MANDIRA’S GARDEN — Restaurant in Jakarta

What a charming little hidden gem this place is! I went with my wife and two little ones (4 and 2), and told the little ones we might be able to find Totoros in the garden. I had been here before, a few weeks back, with a dear friend who is an expert in organic farming and all things sustainable. As someone involved with eco-hospitality (in Pulau Seribu), I'm always on the look out for restaurants that are also sustainability hubs.

We love the creativity and soul of the place - the combination of garden and studio ghibli's Totoro masterpiece stirs the imagination. The food and beverages are also delicious. The two times I came - once on a weekday evening for dinner, and today - a Sunday - at 8 in the morning shortly after they opened - the place was empty and we were the only guests.

It made me wonder why the place isn't more crowded. With a few improvements, my hope is that such a gem would have a higher flow of financial support so the enterprise could be more sustainable. The speed of service was a little slower than we expected. And the menu options for breakfast were slim. We'd love to see delicious smoothie bowls on the menu, and pancakes. We'd also love to see more vegan and vegetarian options on the menu.

We asked if we could feed the rabbits (yes, they have rabbits! and chickens :), and we got a bundle of carrots and pok choi. The kids loved this. I noticed there was a library, but it seemed the door was locked. The team were very kind, but I felt such a place deserves more of a host - someone to welcome the guests, and take us on a tour. Someone to tell us about the fruits and veggies, and where they come from, and to show us Totoro's house. I also felt the entrance and some areas inside could do with some upgrades, as some of the areas felt a little neglected.

I would give this place 5 stars, but I feel a lower rating can be good to motivate the owners or managers to make improvements. We will be back, for sure, and my hope is that Mandira's garden will flourish and continue to be a bright little beacon of hope, healing, health, creativity and inspiration for Jakarta and Kemang. Bravo to the founder and team behind this place - it is a true...

Good place for taking photos! This cafe has a very nice garden view. It's spacious. They have rabbit and chicken coop. The food and beverage presentation is superb! unfortunately, in my opinion the taste is just mediocre... So overpriced! pasta is IDR 125k and their best menu, rames rice is 75k, although I can feel they're using fresh ingredients the portion is small. Same goes with the beverage I ordered (hot) lavender tea, I thought they were gonna serve with a small tea pot and they're not! only a small cup of tea.. I also order fresh melon juice, it's around 200ml only maybe? for IDR 40k, the bottle juice is so small. I see other customers order ice tea variants, and the glass is quite big! Well, their dessert is nice though, I order misro even though it's small it tastes nice,not too sweet and not too bland. You can't bring/take photos with a DSLR camera unless you're getting permission from management. The price is excluded for service charge and tax. I went there to have lunch and for each person you need around 150k-200k if you want to order main dishes,beverage and...

Finally I visited such a place called as ‘hidden garden at Kemang’.

It’s kids friendly since there’s yard with various kinds of plants and flowers your kids can explore.

I assumed they sells ‘healthy food’ until I confirmed it before ordering. Yes, they provide fresh juice (with limited options), but some beverages use syrup (instead of fresh fruits). , it’s quite expensive considering the taste, the portion, and the quality of the foods and beverages. First, I ordered pineapple mint juice and spring salad (as recommended by the staff) as seen on the photo: small portion, and the salad contains (only) a small amount of lettuce, carrot, and pomelo. No protein at all. Later, I ordered veggies noodle and kunyit asam which I considered better than what I ordered before.

The indoor area is quite small so if you expect to do such work from cafe, I think it is not the best place. However, if you like to take photos, then the place is for you. Fyi, you’re not allowed to use professional camera/photograper (or...