Contra — Restaurant in Jakarta

Restaurant in Ciranjang: A Disappointing Experience

Just left this restaurant in tears. I came on an invite as a content creator, and unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory. From the moment I arrived, there were several miscommunications among the staff that left me feeling quite offended.

Firstly, I wasn’t allowed to choose my own menu. The team had preselected a menu for me, which included one steak and two pastas, but no appetizers or starters. When I inquired about this, they kept telling me that certain items weren’t included. It was only then that they pointed out the specific dishes I could order. This lack of flexibility was frustrating, especially since I had to wait an hour for these main courses with nothing to tide me over.

The visit began with the restaurant staff informing me that I wouldn’t be receiving any drinks. How could I review a meal without drinks? After expressing my concerns, they finally offered me a glass of wine to pair with my steak. However, an hour later, none of my ordered dishes had arrived, so I decided to leave.

Adding to the frustration, despite the restaurant being busy, other tables around me were receiving their orders and even finishing their meals. It was clear that the delay was not due to a crowded kitchen but rather a lack of efficient service. The staff made no efforts to make up for the delays or to offer any additional accommodations, which was disheartening.

Moreover, the timing of this visit was poorly managed. The marketing team reached out to me just one day before the event, and after I declined, they rescheduled. Such short notice felt unprofessional and added to the overall negative experience.

During my hour-long wait, I only had a glass of water and three slices of welcome bread. I didn’t touch the wine because I wanted to pair it with my steak, which never arrived. The entire experience made me question how they could call themselves the best Italian-American restaurant in Jakarta with such subpar service and communication.

When they offered to reschedule, I politely declined. It wasn’t about the food anymore; it was about the lack of ethics and common courtesy. I left the restaurant feeling disregarded and disappointed, like my time and presence didn’t matter. I even cried in the taxi on my way home, thinking of how I could have spent those wasted hours going to the gym, working for other restaurants, or staying home with my kittens.

Having collaborated with over 100 restaurants, I’ve never experienced anything like this. Many of those restaurants don’t even claim to be the best, yet they deliver on their promises and provide the food and service they advertise.

I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone, not even my worst enemy. Imagine paying for such a meal and only getting...

Well, well, well. A new restaurant just opened 10 days ago in J town!

Menu is quite compact, but I see a lot of similarities with the Italian restaurants already hyped in town. But it boasts Italian -American style, so like Godfather-ish vibe then?

First up, I tried the cocktail recommended, Mr. Somm. So it's based on two booze, red wine and whiskey (You can see the labels on my story) I can tell the quality they choose is refined. So does the taste. But I'm not very sure about its blend with cinnamon syrup.. (200,000++) 7/10

The cheese cake, it's si #ricotta and I love this strawberry coulis. It's a very well made & baked cheesecake. Cannot complain. (110,000++) 8/10

Then, Primi, #pastaalvodka / Mezze Maniche all Vodka the sauce is rich and vodka smoothened the texture and the taste, but I personally don't like cream - not a rose fan - even so, it's a good plate of pasta! (160,000++) 8/10

Overall, not bad in terms of taste. But a lot of menus weren't ready to showcase, which I found bit ashamed. Nonetheless, the ambience and service tried to offset their shortcomings on the day we visited. 7.5/10

Let's see this noire restaurant can live up to customers' expectations. There are very limited choices for vegans.. so it's probably not much recommended to plantbased eaters, but some...

Food was excellent, served by "friendly staffs". However, those qualities could not compensate the unpleasant experiences below, mainly due to unethical bartender and poor quality of restaurant management.

Unethical sales approach by the bartender. I was charged with a drink I didn't order. It is very common for a bartender to promote his signature cocktails. But serving and charging the drink without the consent of the customer, are strictly out of line. With all due respect, the cocktails are overpriced !!!

Poor knowledge on EDC machine troubleshooting with no effort to overcome the issues. My payment, made by CC, was put on hold due to system connection failures. Contra's staff could not find the solution and asked me to repeat payment without proof of payment failures. I had to deliberately call the bank's customer service to overcome the issue for them.

In overall, Contra is a restaurant with good food, struggling to survive in Jakarta, due to it's substandard services and incompetent management.

I will not come back, and suggest everyone to think twice before considering Contra to spend your valuable time and...