Pondok Laguna @ Jakarta

I remembered this place from my childhood as it was one of my dad’s favourite in Jakarta. Fancy coming back 40 years later, nothing much has changed.

The place looks touristy, with a giant fish sculpture towering above it on the outside, and a Balinese-like atmosphere inside. Most of the restaurant is in the open-air, and on each side there is a fountain with tropical plants.

This venue serves seafood a la West Java or Sundanese style. 

Gurame Goreng Terbang

They’re reputed to have one of the best gurami in the city. Others offer this crispy crunchy fish lying flat on the plate, but at Pondok Laguna, they fried the fish in a vat of boiling oil to enable the fish to maintain an upright position as it cooked. That’s all there is, the presentation. Served with a dipping sauce of cicap manis (sweet sauce) and chilli, it was nothing to shout about.

Udang Bakar

The grilled tiger prawns looked tired and dry, and tasted so as well.

Tahu Kipas

 The tahu kipas was the texture of a fried potato but had the yummy flavour of seafood. This was the only dish I loved this evening.

Cumi Goreng

Oh no, the squid has turned rubbery

Sambal Kangkong

If they screw up this dish, they might as well go out of business.

Daun Pakis

Paku Pakis or fiddleheads are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond. Sautéed fiddleheads in sambal was ok. It would be perfect the fiddleheads were younger buds.

Pondok Laguna is actually extremely popular with Indonesians, some of whom consider it as one of the best Indonesian restaurants in Jakarta. But I think its glory days are over. It serves mediocre seafood, the service was pretty bad, and overall it was not worth the price. Avoid.

Pondok Laguna
Jl. Batu Tulis Raya No.45, RT.3/RW.2, Kb. Klp., Kecamatan Gambir, Kota Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10120, Indonesia
Tel :  +62 21 3459991

Visited Sep 2023