Lunch at Ocha & Bella
8:00 PM
It’s always fun to try the hippest and newest restaurant in town, but sometimes it’s good to take a step back and rediscover old favourites. While Ocha & Bella is most certainly not old in human years, you have to admit that amidst the rapidly growing culinary business in Jakarta, it can be considered older. Here’s our dining experience at Ocha & Bella a couple of weeks ago, four years after its inception.
THE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS
Ocha & Bella is located inside one of the hippest hotels/ serviced apartments in Central Jakarta, Morrissey (previously Citadine). It’s a modern building with a relaxed and artsy vibe, making it unique and grand at the same time, but not… stuffy. You know one of those four or five star hotels that are ridiculously grandiose that sometimes you don’t feel like you belong? Yep, not this one. The price is relatively affordable too, so do consider this place when choosing a hotel in Jakarta.
No posh restaurant is complete without a great look, and this is also the case with Ocha & Bella. Ocha & Bella is designed by Willis Kusuma, a renowned architect. He likes to use wood, iron, bare concrete to decorate a space, and magically the space looks so much better than before!
You can choose to either sit inside, outside, or simply hang out at the bar. If you sat inside, you could watch the pizza-making process at the impressive-looking oven. If you sat outside, there were even more options: good ol’ chair, bench, or under the pretty pergola. Plenty of alternatives for every mood and occasion!
And there’s this thing that looks like a cigar vending machine? Not sure whether you could really buy cigar from this box (for a lack of a better word), but it does look expensive.
THE FOOD
During May 2015, Ocha & Bella was having some sort of Mexican festival. There are some special menus, which means you probably won’t find some dishes reviewed in this article. Besides that, the whole space is decorated with Mexican flavours; prints of horse, maracas, and guitarrón are hanging everywhere. All staffs are wearing sombrero.
Smoked Salmon Nachos (IDR 90k): corn tortillas with romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, and smoked salmon; served with guacamole and sour cream on the side. This one is a nice appetiser: fresh, light, and crunchy. While it doesn’t make us go wow nor wonder how do they come up with this brilliant menu, it is what it is. Smoked salmon nachos, no pretences, no fuss.
Risotto Alle Erbe e Collonnata (IDR 120k): risotto with marjoram, basil, dill, and (supposedly) lardo di colonnata. There is no lardo di colonnata available at the moment, and they change it into pork belly. We really don’t mind the change especially considering we have to google what is lardo di colonnata anyway. The risotto tastes reaaaallllyy good. More often than not risotto could be a total disaster, but this one is bull’s eye! Both the pork and the rice are cooked and seasoned perfectly. It begs the meme “Shut up and take my money!”.
Diavola Pizza (IDR 90k): tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami, and parsley. This pizza is just… okay? We kinda expected a little bit more, considering the huge pizza oven and Ocha & Bella being a Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant. Would have loved the crust a bit thinner, but maybe we should’ve asked for it in the first place. But looking back at it, perhaps it is another case of too-much-expectation.
Il Globo (IDR 50k): jelly strawberry sphere with pineapple and mint tartar, crushed almonds and dark chocolate sauce. This dessert definitely has the x-factor! It looks interesting and gorgeous, in a we-do-not-think-home-cook-can-make-this sort of way. When eaten individually, it tastes plain weird. But when the chocolate is poured and everything is eaten together, it makes perfect sense!
Frozen Blue Margarita (IDR 60k): tequila and blue curaçao. We can hardly taste the alcohol, the sweetness kinda overpowers the whole thing.
Frozen Mango Berry Margarita (IDR 60k): tequila, strawberry liqueur, mango, and strawberry. The tequila taste is a little bit stronger compared to the Frozen Blue Margarita. Please excuse the unattractive picture; the ice is already melting.
Classic Margarita (IDR 60k): tequila and triple sec. Margarita lovers, we’d say skip the previous two margaritas and order this one instead.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we like Ocha & Bella. It is a cozy place to hang out and chat with friends. The service is good, the place is cute, and the food is nice — especially the yummy risotto. We definitely would come back in the futurethough we honestly don’t know when!
Overall, we like Ocha & Bella. It is a cozy place to hang out and chat with friends. The service is good, the place is cute, and the food is nice — especially the yummy risotto. We definitely would come back in the future
Ocha & Bella
Address: Jl. KH Wahid Hasyim No. 70, Kebon Sirih Menteng, Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10340
Phone: (021) 3105999
Opening Hours:
Sun - Thur: Restaurant 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM, Bar 11:00 AM - midnight
Fri - Sat: Restaurant 11:00 AM - midnight, Bar 11:00 AM - 01.00
Web: Click Here
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