Nonna Bona — Restaurant in Jakarta

Decided to try a new Italian restaurant in Ashta District 8 that just opened in April 2022. I had high expectations at first especially after hearing good reviews of Oma Elly’s pasta as Nonna Bona is a part of the Oma Elly Group. But unfortunately I was left disappointed with the food they served especially for the price.

I ordered the Angel Hair Pasta with Tiger Prawns, Fruit Punch mocktail, and my friend ordered the gelato, and chamomile tea.

Angel Hair Pasta with Tiger Prawns Price : Rp235k++ (6/10)

The pasta had a rather fishy prawn smell, sauce and seasoning was overly strong for pasta and made it seem like it was a rather failed attempt to adjust to the Indonesian palate, overpowering in general. Pasta texture was fortunately good, and prawns were in contrast fresh and did not smell fishy, imo prawns were cooked well and it was rather juicy although the head of the prawn wasn’t very flavourful. I would’ve given this a 7.5/10 if it wasn’t for the unjustified price.

Fruit Punch mocktail Price : Rp50k++ (8/10)

It was refreshing, was a tad bit too sweet, but the combo of fruit flavours were nice, overall a good but not too memorable drink.

Gelato (2 scoops) Price : Rp45k++ (8/10)

My friend ordered it and I unfortunately forgot what the flavours were. But here’s a review according to my friend. The gelato melted quicker than gelato from most shops which is concerning. Flavours were rather too sweet, although they were still delicious, definitely unique flavour choices, but definitely still has some room to improve.

Welcome Bread (Complimentary) (7/10)

The bread was too hard, and rather chewy. I definitely loved the hint of rosemary, but the texture just made it forgettable. The olive oil on the side definitely helps and compliments the flavour of the bread very well

Hot Chamomile Tea (was written to be by Jing Tea on the menu, but what came out was a Twinings teabag which is absolutely misleading) Price : Rp35k++ (4/10)

Tea was okay, but what made made us very concerned was the fact that a fancy restaurant at such a price point by a group with such a reputation is able to put the wrong brand of a product on the menu, which I don’t understand how this went through the restaurant’s menu crosscheck.

Service : 7.5/10

The first waiter that served us unfortunately didn’t have basic product knowledge hence when I asked how which pasta tasted which, he wasn’t able to answer at all. The waitress that substituted him fortunately was proficient in explaining how the different types of pastas tasted like and even knew the cooking methods which is a plus. They were all definitely responsive when getting called, but the front desk definitely needs help as they’re often occupied with other jobs and are unable to handle the customers waiting to get a table.

Ambiance : 9/10

The place was definitely wonderful and I loved the alfresco setting in the smoking area which rarely exists at malls in Jakarta. Definitely a very refreshing and airy environment with hip music playing around and a warm ambiance due to the mostly wood covered interior.

Price-to-value : 6/10

They heavily need to improve the taste of the food to be able to justify the price.

Overall, this restaurant is just one of those newly opened fancy restaurants that excel in ambiance but only scores average in terms of taste and fails in the price-to-value department, not a very memorable experience.

Note : This review is fully based on our opinion and we do not have any intention to bring down businesses. The “++” mark in the price signifies that the price does not include the 10% tax + 10%...

Heard about this restaurant from a friend, after read an impressive reviews about the owner and the chef of this restaurant, we decided to try the foods.

First impression, the restaurant decor and ambiance are pretty with beautiful woods ceiling and big glass windows.

We ordered chicken liver pate & buratta cheese for appetizer, artichoke, arugula and sun dried tomatoes pizza , a creamy pasta dish that looks like udon Picchi di cacio pepe that was recommended by the waitress and pistachio gelato and coffee for dessert. The prices of the foods at this restaurant are quite expensive so we expected to have great foods with good presentation.

During waiting time , we received welcome breads which was taste good , the bread was soft chewy in the inside and crispy on the outside.

We were very disappointing when the buratta arrived, we expected plum juicy red tomatoes to be served with buratta, instead it was some red orange a little bit unripe cherry tomatoes on the plate topped with buratta and balsamic vinegar.. fortunately buratta and the balsamic vinegar taste good ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The chicken liver pate was very tasty , soft, creamy and with the texture of what a good pate should be .. we ordered another one for take away ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The pasta was a very big disappointment, bad presentation with one thin slice of truffle , undercooked pasta and the taste somehow missed in translation, grainy creamy and bitter taste .. when the waitress checked with the chef/the cook in the kitchen he said it was the black pepper .. which I think he was failed to explain what his cooking was .. I was surprised also that we had to pay the additional cost for the truffle.. I think I missed to read about that on the menu.. ⭐️

The artichoke pizza taste quite good but was expecting to have more artichoke and sun dried tomatoes with the price.. pizza bread was soft in the inside and crunchy on the outside ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Pistachio gelato was a hit, soft creamy with generous pistachio chunks (which is very rare considering the price of pistachio in Jakarta) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The service was very good, the waitress was very attentive and very informative about the menu, she knows very well the products that she sells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall it was quite an experience, this one was like most of the new restaurant in Indonesia or Jakarta to be exact that focused on the interior and exterior design of the restaurant but failed to serve good foods .. we were quite disappointed but the pistachio gelato cooling us down 😀

We may be come back for the chicken liver pate and...

What an absolute delight. I'd been hearing and reading about Nonna Bona from my family and Nonna Bona's Instagram followers. Boy, needless to say more that the pizza and pasta we ordered tonight were nothing like we ever ate. The dense and absolutely mouth-watering sauce of the pasta, the texture of the pasta and pizza... may I say they taste unique I dare say they're authentic? My Italian teacher warned me many times that the Italians always cook fresh, and yes, the spaghetti pomodoro and the wagyu pizza were the great representations of that statement alone. This was my first night eating parmigiano reggiano cheese and basil, and I didn't regret it. The waiters and waitresses were so welcoming and responsive. My brother ordered iced chamomile tea, or so he remembered, and I remembered this one tall waiter poured hot chamomile tea courtly that I didn't find a heart to tell anyone to replace it, until my brother himself did it. I loved how everyone in Nonna Bona acted so courteously towards customers, responded to every "thank you", "sorry", and "please", and cared about our needs, whether it be getting rid of our dirty, empty plates or showing us the way to the nearest mushala. One thing I regret the most, since I wasn't very attentive, I didn't get to know the names of each and every cool waiter and waitress serving us tonight, except one because blood is what bonds us and I'm the luckiest to share that bond