Die Stube

Located at the posh district of southern Jakarta, Die Stube claims itself to be the first restaurant in Jakarta which specializes in serving authentic German cuisine combined with a pleasant atmosphere to unwind. I knew this place after I attended some cultural activities in Goethe Institut Jakarta and they happen to always serve their guests with the food from this restaurant. With deep curiosity, I had tasted the food right in the restaurant with a good friend of mine and now, I am writing a personal review to see if it is actually any good to be recommended. Enjoy.

THE AMBIENCE

For starter, the front design of the restaurant was not appealing at all, because the restaurant was surrounded by a concrete wall with only three tiny Baroque styled windows on the front fascia. The other noticeable element was a huge “Die Stube” lettering which was simply painted in black on a cream colored wall. It was completely dull and far from being aesthetic. Inside, this place was unsuitable for those who suffer from claustrophobia, because it was not spacious at all and I presume it could accommodate approximately only 50 to 60 guests, things getting worse because they have a bar area which occupied more space than it should be. The entire restaurant was dominated with a pale brown color theme; the tiles used to cover the floor seemed to origin from around year 1970’s; there were also many applications of wood material which warms up the atmosphere. However, please don’t immediately regard it as a boring and old-fashioned diner because there are several other design elements which come from posh modern world: two big LCD flat screens which are occasionally used to air World Cup or Grand Prix championship; a projector which can be used for a mini company gathering or something else; there was also a dart board, a numerous number of meal posters and beer flyers along with some German flags surrounding the room. It was very crowded, yet quite cozy and homely as well. One thing I figures out to be oddly strange was, I found some printed papers which appeared to be the result of a soccer championship or any other sport events and they were glued on the wall of men’s room, to be exact on top part of the urinary and I am not joking, you could look at the constantly updated game result as you stand in front of the urinary doing your business. Blimey!

THE FOOD

What they served was not a food, it was a delicatessen since it was absolutely very German and not at all like the Indonesian food. For starter, a bowl of beef goulash would be nice. It is basically a soup with ingredients consist of thinly sliced beef with paprika, carrots and potatoes. It tasted nearly like spaghetti sauce only it is not as gravy as that and it was quite tasty as well. This soup was served with three pieces of sliced wheat bread. Meanwhile my friend ordered Bratwurst with fresh Sauerkraut dressing and it was quite a big portion for single person. I have also tried that once and got a nauseous feeling after eating them. The Bratwurst was quite chewy, but it was perfectly cooked and therefore was good enough. Meanwhile, I don’t like the Sauerkraut because as it turned out, it tasted nothing but completely sharp and sour. One of the restaurant specialities was the roasted suckling pick and you actually have to order it one day in advanced. If you think that takes too long, you could choose the roasted pork knuckle and that takes “only” three hours before table presentation. Blimey! The other menu is sausage Bonanza which is basically sausages, but you can it them until your tummy bursts. Yes, it is an “all sausage you can it” menu and for your information, it is only available during July to August. Don’t know why, but that’s that. Drinks? No problem, I ordered an espresso single shot and you will like it if you enjoy a strong sip. There was also a wide range of beer to try: draught, malt, black beer Doppelbock and others, but if you don’t fancy for such alcoholic drink, they got juices as well and please don’t expect tea because they didn’t serve it there.

THE SERVICE

There was one word to describe it: excellent. I sat on the bar and just like any other bar in the western countries; the baristas would chat with you and ask our feedbacks about the food we ordered or anything else. It was quite nice and welcoming; meanwhile I could chat with another guest who appeared to be a German and had stayed in Jakarta for six years. The serving time was also adequately quick as well considering when I got there, the seats were fully booked. Smile and greet was a standard there and they spoke English as well.

THE PRICE

Welcome to the sea of massive disappointment because this is the moment of truth: beef goulash was nearly 30,000 IDR and the Bratwurst with Sauerkraut cost around 50,000 IDR. The espresso single shot was around 12,000 which I figured out to be biblically pricey; I would rather go for a full glass Heineken which was just about 18,000 IDR. With service and tax, I and my friend spent 135,000 for a German style dinner and it was therefore very, very expensive. However, I recommend it because it was worth the dining experience, the ambience and the food they served.

Plaza Bisnis Kemang I, GF, Jln Kemang Utara No. 2, Jakarta 12730, Indonesia

Sunday - Thursday : 11:00 AM - 00:00 AM

Friday - Saturday : 11:00 AM - 01:00 AM