Baxter Smith (Senopati)
By
Tibs
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Update 2021 : Baxter Smith is currently closed due to COVID-19. You may want to check their Instagram page below for any updates about their reopening date. Baxter Smith is a bar and restaurant that opened in Senopati mid-2016. I only went there once for a special event on a Friday night, so I'll keep my review short until I can try again. The bar is on the 3rd floor and it was quite busy, with an all-Indonesian crowd. It seemed people where visiting for the first time, out of curiosity. The DJ was playing good, non-commercial tunes between progressive and tech-house. The bartenders were fast and the drinks cheaper than the average for Senopati.
Duck Down Bar is the latest opening from the Biko Group, one of the most successful nightlife brands in Jakarta. Most of their venues, such as Beer Garden, Beer Hall or Lola target young and hip Indonesians from the mid-to-upper class, and Duck Down Bar is no exception to that. I visited on a Friday night (9/11/2018), following a friend's recommendation. The bar is located in the basement of the Soho building on Jalan Gunawarman. You need to go down a flight of stairs, and then you arrive in a medium-sized L-shaped room. There are no windows and no natural light, but the ceiling is high enough to prevent you from feeling too claustrophobic. Everyone is smoking inside so it can get a little suffocating. The design is pretty cool, they tried to recreate what could be a student bar in Europe in the 1990s, the sort of cheap but cozy place that would play bands like Nirvana, the Pixies, etc. One major difference here is that you are in the most expensive neighborhood
Holy Smokes is a chain of slow-smoked Texas-style BBQ restaurants, with currently three locations in or near Jakarta (Alam Sutra, Pantai Indah Kapuk and Wolter Monginsidi). It is part of Ersons Food, a group founded by three brothers who also own the famous Holy Crab franchise (previously reviewed here ). I visited Holy Smokes in Wolter Monginsidi on a Thursday evening, shortly before closing time. It is easy to spot from the outside, with its massive, bright sign that makes you feel as if you had reached the Holy Land. By the time I entered, it was still relatively busy, which was not a surprise considering it is one of the most popular restaurants in the area. Its interior design is based on an industrial theme and it reappropriates some of the graphic codes and materials used on construction sites or factories. Add to that the large communal table at the center of the main dining room and you really get the impression of eating in a chic American canteen.
Savoi Lounge is a new boutique nightclub in Senopati, just in front of Monty's , in the building where Ms Choo used to be located. It is owned by the same people behind Empirica in SCBD (Enzo Group). I visited it on Saturday 29th April 2017 at 1 AM. It occupies 3 floors: - The first one is a private room that I wasn't able to see. - The second one is the largest. It has a DJ booth, a stage, a bar, and small tables filling as much space as possible. There is no dance floor and most people are sitting down with a group of friends. It is so packed that you can easily socialize and network with those around you. That's the whole point with a place like this. - The third one is a mezzanine from where you can look at the main stage. It is a bit more quiet and relaxed, and the bar is larger. The music is commercial EDM, Hip Hop and Top 40 at a bearable sound level. They also have live music on most days (see their Instagram ).
Monty's is one of the hippest and most exclusive venues in Jakarta at the moment. The day I visited, you had 1 Ferrari, 1 Lamborghini, 2 Porsches, 2 Jaguars and several nice sports cars parked just in front. That should give you an idea of the crowd. It was opened by Klabo , the same group behind Nip & Dram and Ivy Kitchen. From what I've heard, the owner of Blue Bird Taxis is one of the shareholders. The Restaurant On the first two floors is a restaurant serving classic European food. They have all the priciest ingredients that you can possibly import in Indonesia such as caviar, lobster, truffle, charcuterie, cheese or wagyu beef. There also serve several organic and healthy dishes. The kitchen is headed by a Norwegian expat who previously worked in Grand Hyatt as an executive sous-chef. The price is rather expensive: On average for a 2-course meal you'll spend at least Rp500,000 (without alcohol). You can try it for lunch as they have a
Lola is a new bar and lounge that just opened in December 2015 near Senopati, on Jalan Gunawarman. It is a bit hidden, below their sister Japanese restaurant FŪJIN. It is owned by the Biko Group which is also behind Beer Garden . They are following the worldwide trend for speakeasy bars, started in Jakarta by venues like Prohibition, Artoz , Bauhaus and Nip & Dram . Since last year, you also have Hemingway and Proof.
My title was voluntarily misleading. I don't believe there are true differences between both brands as they operate with the same concept. Both are chains of affordable steak restaurants which are lively, colorful and with a viral marketing all about Twitter and Facebook. They offer decent steaks, but it isn't the best imports or the best cooking you will find (except if you take their most expensive cuts). Holycow! was opened by self-trained Chef Afit Dwi Purwanto (who worked previously as a manager on RCTI channel) and his wife Lucy Wiryono, a TV host. So far, they have 6 branches in Jakarta, 1 in Bali and 1 in Yogyakarta. Their menu is short and features Sirloin, Ribeye and Tenderloin steaks from Australia and US. They also serve Wagyu beef. I visited the Bali branch which was very busy in the evening. Most of the customers were Indonesians, seemingly from Jakarta. I had the prime Tenderloin steak (imported from Australia) (91k +12,5% tax and service). I
So many Coffee places in Jakarta ! Indonesia is in the Top 5 Coffee producer in the world, no wonder there are so many Coffee Shops in the city... It is not difficult to source coffee beans here. Anomali Coffee is a small and upscale coffee chain with 4 outlets in Jakarta and 2 in Bali. The different outlets in jakarta are mostly located in the South of the city. They claim themselves to be "Kopi Asli Indonesia" whick means Original Indonesian Coffee. It is one of the competitor of Liberica Coffee . What I like about this place ? Well it's quite intimate, the coffee is good and the service is pleasant. It's hard to tell the difference between two types of coffee when you are not a connoisseur. But each time I tried a beverage here, I was not disappointed. I had a Sandwich and a Vanilla Eclair and it was also quite tasty, with a reasonable price (30 000 Rp for the Vanilla Eclair). Last but not least, the WiFi connection works quite well there