Sometime ago, Mrs. B invited me and Mr. P to join her trying a new place that seems promising. Apparently she had the voucher so we excitedly accepted the offer. First of all, Gastro Pub is actually a term that was started back then in London, England, where a place functions as restaurant and pub in the same time. Bureau is a French word for office. Judging from the name, I already expected something unique from this place.
BUREAU Gastro Pub
Located in one of most crowded office areas in Pondok Indah, it wasn’t difficult to find the restaurant. 

The Menu
Not much selections but enough. They also have a separated menu book just for drinks.
 

Interior – dominated by black color
 
The place is quite spacious, my first impression was “unfinished” rather than “hip”. Almost everything is painted with black colors, including the air-conditioners. The unpolished wood chairs made me feel like I was in some kind of warehouse. Personally, with this kind of chair, I wouldn’t want to stay longer enjoying my drinks and hanging out with my friends. I would prefer something more comfortable, surely.
There are 2 floors, while the first floor is designed more as restaurant, the second floor is more private, looked more like a pub. Mr. P went upstairs to check it out, and he said mostly all the waiters/waitresses were hanging out there although no guest was seen, funny because I only saw 1 waitress on the first floor, serving 2-3 tables alone. Oh well. Anyway, the restaurant focuses more to European food, I think, judging from their menu, they serve mainly French and Italian food. I kinda like the handwriting on the glass window and the blackboard pasted on the wall, though.
A nice waitress took the voucher and said she would come back to take our orders. While we were waiting, Mrs. B noticed something on an empty chair beside me, it was a cockroache! Whoa, as someone who has phobia of it, I was so disgusted by the fact that a restaurant like this can’t keep its sanitary and hygiene to this level. As if it wasn’t enough, another moment, I caught a glimpse of another cockroache just under the table next to ours. Geez, way to impress your guests.
Not long after that, the waitress came back to our table giving us a hand-written note, which was apparently written by the cashier or (whoever that was), containing the options of the menu we could order. Before this, let me write again what was inside the voucher promotion. Mrs. B bought 2 types of vouchers, one is IDR 69.000 for 1 Main Course and 1 Pasta, and another one is IDR 105.000 for 2 Main Courses and 2 Desserts. However, they already included the certain items we could choose if we use the vouchers.
13 main courses stated in the promotion were:
– Boeuf Wagyu Panini
– Duck Leg Confit 
– Canapes Escargot
– Wagyu Wellington
– Short Ribs
– Fish and Chips
– Spring 1/2 Chicken
– Patty Burger Steak
– Parcl Wrapped Dory
– Beef Yakiniku with Rice
– Nachos
– Hotdog
– Tofu Asiatic
3 Pastas:
– Fettucini Carbonara
– Spaghetti Aglio Olio Pepperoncino Chicken
– Spaghetti Bolognese  
10 desserts:
– Pancake
– Uncle Ali
– Apple Strudel
– Baklava Cashew Nuts
– Baileys Irish Muse Pie
– Banana Split Macedonia
– Mascarpone French Toast
– Banana Chocolate Mix Pancake
– Melting Double Chocolate Cake
– Crepes with Caramelized Fruits

 
These were what we got
Only 8 of 13 options from main courses, 2 of 3 options of pastas, 4 of 10 options of desserts. Wow, I bet this restaurant still offers a lot of surprises, no? Nothing could describe what I felt that time, because I was seriously pissed. I asked the waitress politely whether there had been a mistake whatsoever, I even showed her the website of the promotion. She seemed confused, but didn’t know what to do, just kept saying that it was supposed to be like that, because she just brought the note from the cashier inside. We asked to talk to the manager-in-charge, but she immediately said the person was on sick leave that day. We asked for another person, who might be the other staff replacing the manager on that day, but she was hesitant. We were not happy with this situation, but we had no choice so we ordered from selections written on the note. After we finished ordering, we were talking about how bad this restaurant is, even without trying their food yet. Then a man approached the table and asked what our problem was. We explained to him once again, and he asked what we wanted to order. So we chose from the selections from the promo website, and after that, he apologized for the inconvenience. I totally credited him for doing that, but how good it was if he came up earlier and we didn’t have to complain to the confused waitress.

Iced Tea – IDR 28.000+++
The iced tea comes in a tall fancy glass that looks like a flower vase. Ridiculous price for an iced tea, especially because they offer no refill for this.
 

Beef Wagyu Panini
Supposedly a panini sandwich with juicy Wagyu beef steak, garlic mushroom and melted cheese, this was something that I expected would be magnificent. Boy, how I was wrong, it was terrible. The panini sandwich were dry, hard and bland. And where was the beef steak? Combined with cheap-looking french fries and not-so-fresh lettuce salad made this supposedly chic dish looked like a trash.

Short Ribs
Black Angus Short Ribs served with pomme frites (french fries) and honey juice, it was yummy. The short ribs were thin and a bit hard, but I liked the sauce. Maybe because of the honey sauce, it tasted sweet but much better than meat with maple syrup sauce.
 

Fettucini Carbonara
I can’t say this one was special, but it was delicious. The pasta was perfectly cooked, not hard, not too soft, just perfect. Sauce was rich, without being too creamy or cheesy. 

Duck Leg Confit
Served with French Bean, sauteed potatoes and natural juice, the crispy duck leg was simply irresistible. The duck was crispy and tender inside, tasty until the bone.

Mascarpone French Toast
Who doesn’t love French toast? One of the tastiest and easiest food to make, french toast has never failed to satisfy me. Same with this, it was delicious, and the vanilla ice cream and sweet sour strawberry were just the icings on the top! Love this.
 

Baileys Irish Muse Pie
As a fan of Baileys, of course it was on my top list. Only one word, HEAVEN. 

Honestly, it was a bitter sweet experience, really. The place was strategic, but I don’t think it was that comfortable, not mentioning the dirtiness (cockroaches, for God sake!). Staffs were nice and friendly, but I’m sure there is still a lot to improve, probably more trainings would help. Oh yes, consistency. Seriously I want to see the manager’s face, who was said to be the one who gave the order to the cashier/staffs to give the “cut” selections of the menu for voucher users. I wonder if he/she is also the person who took care of the deal they made with Groupon Disdus. If so, I want to know the reasons of the sudden cut of the selections. I mean, please play fair and be consistent with the deal you made.
In the end, I just think this place is a big turn-off. Eventhough I fancy some of their food (especially desserts), I don’t think another visit would be worth it.

BUREAU Gastro Pub
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah
Rukan PI Plaza 2 Blok BA-27
Jakarta Selatan
021-7510412