Le Bilbo Cafe, World Cup shine despite odious ads

Bill Blade, Contributor, Jakarta

I don't know about you, but I've a horrible, sneaking suspicion that the entire World Cup ballyhoo has had nothing to do with soccer at all.

In fact, it could very well turn out to be the case that the whole thing's been all about sex, at least here in Indonesia.

Well, I mean, how else can one explain what we've been witnessing on RCTI over the last couple of memorable weeks.

Memorable not, unfortunately, for educated and informed commentary on tactics, strategy, form, etc., but rather for the barrage of ads touting a veritable cornucopia of pills, potions, pick-me-ups, elixirs -- you name it, they've got it -- all of which are guaranteed to put lead in your pencil, hair on your chest, and have you prancing around and crowing just like Foghorn Leghorn in no time at all.

In fact, the soccer has been relegated to playing a decidedly second fiddle to this monstrous flood of nauseating advertising, replete as it is with suggestively bouncing pestles, schools of frisky spermatozoon swimming their merry way across the TV screen, and unashamedly nymphoid girl-fiends driving their hapless paramours to consuming an endless variety of aptly named potions (Irex, for example).

But then again, given that today's final will possibly be watched by around a quarter of the earth's population, mostly males, perhaps all's not well with manhood as a whole!

But, none of that mattered on the night in Bilbo, where a passionate crowd of punters (no doubt buoyed up by copious quantities of Irex), had themselves a whale of a time in a Cafe that's not only blessed with a wonderful location and great atmosphere, but superbly hospitable staff into the bargain.

Looks: Only open since May 17, Le Cafe Bilbo has already got a comfy and settled air about it. And, if you didn't know any better, you'd swear it was designed especially for watching the footie, what with the enormous big screen dominating the center of the joint, and the way the tables are all laid around it in a cozy, semicircular arrangement.

Occupying a relatively small space in the Softball Building in the Senayan Sports Complex, right next to Gate One to be precise, this is an intimate kind of watering hole, which also serves as a restaurant for those in that way inclined, and has a wonderfully relaxing outdoor terrace that looks right down on the Senayan softball diamond and tennis courts, floodlit until late in the evening -- just the place for winding down after a run around the track, or a hard day trying to subvert the office (now that's more like it).

And given its location in the thick of things in the Senayan Sports Complex, you won't get anything more approximating to a sports bar than this -- and, in fact, most of the punters on the evening of my visit did look quite sporty, in a boozy sort of way

With a glass of local beer going for Rp 21,000, imported beers like Corona, Heineken and Millar all going for Rp 30,000, and plenty of promotions in the offing (including a happy hour after the World Cup is safely behind us), this particular venue won't break the bank, unlike so many similar rendezvous here in the big smoke.

Odds and ends: As a consequence of the sort of bureaucratic awkwardness that Jakarta excels in, Le Cafe Bilbo is as yet prohibited on pain of all sorts of horrible punishments from selling spirits. But, I was assured that "serious efforts" are being made to promptly remedy this deficiency.

Verdict: Despite RCTI's best efforts to ruin the show with its blitz of sexually thought-provoking ads, not to mention the inane ministrations of Tamara Geraldine et al (replete with non-stop screaming, shouting, weaving in and out of cameras, and lots of jumping up and down in tried and tested teenie MTV style), the World Cup has actually turned out to be a great success here in Indonesia.

This was more than evident in Le Cafe Bilbo during the Brazil- Belgium game, when a crowded and boisterous house set the scene for a great evening's entertainment.

And despite the crowds, the shouting and the excitement, the energetic and friendly staff always seemed to be on hand to top up one's glass, just the way they should be in any self- respecting sports bar, and no small feat given the occasion.

Topped up by sufficient drafts of the amber nectar (and possible a small, surreptitious dram of Irex), I couldn't help feeling as I waddled my way out at closing time that this was just the sort of venue I'd been looking for to catch those special events on the big screen -- warm, inviting and unpretentious, and with a real, sporty feel about it -- a breed apart from so many of the would-be sports bars that have sprouted all over the city of late.

Le Bilbo Cafe, 3rd floor Gedung Softball, Jl. Pintu Satu, Gelora Bung Karno Senayan, Jakarta. Open 11:30 a.m.- 11 p.m. Sunday to Friday, and 12 midnight on Saturday. You can call them on 5799- 3163