Tantalizing Mediterranean Lunch at Attarine

It's been a long time since my last scrumptious Mediterranean lunch. Yes, it's indeed not easy to find Mediterranean restaurant that could suit my liking. Well, blame it to Sea Grain by Double Tree Hilton, but indeed it was the one making me setting very high standard on Mediterranean restaurant since its dishes I tried were all too good to be true! Finally today, I found my other favorite Mediterranean restaurant, another one establishing premium benchmark for Mediterranean foods in Jakarta, ATTARINE.

Potato Head group has never failed to amuse me with its mind-blowing design concept for each of its restaurant and Attarine, being part of the family, is deliberately not an exception. Residing in a sizable space in Gunawarman, I felt like I was entering a huge park when I stepped into the restaurant, just that it's an indoor space. A vintage car's sitting there gorgeously right in the middle of the place with its baggage open, just like the car carrying the supplies for our big camp. My imagination went broader as I pictured the tables around the car as mats put on top of the grass throughout the whole yard (yeah, the decoration successfully delivered that ambiance to me). 

 

Just like being greet by the family member or relatives into the 'camp', I was given the warm welcome by all the waiters and waitresses. They were literally helpful in assisting me choosing the dish to go for as some of the foods I were indeed really not familiar with. Actually, the menu was not static as some of them were changed on monthly basis. Only limited selections were maintained over time as permanent menu. Interesting fact, which I haven't found before in any Mediterranean restaurant, they did provide Omakase (a package of several dishes freshly served by the chef right in front of the consumers). It's available usually once to twice a month, and done at the bar with the chef cooking live from there as well. 

The man behind all the tantalizing dishes were Chef Jacob Burrell, coming all the way from California bringing his experiences as the executive chef at the Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant and the sous chef at the three-Michelin-Star Manresa Restaurant. 

Jamu Royal (IDR 50k)
Turmeric, tamarind, honey, lemon juice, carrot, and ginger beer
 

To quench our thirst, my sister and I started with their unique mocktails. Trying to go against the mainstream, I went for the ones mainly consisting of Indonesian traditional herbs, Jamu Royal. It actually contained ginger, which I've never liked. Nonetheless, the flavor was perfectly balanced by the other ingredients especially the turmeric and tamarind. I couldn't even tell it's herbal drink or what so called jamu in Bahasa as I loved it! 

Grilled Lemonade (IDR 50k)
Grilled lemon juice, palm sugar + soda

 

My sister, on the other hand, opted for more conservative one, mainly containing lemon and soda. Perhaps the uniqueness came from the palm sugar, which became the substitute to the cane sugar. It's quite similar to common lemonade taste, but there's something unique in the glass which was indulging. Could be the easiest option to go for should you fall into confusion. 

Steamed Batik Clams (IDR 115k)
Lentil broth with lemongrass + chile, served with toasted sourdough

Kick-starting the Mediterranean lunch feast, the choice landed at this most recommended appetizer. It tasted kinda similar to Indonesian gulai with rich combination of spices. Thick broth with generous amount of fresh batik clams. A pretty decent bowl that reminded me of the gulai I usually had in Padang restaurant. 

Oxtail Marmalade on Toast (IDR 80k)

Regardless the first one was said as the most favorite appetizer, this special starter menu, which wasn't available on the menu, was the most favorite in Gaby's version! I'd even call it my most recommended dish from all served on the table. I was at first quite sad that the signature wood-fired flat bread's not ready yet and thus I couldn't try it, yet this oxtail toast came as the healer. That generously given oxtail on top of the toast was so flavorful and tender. Sweet beef with salty cheese on top of crispy toast, geeeezzzz literally melted in your mouth!

Wood-fired Broccoli (IDR 45k)
with sesame, shallots, capers + olives

Another distinctive point presented by the restaurant, special section of veggie menu, serving several healthy dishes in Mediterranean style for sure. I was more clueless when being asked to make the decision for this part. I was then asked if I preferred cauliflower or broccoli and I picked the latter. The presentation reminded me of my mom's homemade sauteed broccoli, and so did the taste. Simple yet lovely <3. 

Whole-roasted Eggplant (IDR 75k)
stuffed with cashews, poached white fish + green chile

My favorite veggie regardless of which cuisines it was cooked; mixed with pasta as in Western or balado as in Indonesian, and many more. This was not to be excluded and I could say being healthy would be too easy if it could taste like this. The white fish on top enriched the overall taste of the indulgently moist eggplant. 

Wagyu Flank Steak (IDR 350k)

Whaaaattt?? I couldn't hide my surprise when I firstly looked at the gigantic portion. It's like for sharing with 3 to 4 people as the plate was even much larger than my face LOL. Indeed desiring to promote local ingredients, even the beef used local wagyu. To ensure it's juicy and tender, the doneness level had to be requested medium-rare. You would find that beautiful pink color at the center of your steak slices. 

Served with salt and aioli (garlic mayonnaise), you simply had to sprinkle a little bit of the salt on top of your beef slice and then slightly dipped your salted beef into the aioli, and afterwards landed it into your mouth. You would end up having that 'heaven-on-earth' moment. Initially thinking that it's too much for the 3 of us, we ended up able to finish the whole thing widely-opened mouth! 

Crispy Chicken Leg (IDR 145k)
drizzled with spiced honey

Another protein to enjoy, but with different texture, something crispy! Honestly speaking, I was not that attracted in the beginning as I thought it didn't look as appetizing as the prior dishes. Nonetheless, when the aroma started to spread all around, it's such a heart-stealer! Trust me you couldn't hold yourself from drooling and the taste proved the hypnotizing aroma didn't lie. Smooth inside, crunchy outside, and flawlessly seasoned that you could feel the spices till the inner layer. 

Banoffee Pie (IDR 70k)

Having abundant meals and a bloated tummy already didn't stop me from having dessert. Yes, I always had that one dedicated spare room for it in my belly and this time it was given to the Banoffee Pie. I was initially thinking of a pie with banana custard layer yet the bowl served on the table shooed all those pictures in my mind away.  It turned out much more appealing than that, serving the glossy caramelized banana with chocolate ice cream, salted caramel, crumbles, and chocolate ganache. I firstly took a small spoonful as the 'trial'. Okay I gave up, I couldn't resist to continue having another big spoons of it. My sister and I finally had to laugh hardly finding ourselves having the same feeling, simply couldn't hold ourselves till the whole plate was completely clean. So d*mn good till the last lick!

I was totally sold to the dishes served by Attarine and it got me right at the premiere visit! I wouldn't think twice to come up back and try much more selections from the menu.

Taste: 8/10

Place: 7/10

Service: 8.5/10

Price: 8/10

Thanks for Reading! :)

ATTARINE

Address: Jl. Gunawarman No. 11A, Jakarta

Phone: (+62) 812 8602 6142, (+62 21) 2277 1256

Operating Hours: Sun - Wed 11am - 4pm & 6pm - 11pm, Thu - Sat 11am - 4pm & 6pm - 1am

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