Pierre - Jakarta

Bonjour!

The newest addition to the Union Group Fam-bam is finally here! Collaborating with Chef Brandon Foo from Singapore Le Bistrot du Sommelier, Pierre is the place for you if you’d like to find some classic kind of French food. Many people might recognize this classicy-y spot as Emilie Restaurant before - with the modern & bright kind of interior design, it was indeed one of the best restaurant designs in Jakarta. Honestly speaking, the design itself is pretty much still similar but they have the vibe is more into vintage-y side. They got plenty of photo spots but surprisingly enough - the space is not as big as I thought.

Pierre opens its door on April 18th and since then it has been almost-always fully booked throughout the week. Me - as a quite ‘waiting-for-the-hype-to-die-down-a-bit’ type of person decided to book the place a week in advance to get my seat for a special birthday celebration.

Let me give you a hint - it was surprisingly quite an intriguing lunch.

Food Rundown:

Appetizer

Charcuterie Platter: (you can choose 2 different rillette) - Duck & Salmon Rillette, Chicken Liver Pate, Serano Ham, Duck Saucisson, Cornichons, Lentils, Baguette: A true champion, I can say. The baguette, oof, it’s surreal. I’m not really a big fan of charcuterie(s) to be honest but this one is definitely different. The chicken liver pate is great, Ham is just okay, Duck saucisson is good and omg lentils? dang, it’s definitely a great ending.

Mains

Le Confit: Crispy Duck Leg Confit, Chestnut Puree, Pumpkin - okay this is surprisingly interesting. The duck’s skin cracks perfectly under a fork. Say no more, this is a good one.

Poitrine De Cochon Confit: Crispy Pork Belly, Stew of Green Lentils du ‘Puy’ , Root Vegetables Matignon - okay, I think this is one of the leanest Pork Belly I’ve ever eaten.. if I remember it correctly. Lucky for us - it was perfectly cooked. The green lentils make it simple and didn’t even gave us the feeling of guilt when we ate this a little too much! Skin? oof! say no more.

L’Entrecote Au Poivre: Black Angus Rib-Eye, White Peppercorn Crust, Brandy Cream Sauce - okaaay, let me tell you about this steak. It’s definitely juicy and good, but turns out it’s not my most favorite dishes here. But definitely, you gotta order this one if you’d like something filling!

Cassoulet: Streaky Pork Bacon, Pork Sausage, Lamb Shoulder, Duck Leg, Baked in a White Bean Stew. - ladies and gents, we have a winner DING DING DING! Perfect combination of all that is extremely flavourful I almost wanted to not share this sneaky info with you psst.

Dessert

Baba Au Rhum: Rhum-Infused ‘Baba’ Cake, Pineapple Salad, Chantilly Cream - First time I got extremely disappointed by Pierre. No, just plain no. Not trying to be harsh but.. in a way the rhum itself is strongly weird with the bread being almost showered fully that gives a pretty bad texture, and the cream, one bite is all it takes to make myself stop consuming.

Creme Brulee: Fresh Tahitian Vanilla Beans Infused Classic Creme Brulee - alright, alright. it’s not as bad as the baba au rhum but seems that the creme brulee is a bit too sweet for me, not my favourite creme brulee sorry to say.

Burnt Cheesecake: Berry Compote & Fresh Raspberries - the only dessert that I honestly think is pretty good, but since this is a part of Union group, I would still say Union’s New York Cheesecake beats it all.

Wine

Anne & Paul Syrah by glass - Looking at their choices of wine by glass didn’t really excites me and this one proofs it all. The taste is pretty much on the lighter side and a bit dry-ish. The taste is just.. well.. red wine, that’s all.

Overall, I think Pierre is still an acceptably great French restaurant in Jakarta. The whole French bistro concept is good enough for you to have dinner with your friends and family - I recommend you to bring a couple of your friends when you dine in so you can try out different food all at once. The place itself is giving a quite romantic vibe too. The best thing is their BREAD! Pierre deserves an 7/10 for they didn’t have amazing dessert and pretty disappointing wine by glass choices. If you’d ask me if I’d like to come back? The answer is still yes.