luv's Bar Jakarta (= Modern, small american-style after-work clubs for young executives and expats).

For information about their special events, I invite you to check their website for that (Only One Club Jakarta) or their facebook fanpage (here).

The main regular events are the following:
Sunday: Ballroom nights with live band
Monday: Latin nights with live band
Tuesday: Tango nights with live band
Wednesday: Ballroom nights with live band
Thursday: Love band
Friday: Clubbers night
Saturday: Latin night with live band

Dancing class:
Salsa lessons on monday from 6pm to 8pm.
Tango lessons from 7pm to 9pm.

Address:
Jakarta Only One Club
fX Lifestyle X'nter F5 (5th Fl.)
Jalan Sudirman - Pintu Satu Senayan, Jakarta 10270
Phone: (021) 2555 4051 / 2555 4052 / 2555 4053 / 2555 4054

Contact:
Rudy Francis (rudy@theonlyoneclub.com)

More photos (all coming from Facebook):

Stix Bar and Live Music (Park Lane Hotel)

The Stix bar was one of the first Salsa bars in Jakarta. Good salsa/latino music live band. The crowd is above 30-something. Some working girls.

Stix is very famous for its steaks (especially Australian Wagyu and Black Angus beef), which a few years ago where still hard to find in Jakarta so it was there or in BATS that we had to go to escape from the noodle and rice routine...

It has special promos every night, but the most interesting ones are on Monday when you can get two dishes for the price of one, on Thursday for lady's night, on Saturday with 50% off all drinks and on Sunday also as they have live band with acoustic guitar and the steaks are half-price.

Everyday, the live band performs from 9.30pm Mondays to Thursdays and 10pm Fridays and Saturdays.

Happy hours from 5pm to 8pm.

Stix bar & live music
in The Park Lane Jakarta
Jalan Casablanca Kav. 18
Jakarta 12870, Indonesia
tel: (62-21) 828 2000
fax: (62-21) 828 2222
Email: stix@parklanejakarta.com

The bar has a dedicated part in the Park Lane Hotel website and it gives information on events and promos: Park Lane Hotel's Stix.

If you like Stix's kind of bar = small hotel bars with live music, you may like the following places: Pitstop, Velvet, Grand Manhattan.