Jakarta 7 Sheaveshill Avenue, London NW9 6RS

"Came here for my Dad's birthday as the reviews looked good. The food was quite tasty but the service was poor. There was one waitress, a small black lady who was serving all of the 4 tables that were occupied. Another guy who looks like the manager was oriental and mostly spent his time behind the counter. He wears a traditional robe and just stands and watches over the diners. None of the two staff made much effort to talk to us and the waitress laughed and scoffed when we said we needed more time to order our mains. When there are no orders to take, she sits on a restaurant table flicking through her phone. She also pops over to newsagent next door and I'm not sure if she washed her hands when she got back. For our starters we ordered the Vegetarian sate and the golden bags (thung thong). The vegetarian dish is awful and the meat alternative they use is so soggy and has no substance to it. The meat eaters at our table found the golden bags starter as being okay but not hugely tasty because the pastry of the wontons were quite dry. Our main dishes did taste better though. They give large portions of the curries and they are full of traditional and authentic flavour. Vegetarian dishes are priced at £8.95, chicken dishes are £1 more and lamb and prawn dishes range from £10.95 to £13.95. Another downside is the portions of rice they give. It's not a good amount and you have to keep ordering more because the size of the curries is better. Something they could also implement into their menu is having vegetarian pad Thai. Normally in oriental restaurants this is always there however they only had the meat and seafood version at Jakarta. We definitely would have ordered it if they had it on their menu and I think they're missing a trick. All in all, the food is pretty good and the decor inside makes it feel like a really cosy oriental restaurant but it lets itself down with the poor service from their staff. The staff need to interact more with their diners otherwise they will lose first time customers. Not sure if I would come back, maybe for a takeaway but they've left me with a bad taste in my mouth."

"We’re glad that we found this little gem, with nice decor and very clean. Food was delicious and made with fresh ingredients. Staff were attentive and caring. The price was very reasonable with good portion sizes. We also liked the iced fruit tea that was served with warm honey. Have added this place to our favourite list and will be back again for sure."

"Visited Jakarta restaurant today. We were greeted on arrival and taken to our table. We decided to go for the set menu for 2 which was £50 . Overall we loved the variety of starters and the mains were amazing. Quality of food was very high and very tasty. Our host was always attentive and very helpful when we needed something. We had a pleasant evening and I highly recommend a visit to this beautiful restaurant. Great value for money, as well as being halal. Huge portions and very filling. Homemade ice cream was amazing as well as the coffee and tea options. 5 Stars will be back again. Thank you !! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

"A very nice place for a pleasant meal. Friendly staff and good service. The crew running the restaurant went out of their way to make us feel at home, they were like one big family. Worth a visit. I'll be back."