Up in the air at the Sky Bar on Jl. Thamrin
Up in the air at the Sky Bar on Jl. Thamrin
JAKARTA (JP): Nice view. Really nice view. Yeah, look at the
view. That sums up the Sky Bar. Drop by, look out the windows and
then get out, fast, before some waiter attaches to you and starts
making like you're best friends.
Sky Bar is hard to figure, like its slogan: funky way to the
sky. It's way up on the 28th floor, in a nice location next to
the Mandarin Oriental and across the street from the Hyatt
(though Hotel Indonesia is nearby, which no doubt drives down
property prices in the neighborhood), and yet the place doesn't
work.
The term terminally hip comes to mind, though the Sky Bar is
not really hip no matter how it tries. It may be terminal though.
Location: Sky Bar is located high up on the 28th floor of
Wisma Nusantara at Jl. Thamrin 59. It's next to Hotel President
and across the traffic circle from the Hyatt. Phone them at 390-
0909, ext. 7646.
Hours: Sky Bar is open Sunday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2
a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Happy Hour is
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with all alcoholic drinks 50 percent off.
There is live music on Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to
midnight.
What's it got: The Sky Bar, being a bar, has all those things
that bars have. That is beer, draught and bottled, spirits,
cocktails and juices, and soft drinks for those who are driving
or just for those who choose not to drink (often a sign that
someone has just recently suffered from a dreadful hangover and
has sworn off alcohol forever, or at least for the night).
There is also food. Mexican, Italian, Indonesian, including
two kinds of oxtail soup, as the friendly waiter informed me
during one of our many conversations.
Bill, please: Standard pricing for nicer establishments or
establishments that are trying to be nicer. Tequila Sunrise Rp
32,500, Jack Daniels Rp 35,000 and Gin and pineapple juice Rp
32,500 for a total, including tax, of Rp 121,000. Certainly not
cheap but also not extraordinary.
Here's looking at you: Looking out the windows of the Sky
Bar, the city is laid out before you, a constellation of lights
like precious jewels strewn at your feet. It's that view again.
In front of the windows lining one wall of the bar are
comfortable curved couches and chairs, where you can lean back
and gaze out the windows at your back or out in front of you at
the bar and dance floor.
When you come in the door, there is a stage on your right and
a small dance floor. Around the dance floor are a number of
chairs and some high stools a little further back. I walked in
and saw a group of people seated in front of the stage like they
were watching a show, making me do a double take to see what was
happening. There was no show, just a few kids dancing and a DJ
playing music. Everyone was just seated like they were at a show.
Walk past the dance floor and you step up to the area where
the bar is located, plus a few chairs and tables in the middle of
the floor and the seating arrangements in front of the windows.
The bar is a curved affair with a number of stools, largely empty
this night.
The music being played was of the boom, boom, boom type,
leaving you shouting "What, what" when trying to talk to someone.
Conversation is overrated anyway, though don't tell that to the
waiters here.
Odds and ends: The crowd at the Sky Bar on Wednesday night
was young; it was like a post-prom party.
The waiters at the Sky Bar tend to cross the line between
friendliness and obnoxiousness. It can be considered as friendly
when they shake hands with you and introduce themselves. Some
people may think it nice that they seem genuinely interested in
what you do for a living, where you live, etc. But personally, I
think the line has been crossed when they pull up a bar stool
next to you and start chewing the fat. Maybe I'm wrong and people
like that, but I find it overly familiar.
Last call: Sky Bar has a nice view of the city. The waiters
are friendly and the crowd is young. You'll probably want to go
somewhere else for your drinks and fun. (Penn Dawson)