Just yesterday afternoon, I went to visit a pretty restaurant called Cuadrilla and had a really pleasant lunch. Yes, I kinda summed it up for you in the beginning of the post. But that’s not the important part of it. The most important part is why? I shall explain a bit.

Cuadrilla is a petite restaurant located in Kemang area, at Jalan Benda. It is pretty small and looked quite ordinary, but somehow intriguing with its little blue door. It reminded me a tiny bit of a small houses in Greece (Oh no, I have never visited Greece, but I did watch movies you know). I didn’t expect much when entering the place. After all, initially I thought it would be bigger. Oh, fyi, I went there with my family.

Upon entering the place, I felt a bit more hint of greek ambiance, looking at the old bricks interior and small homey kitchen on the right side. The area on the first floor is long but pretty narrow, thus it actually can’t contain many guests there. We sat nearby the main door where we used to enter Cuadrilla, and felt a bit uncomfortable due to its warm temperature. The waitress quickly realized that and approached us, suggesting us to have a table on the second floor, which is apparently the smoking area. She also quickly explained that the area was nicer and that at the moment, there were not many patrons there, thus we shouldn’t worry about the smoke issue. Since we are not part of the hardcore no-smoking Nazi, we happily accepted the offer and thought if there were patrons smoking, we could easily go back down (though of course it would be troublesome, but it was our choice anyway).

Going up to the second floor, I then stopped a while and literally smiled (no, not smirking or doing that other weird smiles). I was impressed and I loved the interior. It really has that Greece touch and signature details, with the blue window frames, lace curtains and bright sunshine coming through the small window, bricks every here and there, and the small bar. For me, the interior is humble yet gorgeous and it is a real change for a while compared to any other modern cafes and restaurants. I felt like I was not in the busy busty city, out for a short while. If only the place was located by the sea, it would be amazingly perfect. You know, I am a man with wild imagination afterall, or you can say, sort of a crazy dreamer.

Menu book was served and I noticed that the food and drinks they serve are mostly influenced by Spanish, Italian and Greek cuisine. We ordered pizza, pasta and rice dish. Talking about menu, the selection is not that particularly many. We were found pausing for quite some time in order to decide what we would like to have. The choices are somehow limited (especially for me as I avoid seafood) and perhaps, by time, they will develop more choices.

Surprisingly, our orders came pretty fast. The waiters were very responsive and helpful with our petty requests such as, “May I have more chili sauce please?” or “May I have more empty plates please?”. Another little surprise is that the plates and cups they use are very nice, sort of flowery and seem antique. Very appropriate for the whole concept. The tea cup especially, is pretty!

Let’s go to the food!

# Hot English Breakfast (IDR 27 k) – Iced Tea (IDR 17 k) – Carrot Juice (IDR 27 k)

Drinks were quite ordinary, but my sister loved the carrot juice which was said to be blended into a very smooth texture and had no bad raw smell at all. Like I said before, the tea cup used for the English Breakfast is pretty.

# Paella – Chicken (IDR 110 k)

Spain is well known for its tapas. But they are actually very famous for the rice dish too which is called Paella (the Valencian rice dish to be precise). Paella might be better known for the seafood Paella, but since my family and I like to eat less seafood, we went with the other choice, Chicken Paella. I’ve tasted Seafood Paella a couple of times, but Chicken? Nope, not yet. I honestly felt that it could be a let down upon ordering. But I took the risk.

As it was served, it appeared to be pretty good. The paella is topped with enticing grilled chicken wings. Pealla itself usually consists of rice, green vegetables, meat, beans, and seasonings such as saffron, rosemary and lemon. Cuadrilla stayed quite true to the original and after tasting it, it was a right call as it was very good! The paella was delicious, with all the right ingredients. The flavor of saffron was light but complemented well with the fragrant rosemary. The chicken wings were the shining gems. It was seasoned and grilled perfectly, and the wings were just very good to be eaten with the paella. Overall, it was a very recommended dish.

# Fettuccine alla Carbonara (IDR 57 k)

Going for a safe bet, we went for one of the most famous pastas. We could choose to have the beef or pork bacon to go with the pasta, and since we are undoubtedly a true fan-family of pork, we chose pork bacon. As a result, the Fettuccine alla Carbonara was extremely good. As simple as it always is, this fettuccine managed to let us say nothing, but enjoy every bit of the fettuccine and cream. Pork bacon? Not even a tiny bit of it was even left on the plate (oh, maybe we were just extremely hungry).

# Pepperoni Pizza (IDR 59 k)

There are only 3 choices of pizza at Cuadrilla. We went with the pepperoni. Again, it’s another safe bet. Served the latest, the pizza was pretty huge. It looked very simple, with rich cheese layers, homemade tomato sauce, pepperoni tidbits, and olive oil covering up the whole pizza. I took a slice with my bare hand and proceeded to have a bite. Oh it was lovely. The mozzarella cheese layer was awesomely good (and cheesy of course), and the pepperoni was good. Both of these key ingredients were generously presented on the thin pizza. But one thing that my family commented is that the pizza layer should have been crispy. I agreed with them. The pizza dough was already thin and it was a good thing. But somehow, it was chewy instead of crispy. Then after a careful look, I found out that the bottom layer of the pizza dough had somehow absorbed too much oil. That’s why instead of going crispy, it went to the other alternative, chewy. For me, it was not a problem, but it just could have been perfect if it was crispy. It’s only a suggestion though.

# Tiramisu (IDR 35 k)

We were satisfyingly full actually, but refuse to give up for dessert. After all, we loved to have a sweet closure. With only two choices (the other is Churros), we ordered Tiramisu. It was served as soon as our messy plates were taken away. After a spoonful of the mixed spongy and mascarpone layers, I concluded that the tiramisu was only an okay. It lacked the hint of the hypnotizing signature tiramisu flavor and the texture of the spongy layers and mascarpone could have been more moist and smoother. But for the price, it was worth it though. I just expected more, considering how satisfied I was with the mains.

All in all, Cuadrilla has really captured my heart. It served great food with lovely concept, great ambiance and good service. About the space though, if only it was bigger and more spacious, it would be awesome. My whole family agreed that the place is a bit too small, but concept and interior-wise, it was great and lovable.

If you want to visit a different place from your ordinary mainstream cafes and restaurants, I strongly suggest you to give Cuadrilla a try. I personally give it a huge credit for my overall experience.

Oh, will I come back? Definitely!

CUADRILLA | JAKARTA
The Grove Kemang
Jalan Benda Raya No.1D, Kemang, South Jakarta
Phone: +6221-7820188