Bistronomy (Jakarta)

 

I was very surprised with my visit of Bistronomy. Because of its name, which sounds modern, I was expecting a regular wannabe-trendy restaurant like many can be found in Jakarta.
 

Bistronomy is actually the contrary. It is a vintage restaurant, inside a house in a residential area, where every details has been made to fit with the theme (the uniforms, the menu, the design, etc). For those who know, it looks similar with Balique restaurant in Bali.

The menu has all the favourite, typical dishes of any restaurants in Jakarta (Cheeseburger, Spaghetti Bolognese, Nasi Goreng... ) and some more original (Ceviche, Shoya Fondue). I tried the Sandwich à la Méditerranée (75,000rp++).

I was quite disappointed by this dish for a few reasons: The bread was just plain white bread (probably industrial). It was impossible to eat it like a normal sandwich with hands so I had to use a fork and a knife. It was quite heavy on the sauce too and the taste very average. It is really too bad the owners of Bistronomy spent so much time on the design and marketing of their restaurant and apparently so little in the kitchen.

Sandwich à la Méditerranée: How do you eat it?

Regarding the service, it was very good (the waitresses were smart enough to do some upselling on three occasions) but I found it a bit strange that nobody was standing outside of the place to welcome guests.

Overall: I could come back to Bistronomy for its atmosphere, but certainly not for the food. I found out that it belongs to the Kawano group (http://www.kawanointl.com/) which has some excellent restaurants in the city (Sakana or The Grill). Since it is Japanese, I would say that maybe you have to stick with the Japanese food and not go for any of the Western dishes (especially the French ones).

As I was about to leave Bistronomy, the music playing was "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, immediately followed by "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. It made me go away, but in the taxi I thought the place could be perfect to bring a date, especially if she is Indonesian. Bistronomy is kitsch, but it is romantic.

Bistronomy Jakarta
Jalan Ciranjang (Cinuru 1 No. 2)
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan
Phone number: +62-21 709 6655

Email : Bistronomy@kawanointl.com

Facebook: Bistronomy Jakarta
Twitter: Bistronomy
Corporate Facebook page: Kawano Group
Corporate Website: Kawano International Indonesia

Opening Hours:

Everyday from 11am to 11pm (until 1am on Friday and Saturday)