Giving Ambhara Hotel's Arios Music Lounge a go

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)