Clea Tea Bar & Lounge at Kemang

It was Christmas afternoon when my two high school friends and I spent our afternoon dining out and sipping tea in the Kemang area, there were not many people coming in - only a few groups coming in and out although more people were coming as it got later in the evening. Clea Tea Bar & Lounge received a lot of buzz a year ago for its concept of serving food alongside with pretty flower display within the boutique that is placed within a glassroom inside the restaurant itself. The place itself were decorated by mainly wooden furniture and with flowers placed on each table. There were definitely flower in many places, but not enough in amount as what I expected earlier.

The flower boutique is contained within a glasshouse that is visible from most seats of Clea. It is certainly a pretty sight and good conversation starter. With the minimalist decoration your focus will definitely go to the sight of flowers either within the room or on the corner of the restaurant and even extending to its restroom. Even without looking for food, Clea is a good place to look for inspiration on home decor and some flowers as display or as a gift. Earlier in the day there were person in charge of the room, but as it gotten darker there were less and less staff on the spot.

Escargot (IDR 40.000)

I came in pretty on time yet my friends has things to attend to earlier in the day. As I was pretty hungry after a workout I decided to munch on the snails (escargot per se) that is stewed with a surprisingly spicy tomato sauce that is somewhat like a marinara and topped with a dust of parmesan and two slices of garlic bread. The garlic bread come out pretty crisp on its crust and that the butter were not overpoweringly salty. This is a good appetizer and it came in fairly quick and it was also served hot.

Blue Sky (IDR 36.500)

Blue curaçao syrup blended with vanilla ice cream. Sweet. Too sweet for my taste. This were put under the 'Tea Frappe' section on the beverage menu but I'm not sure whether there were actually tea in the mix.

Crepes Ala Mode (IDR 32.000)

Two crêpes served with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and strawberry sauce. I didn't make sure of the filling of the crêpe but supposing this is an a la mode, the filling were supposedly fruits.

Rosemary Roast Chicken (IDR 68.000)

This is my personal order and it consist of chicken leg drenched in mushroom gravy, mixed vegetables and french fries. The chicken were cooked pretty well and I really like the savouriness of the sauce, the rosemary itself is pretty visible on the plate and was true to its name as the dish is very fragrant. I like the overall flavor of this dish and it was a safe bet to order this particular dish. Anyway, I chose french fries as the side of choice but you can opt for mashed potatoes instead.

Poffertjes (IDR 28.000)

This is my friend's order and I didn't taste dishes other than my own. The dish was all in all a humble buttery poffertjes dusted with castor sugar, however what really boggle us was the fact that this dish took the longest to come out. Like really, it got out when I had finished my sides and my friend had to patiently wait for a simple plate of this sweet delicacy.

Clea Tea Bar & Lounge is definitely a good place to have a conversation and to hang out as the place albeit not large felt very homey and cozy. The big glass and display of flowers kept the place looking fresh and bright. My friends spent about three hour here, including the time we spent taking pictures in their flower boutique. Too bad there were no one standby inside the flower display room as we had no clue whether the flower were up for sale or anything which is one of the problem we found here as at times we found that there were no available server either at the bar or the whole room itself and that they are lacking speed. Other than that, the place itself is what will keep people coming in again and again. I would love to try some of their teas (as I was the only one who didn't order an actual cup of tea in a tea bar) and to come whenever I feel like looking some pretty flowers, and hopefully by then the servers' dynamics would improve. Also with available WiFi and AC plugs on every table I think people will be easily set here for hours as it's just that comfortable especially with a good company :-)

Clea Tea Bar & Lounge

Jl. Kemang Raya No. 95

Kemang

South Jakarta

+6221 7190232