W16: Stylish sandwich bar that finds its niche
JAKARTA (JP): I'm sure I'm not alone in regretting the fact that, despite all the developments in the restaurant trade in Jakarta in recent years, it is still relatively difficult to get a decent sandwich.
By this, I don't mean the full-blown sit-down meal variety (usually served with French fries), but a handy take-away version made on the spot, with a choice of tasty fillings, which can be consumed easily later at home, at work, or wherever.
There are some Subway outlets that almost fit this bill, but their prices are still on the high side (maybe a reflection of the lack of competition), and their range of fillings is still a little limited. There clearly remains a gap in this market that, like the sandwiches themselves, is waiting to be filled!
Given the large number of expatriates living in Kemang, South Jakarta, the area already boasts a bewildering array of cafes and restaurants offering a wide variety of cuisines at various price ranges.
However, even here, it was, until recently, difficult to find somewhere that specialized in sandwiches. W16 Sandwich and Grill, directly above the attractive, well-stocked, new Ak.'sa.ra (sic) bookstore in the Kemang one-way system, now goes a long way toward plugging that gap, and does so quite stylishly.
W16 Sandwich and Grill: Jl. Kemang Raya No. 8B, Jakarta Selatan 12730, tel. 7199289, fax. 7202702, website: wwwkafe@cbn.net.id.
Location: Take the road past Kemchicks supermarket (so that it is on your left-hand side). At the T-junction, turn right, and the restaurant is about 100 meters along on the right-hand side of the road. There used to be a duty-free shop in this vicinity, if I am not mistaken.
Hours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 10 a.m. - midnight on the weekend. Major credit cards are accepted.
Looks: Like the bookstore below, W16 has been designed very much in the turn-of-the-(21st)-century minimalist style. There is plenty of plate glass, wooden floorboards, and an almost complete absence of "unnecessary" ornamentation, somewhat like Prego Italian restaurant at Blok M. There is always a danger, in a tropical climate, that such huge expanses of glass will create a minigreenhouse, but the design largely overcomes this by means of the wooden louvers on the outside walls.
There is an off-road parking area that can hold around 10 cars immediately in front. This is just as well, for traffic on the Kemang one-way system is relentless, and generally moves quite quickly.
My dining companion and I visited the 35-seat restaurant at a Saturday lunchtime when, to my surprise, it was completely full. Nevertheless, the bare, internal glass walls would have looked better with some kind of covering, however small, on them.
About half of the other customers were expatriates and half local, but all appeared very trendy and stylish, as if to match the decor, and came from a wide variety of age groups. There were small groups of two or three, as well as families.
The wait staff also looked very smart in their all-black uniforms, save for the "w" emblem in yellow on their polo shirts. They were all very friendly and helpful.
What's it got: The mainstays of W16 are sandwiches and grills (around eight of each type, including a range of meat or fish fillings). There are also soups, pizzas, salads, quiches, pasta and some desserts. The usual range of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks were also available, plus some red and white wines from California, France and Italy.
Water (unfortunately not iced) is served automatically to all customers.
Taste factor: We shared a duck confit caesar salad as a starter. The duck, which seemed to have been dried and deep fried, came in small pieces, and was a perfect match for the salad that was suitably refreshing. A homemade mayonnaise was also on the plate.
A sandwich, described on the menu as "U.S. beef Robertspierre" was in fact foccacia (bread) with grilled, thinly sliced, herb- marinated beef, fried eggplant and shaved Parmesan cheese. It was served attractively with some potato crisps on the side. The beef was full of flavor, but the crisps seemed rather salty.
Wiener Schnitzel (described rather engagingly on the menu as "Winner snitzel") was breaded escallops of veal served with gratinated potato, vegetables, mayonnaise, capers and anchovy. Again, the schnitzel, particularly the coating, had good flavor, but tasted on the salty side. Fortunately the potato accompaniment counteracted this somewhat.
Desserts consisted of japonaise (a cake consisting of coffee mocca ice cream and almond meringue) and malaga (a rum 'n raisin ice cream cake). The coffee cake had a good coffee taste, but the rum 'n raisin taste could have been stronger. In both cases, the dessert was not "cakey" enough, and seemed more like ice cream than cake.
Two coffees rounded off the meal, a cappuccino and a machiato. The frothy milk "caps" were perfect, and the coffee flavor in both cases was good too.
Price points: The meal described above, plus a fresh carrot juice and lime juice, came to just under Rp 300,000 including tax and service. Considering the total amount of food consumed, this was on the pricey side. If you just wanted a quick snack (say a sandwich and a drink), you might be charged from around Rp 60,000 upwards; still not exactly cheap, but then you are eating in Kemang, after all!
Minus points: The saltiness of some of the food is something that the chef needs to pay attention to. It's always easier to add more later than to try and make oversalted food taste less so! The restaurant felt a little warm, but this might have been because it was completely full. When asked, one of the waitresses was able to turn the louvers on the air conditioner so that the cooled air circulated much more effectively.
Verdict: Although it didn't quite fulfill expectations, the restaurant is still well worth a try, particularly in view of the gap in the sandwich market, and its stylish dicor. Judging by how full it was at Saturday lunchtime, many others obviously agree already. If you're visiting the Ak.'sa.ra bookstore, it's also extremely handy, should you start to feel a bit peckish. However, remember you're in Kemang, where prices reflect the buying power of the locals, many of whom in this case, are expatriates! (Les Coffier)