AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe is probably not a new player in F&B field of Jakarta today. This fancy restaurant which is located on 4th floor of the prestigious Plaza Senayan, has a fascinating background that is definitely worth checking. Named after the man himself, the first restaurant was created in Japan and today it’s an established brand of pasta house. This year, they opened their first outlet outside Japan and we’re lucky because the location is no other than our beloved Jakarta.

The place has modern vibe for the furniture and decorations, with colorful and heart-warming colors dominating all over the place. There is also private rooms available for dining experiences with more privacies such as business meetings/gatherings, special occasions etc. Interestingly, the place looks hip and trendy but still feels homey and modern in the same time. The only downside for me is the music, which is annoyingly too loud and doesn’t really suit the ambiance of the whole restaurant.

Complimentary Bread – the bread has olives bits in it, eating this with the salted butter was a piece of heaven!

Before I start with the food, let me introduce you a bit about AW Kitchen according to what I know. Although this is supposedly created by a Japanese in Japan, the concept is Italian cuisine with Japanese twist, and in Japan, they use local products to support local farmers as the main ingredients of the dishes. AW Kitchen is more commonly known as Pasta House in Japan but here, we can find a lot of things too.
Pizza with Lotus, Genovese, and Shrimp IDR 98K

We started with the pizzas and I shall start with my favorite of the day, that is basically a pizza served with lotus root, shrimp and Genovese (classic basil pesto) sauce. The pizza has perfect dough, not too thin and fluffy enough to chew. The lotus root is the Japanese twist and it worked perfectly well on the pizza, giving a crunchy sensation that we probably can’t get anywhere else. The Genovese pesto was excellent, fragrant and tasty, the whole pizza is completely a great example of how Italian and Japanese culture can mix very well together.

Look at those beautiful colors! <333

Pizza Cacciatora IDR 79K
This pizza got chicken as the main topping, served with cherry tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. I enjoyed this as well, thanks to the soft and easy-to-eat chicken cuts. Other than that, the pizza is not as special as the others.

Pizza with Salmon, Broccoli and Corn IDR 108K
I was ecstatic to see this because I love salmon and am always excited to see salmon on pizzas. The salmon was indeed very fresh and smooth, broccoli couldn’t get fresher than these but something was missing from the pizza. I thought it was less tasty and bland in some ways. I would say this was my least favorite but if you like salmon, I recommend to try this.

And now, let me introduce you to AW Kitchen’s Promo of the month: La Festa Aragosa, which involves lobsters cooked in 3 different ways!

Spaghettini Peperoncino Con L’Aragosta IDR 320K
Spaghettini cooked with lobster meat, cherry tomato and fresh arugula peperoncino style.

Aragosta Alla Grilia IDR 350K
Lobster served with grilled vegetables and drizzled with black truffle oil dressing. This one is my favorite because the lobster taste really came out just the way it is, without additional unnecessary sauce that overwhelmed the whole dish. With this cooking style, the lobster meat had this nice, fragrant smokey taste that was so enjoyable and the light dressing enhanced the freshness of the lobster itself. Two thumbs up!

Aragosta Al Gratin IDR 370K
Lobster cooked gratin style with miso béchamel sauce and grilled vegetables. Looked better but much heavier sauce was simply not my favorite.

Cucumber Peach IDR 100K
Kyuri cucumber spirit, lemon, peach, tonic water.
My personal favorite from AW Kitchen’s signature cocktails which we got to try that day. The drink was an excellent combination of citrusy lemon and peach, with the refreshing cucumber flavor, resulting in a very fruity, light and perfect choice for hot weather of Jakarta.

Yukitobi IDR 100K
Gin, peach liqueur, lychee syrup.
The most beautiful presentation that day, basically a gin on bottom, and the lychee syrup is “trapped” inside the ice ball. We can drink it just like that, or make hole in the ice ball and let the lychee syrup flowing down. I tried both ways and I prefer the second way, where the sweetness of lychee syrup mixed together with the strong gin taste. But again, it’s about preference so why don’t you try both and judge yourself? 😉

Elder Berry IDR 110K
Vodka, grande mix, cranberry juice, campari, elder flower, basil, cinnamon powder.
This exotic looking drink had the cutest garnish ever, and taste-wise, it’s more powerful and adventurous. Probably not for everyone because there are so many things going on in that glass and the taste can be considered weird for some people. However, after some sips, the thing had kind of grown on me and actually I quite enjoyed it.

Meet & Greet IDR 110K
Jim Beam, oregano, lime, simple syrup.
So this drink involves Bourbon (Jim Beam) and I was actually excited when seeing the presentation. Apparently, there is a way to drink this: sip a bit, eat the canape on the tray and let some stay in your mouth, and drink more. That way, we are told that we can enjoy different taste of the drink more enjoyably. I did and in fact I think after eating the canape, I tasted something different like smokey taste, which was pleasantly good. Good job.

With this visit, AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe again confirmed its high quality dishes and great service, which will always be great reasons to come back for other visits. Now it’s your turn to try these great dishes, won’t you? 😉

*All prices are subject to 8% service charge & 10% government tax
*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
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AW KITCHEN BY AKIRA WATANABE
Plaza Senayan 4F #CP-409
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 9
South Jakarta 10270
Phone. +62 21 5790 6071
Opening Hours:
Mon – Sun 10.00AM – 10.00PM
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