A taste of Italian chic at Prego's restaurant in Blok M

JAKARTA (JP): The area near Blok M bus terminal always seems to be a maelstrom of noise, dust and people in a hurry, whatever the time of day. Fortunately there is a refuge near at hand, Prego's, for a pleasant drink or meal in comfortable, chic surroundings.

Prego: Units 4 & 5, Wisma Iskandarsyah Raya, Blok A Jl Iskandarsyah, South Jakarta, 12160, (tel.723 5123). Website: www.prego-club.com

Location: The restaurant is on the ground floor, with a bar above, of Wisma Iskandarsyah, a row of shop-houses opened a couple of years ago on Jl. Iskandarsyah, about one block down from Pasaraya, but on the opposite side of the road. The tiny sign on the front door may fit in with the restaurant's minimalist design concept, but it does not function well, as it is far too small to be read from the road.

Fortunately the front is distinguished by bare brickwork, so there is a kind of landmark. You can park right outside off the road, which is just as well, as the traffic on Jl Iskandarsyah doesn't exactly dawdle.

The trendy bar upstairs attracts a young, hip crowd, including on Thursdays, which has become known as a popular "gay" night.

Hours: The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to midnight, every day. The bar opens at 5 p.m., but doesn't really get busy until later on, around 10:30 p.m. It closes around 2 a.m., but most customers are on the move around 1 a.m to 1:30 a.m. There's a Rp 30,000 cover charge for the bar on Thursday and Friday nights, but this does include the first drink.

Looks: The whole place is not that large, but the available space has been cleverly used. The decor is modern and trendy for Jakarta, with an overall minimalist theme. Apart from the restaurant tables and chairs (which can seat about 30 to 40 people), there is very little else apart from the designer light fittings. The light blue walls complement the parquet floor to give a cool, sophisticated ambience, that would not look out of place in any major European or North American city.

The bar upstairs repeats the chic, minimalist theme, and this is maintained even in the design of the stunning toilets!

The restaurant is a popular lunchtime venue for workers based in and around Blok M, while at the weekend it is really an evening attraction. Service is quick and attentive, and the serving staff are pleasant and helpful.

What's it Got? The restaurant offers Italian food, served in an attractive, nouvelle cuisine style. Choosing from the menu is easy, as it is all on one page and set out in six sections: appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, mains and desserts.

The drinks list is perfectly adequate for a restaurant of this kind, and wine is available by the bottle or glass (house red or white).

Taste Factor: Slices of french bread and extra virgin olive oil are brought to the table as soon as your order has been taken, and this makes a welcome start to the meal.

The starter was proscuitto e melone (parma ham with melon) which was both tasty and a good way of whetting the appetite. My companion had funghi trifolati (sauteed shittake mushrooms with garlic sauce), which was a perfect combination of the strong mushroomy and garlic flavors.

We shared a salad which was described rather grandly as coppa di gamberoni della Cina, but was really a glorified prawn cocktail. Unfortunately, the lettuce and tomato were a bit limp, and it was hard to detect the cognac, which was supposed to be in the cocktail sauce.

The main course was risotto ink nero (black risotto with slices of chicken served with cream and cheese), which was attractively presented, the black, red and yellow colors of the food forming a visually interesting composition on the plate. The rice looked a bit like Bali-style black rice, except that it was savory, and had a delicious taste all of its own, probably from the squid ink. The chicken was succulent too.

My companion chose linguine al salmone (linguine pasta served with a tomato cream sauce). The pasta was al dente, there were large pieces of tasty fish and the sauce, which might otherwise have been a little cloying, was kept fresh by the small pieces of tomato within it.

For dessert we tried the ricotta cheese cake and fried vanilla ice cream, the latter more out of curiosity than anything else. The ice cream was fried very quickly in batter to form a dumpling-like parcel, but the combination of the slightly greasy outer layer with the rapidly melting ice cream didn't quite work for me.

Price Points: Overall, prices are very reasonable at Prego. The meal above (including two cokes plus a sparkling water and two coffees) came to just over Rp325,000, including tax and service at 21% The appetizers vary between Rp 23,000 - Rp 29,000, the soups Rp 17,500 - Rp 20,000, salads are Rp 23,500 - Rp 27,000, pastas Rp 29,000 - Rp 37,000, mains Rp 55,000 - 70,000, and desserts Rp 17,000 - Rp 25,000. Coffees are around Rp 15,000 and wine by the glass around Rp 35,000.

For those who may not be sure what to choose, a chef's suggestion of starters and mains is placed at each table, and also a lunchtime set meal (consisting of starter or soup, pasta and main) is available at Rp 100,000 ++ per person.

As a rough indication of prices at the bar, a gin and tonic costs Rp 30,000++, while a draft Bintang beer is Rp 20,500++.

Minus Points:The restaurant can have a rather empty ambience to it, unless a number of other tables are occupied, due to the minimalist design theme.

Verdict: If you're looking for a smart, chic and reasonably priced haven of good food in the midst of all the hurly-burly that is Blok M, then this is the place for you. (Les Coffier)