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Evelyn Chen

On June 26, British chef Kirk Westaway – best known for his modern British cuisine at two-Michelin-star Jaan in Singapore – will open The Crown by Kirk Westaway at the Fairmont Jakarta hotel in the Indonesian capital.
With sweeping views of the city skyline, the tasting-menu-only restaurant on the 22nd floor will mark his second venture outside Singapore after opening The Albion by Kirk Westaway in Ho Chi Minh City in 2024.
It signals a growing appetite for refined, chef-led dining in the Indonesian metropolis.
“Jakarta’s dining scene is evolving fast – there is so much energy, and the city is full of food lovers who are genuinely keen to explore new experiences,” says Westaway. “For me, it felt like the right time to bring something different to the table.
“With a growing audience of well-travelled, food-savvy diners, this seems like the perfect moment to be part of the city’s culinary momentum,” he adds.
In recent years, Jakarta’s dining scene has undergone a transformation.
What was once a landscape dominated by traditional Indonesian eateries has seen casual restaurants and international hotel dining evolve into a vibrant mix of independent concepts pushing boundaries in flavour and presentation.

At the heart of this shift is a new generation of chefs who are building restaurants around personal stories, heritage and craft.
A notable trend is the rise of tasting-menu-only restaurants – still a relatively new format in Jakarta. Once considered a risky proposition in a market used to communal and à la carte dining, the tide has turned as a growing segment of diners embraces more curated, intimate experiences.
Blazing a trail in this space is Hans Christian, chef and co-owner of August, which celebrates its fourth anniversary this November.
“Jakarta’s dining scene is growing,” says Christian. “We have just a handful of tasting-menu-only restaurants in Jakarta, but more have been opening.”
When August launched in late 2021, it was the first Asian-owned restaurant in the city to adopt a tasting menu format from day one.
“August was a wait-and-see project for the industry,” Christian recalls. “There was scepticism about whether this model would work here, but we’ve helped shift the perspective of what a chef-led restaurant can be.”
Jakarta’s new wave of restaurants is increasingly defined by chefs drawing from their time abroad and returning home with new ideas but staying grounded in local identity.
Whether through reinterpretations of regional dishes or bold fusions of global technique with Indonesian produce, these tasting-menu-only restaurants reflect a broader cultural evolution in the city – one that embraces innovation while staying rooted in tradition.
Five tasting-menu-only restaurants in Jakarta
1. August

Co-owned by Budi Cahyadi and Hans Christian, August sits on the ground floor of Sequis Tower in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD), but it feels far from businesslike.
The restaurant offers a contemporary, Indonesian-inspired tasting menu in short and extended formats, spotlighting mostly local ingredients with modern flair.
Highlights include Mochi Cakalang, a disc of mochi stuffed with melt-in-the-mouth skipjack tuna and topped with cakalang (skipjack tuna) floss; and Crunch Green, Keluak, Hollandaise – a tiny savoury salad course of caramelised buah keluak fruit, sugar snap peas, baby corn and French beans, layered with brown butter Hollandaise for a creamy, savoury finish.
Ground Floor #03-02, Sequis Tower, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No.Kav. 71, Jakarta, 12190
2. ESA

ESA is a three-year-old venture in SCBD by industry veterans, including chef and co-owner Aditya Muskita.
After training in Copenhagen’s Relae – since closed – and working in Bali and Singapore, Muskita now reimagines Jakarta’s melting-pot cuisine with modern precision.
For example, besan – a soup traditionally served to parents-in-law – is reinvented as an egg custard in a light clam laksa broth, sweetened with sunchokes and finished with a vivid red powder dehydrated from the broth. It is a brilliant balance of savoury, sweet and creamy.
SCBD Park, Lot. 7, Unit 3A, Senayan, Kec. Kby. Baru, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Jakarta, 12190
3. Su Ma

Opened by chefs Rachel Tjahja and Ryan Kim – who met while working in Sydney, Australia – Su Ma is a 22-seat fine-casual restaurant housed in a minimalist white building in the Blok M complex.
The 10-course East Asian menu draws on Korean, Japanese and Chinese influences.
While its signature dish, Nasi Goreng Encore, often steals the spotlight, we favour Kendon – buckwheat noodles in nama nori dressing, paired with Hokkaido scallop, dashi broth and frozen tomato slush – inspired by Kim’s family noodle shop in Jeonju, South Korea.
Jl. Sultan Hasanudin No.74, Melawai, Kec. Kby. Baru, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Jakarta, 12160
4. Kindling

Chef Vallian Gunawan, formerly of Skool Kitchen in Bali, has partnered with food and drinks company Biko for Kindling, a 42-seat restaurant in a restored 20th-century bungalow in Menteng.
The seven-course menu draws on Gunawan’s roots in Medan, in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, and his fine-dining experience at restaurants including Odette, Saint Pierre, L’atelier de Joël Robuchon and Cure.
A stand-out is his take on Chinese wedding banquet crab soup, transformed into a dish called Crab Custard, with Papuan crab emulsion, roe, black moss, sesame oil and bafun uni.
Jl. Cikini Raya No.20, RT.13/RW.5, Dukuh Atas, Cikini, Kec. Menteng, Kota Jakarta Pusat, Jakarta, 10330
5. The Crown by Kirk Westaway

Offering panoramic views of Jakarta’s skyline, the tasting menu-only restaurant is a tribute to British heritage, reimagined through the lens of Westaway’s contemporary sensibilities.
Expect elegant plates grounded in comfort – such as locally sourced English peas and green asparagus paired with roasted halibut, finished with Kristal caviar – with hints of British refinement.
Fairmont Jakarta, Jl. Asia Afrika No.8, Gelora, Kecamatan Tanah Abang, Jakarta, 10270


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Food and Drinks

5 of Jakarta’s best tasting-menu-only restaurants as the city’s dining scene transforms

Chefs prepare food at ESA in Jakarta, Indonesia. A notable trend in the capital city is the rise of tasting-menu-only restaurants like this one. Photo: ESA

When August launched in late 2021, it was the first Asian-owned restaurant in Jakarta to adopt a tasting-menu format from day one. Photo: August

August’s Crunch Green, Keluak, Hollandaise is a salad course spotlighting caramelised buah keluak, French beans, sugar snap peas, baby corn and brown butter Hollandaise sauce. Photo: Instagram/@august_jkt

Besan, a traditional Indonesian soup, is reinvented at ESA. Photo: ESA

Kendon is the name of a dish that pays homage to Su Ma chef Ryan Kim’s family restaurant in South Korea. Photo: Instagram/@sumajakarta

Kindling’s Crab Custard is chef Vallian Gunawan’s take on Chinese wedding banquet crab soup. Photo: Kindling

Cheese pancake crowned with glistening caviar and cooked in brown butter at The Crown by Kirk Westaway. Photo: Instagram/thecrown.bykirk

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

From August to ESA to The Crown by Kirk Westaway coming in June, these places epitomise the Indonesian capital’s fast-evolving dining scene


From August to ESA to The Crown by Kirk Westaway coming in June, these places epitomise the Indonesian capital’s fast-evolving dining scene.


Indonesia

Asia travel

5 of Jakarta’s best tasting-menu-only restaurants as the city’s dining scene transforms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From August to ESA to The Crown by Kirk Westaway coming in June, these places epitomise the Indonesian capital’s fast-evolving dining scene

From August to ESA to The Crown by Kirk Westaway coming in June, these places epitomise the Indonesian capital’s fast-evolving dining scene