Pondok Indah Plaza II, Blok BA 25-26,
Jl. Metro Podok Indah. Phone 021 750 0959

It's a brave man indeed who challenges the curse of Pondok Indah Plaza Two. You see, the Plaza Two area (around the Citibank Pondok Indah headquarters) is a veritable graveyard of restaurant enterprises and businesses gone bust and no one, it would seem, can provide any reason as to why.

It's got a great location for starters - right opposite the multi-tiered mansions of the well to do Pondok Indah mob, accessible parking and ample space for the obligatory luxury cars local to this region. There's very little rubbish, no unscrupulous parking ‘attendants' and not too much danger of being mown down by a fourteen year old on a Vespa as you make your way from table to taxi. In fact, for the past two years the only consistent dining buzz I've seen in Plaza Two has been centered around the local branch of Pizza Hut, but that might just be about to change.

Having already established two very successful restaurants in Bali, the Trattoria crew has set their sights on conquering The Durian and saving us all from the curse of cream cheese and pineapple stuffed crusts in the process.
Trattoria's mission statement seems to be simple – to serve authentic Italian cuisine, at an affordable price. And, in their first week they've achieved just that.

I was very excited at the prospect of last week's opening night and was sorely disappointed when I arrived, at a little after eight, to find a merciless, gladiatorial pit of half starved socialites and foreign dignitaries circling the already empty buffet tables with vulture like composure, elbowing and jostling for any remaining scraps. Still, at least the open bar was there to console those unable or unwilling to take on the might of the buffet hogs.