Giving Ambhara Hotel's Arios Music Lounge a go

JAKARTA (JP): Arios Music Lounge in the Ambhara Hotel. It had never before occurred to me to go. I had been to the Ambhara for the fantastic Indian restaurant and had even gone once to visit the British pub in the hotel. But I was filled with this great apathy when it came to Arios. So I was less than thrilled when in the middle of my dinner on Monday night, I was called and fairly ordered to go to Arios and come back with a review.

I asked my dining companion if she had ever been to Arios, to try and get some sort of idea of what we were in for. She gave me a look like I just suggested she paint a scarlet W (for, well a word that starts with "W" and women don't like to be called, and it's not "witch" or "wench") on her forehead.

"Why should I have ever been to Arios?" I said there was no reason she should have, but nor could I see any reason why she shouldn't have. Then, she laid it out for me. Some bar in a hotel in Blok M was likely filled with old men and their young and yummy honeys. If that were the case, I'd be kicking myself for not going sooner.

Location: Ambhara Hotel on Jl. Iskandarsyah Raya (across the street from Pasaraya Blok M). The phone number is 270-0800.

Hours: Open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. The band starts playing at 8:30 p.m. and calls it quits about 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m. depending on how the crowd is going.

What's it got: Beer, cocktails, spirits, wine, soda, coffee, food, snacks and a few other things (though I didn't see the old men and their rent-a-dates).

Bill, please: A bit expensive, but that's what you expect in your nicer hotels. Glass of red wine (which I didn't taste and can't vouch for the quality, or lack thereof.) cost Rp 39,000, Coronas are Rp 38,000 and a Chivas Regal is Rp 49,000. My bill, for four drinks, came to Rp 198,440, including service charge and tax. But they do provide free nuts of some kind with the drinks, which somehow makes the bill seem much more reasonable.

Here's looking at you: The first thing that strikes you about Arios is that it's big. Surprisingly, unexpectedly so. The first thing you see upon entering is the bar, rather comforting arrangement that. On either side of the bar are little rooms that offer patrons a little more privacy than the main room and bar area. Probably not enough privacy that you could get up to some shenanigans inside without drawing an audience, but you could try.

Past the bar you enter the main room, filled with cute wrought iron chairs and tables one normally associates with gardens. There is also a dance floor in front of the elevated stage where the live music is played. There seemed to be an inordinate number of chairs and tables in Arios. Maybe I was hallucinating, but there seemed to be hundreds of these tables lined up in the bar, like Arios was getting ready to hold a garden party and the whole city was invited.

On the side of the bar opposite the stage runs a length of windows. There is also an entrance here if you don't want to come in through the hotel lobby. And if you walk far enough you will eventually come to a door that presumably leads to a Japanese restaurant, though I didn't look inside to check. Like I said, this place was big.

The lighting is kept very dim and the air is cool, giving the place a somewhat cave-like feel.

Odds and ends: Arios puts on live music every night of the week, and on Monday nights it's the Zig Zag band. What to say about the band? They aren't great and they aren't terrible, but they have a good time and keep the crowd entertained. That's what struck me about Arios; people were having fun. It wasn't a bad crowd for a Monday night, a few families and groups of people looking like they came straight from the office to eat a little dinner, drink a little alcohol, dance a little dance, you know, to get down tonight. The dance floor would remain empty for a few songs, then the music would move people to rush the floor. There was some bad dancing going on (one guy appeared to be doing some kind of chicken dance and another fellow just about nailed the Safety Dance), but it looked fun. It was lighthearted amusement, without embarrassment or any sort of self-consciousness. I came to Arios prepared to dislike the place, but against my will I had a good time and left with a smile on my face.

Last call: To sum up, go give Arios Music Lounge a try. Have a spot of good, clean fun with some mates. Simple as that. (Penn Dawson)