This will be a short review of the newly opened cafe that I visited earlier today: Hardware Lane. Few reasons why this review will be shorter than my usuals: had very little time to hang around here (because I had another appointment) and it was crazy packed hence found myself becoming a little shy to go around and take pics (but yep I do).
Hardware Lane is a cafe/coffee shop that's the recent member to the ever-growing Muara KarangPluit aka the 'it' hotspot and most people claim it as the next Senopati due to its similiar characteristics: a posh neighborhood where *ahem* the rich Jakartans live, aside from the rapidly growing new places. It's located on the left side of the street right before the small bridge that connects Pluit to Muara Karang when you make your way from Pluit Village, the building and signboard was pretty huge and should be catchy enough for you to notice.
The cafe itself is considered pretty spacious with Industrial details that blend with this homey vibe that I was pretty fond of. I have been here twice actually but unfortunately they were running out of food on the first visit so the visit earlier today was a gamble to be honest, but luckily they did have some and I was just like 2-3 customers away where the food's sold out and they had to restock for around one hour - the thing with the recent hottest brunch spot and the fact that they open pretty early.
Here they serve various all day brunch menus mainly Australian inspired (so expect to find various kinds of French Toast & Eggs Benedict), the range was not much at the moment but things were looking pretty delightful on the menu and here they also serve coffee. Average price range for the food is around IDR 60k with coffee starting from IDR 30k.
Iced White - IDR 35k
Sorry but I wasn't the biggest fan of their coffee, I found the coffee to be very watery, lacking that kick and pale aftertaste, but I gotta admit they made good latte art (my friend ordered the hot cap).
Poutine - IDR 48k (NON HALAL)
Their Poutine was a bit different that the one that I normally had because theirs was wet & soupy, and by wet I mean not saucy-wet but they did give broth in it (which was tasty), but to be completely frank I kinda liked it. The fries were beautifully cooked then topped with sunny side up, cheddar dressing, pork bacon (you can opt for the halal version too) and onion. Weird enough, I think this would a good match with warm rice LOL #blamethebroth
S'mores French Toast - IDR 68k
Was tempted enough to try the Candied Bacon but me and my friends were pretty full so we opted for something sweet and fell for the S'mores French Toast.
I was a bit skeptical with this because normally S'mores meals freaked the fuck out of me but this one was DE-LI-CIOUS. The texture of the French Toast was super fluffy, beautifully soft and airy and it's topped with layer of chocolate spread, toasted marshmallows with chocolate drizzle, crumb dressing and fruits. I thought it's going to be overly sweet but they managed to make this perfectly spot-on sweet and altogether amusing to my palate. Definitely a YES!
I enjoy the vibe of this place and the meals here (AND THE FACT THAT THEY OPEN EARLY), but not the coffee so much (I did expect the coffee to stand out and I wanted to love this place for the coffee), but there's always chance to work it out and hey I will be coming back!
Hardware Lane
Jalan Pluit Indah Raya No. 33
Pluit, Penjaringan
Jakarta Utara 14450
021 - 2266 4594
Opening hours: 7 AM-11 PM
Average spending for two: IDR 200k
Dresscode: none
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