“Signatures restaurant invites you to enjoy this special moment in a warm and welcoming ambiance. Enjoy a various selection of European breads & pastries, explore our open show kitchen filled with Western, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese buffet and tickle your taste buds with one of our delicious sweets and cakes.” -Kempinski Website

The ambience inside the restaurant.

This week I visited another buffet restaurant in Jakarta called Signature, it is located in the heart of Jakarta in Bunderan Hotel Indonesia or now better known as Kempinski Hotel. Actually, this is the second time I visited Signature, the first time was three years ago. I didn’t came back for a while because in the previous experience, the restaurant lacked of food variety.

The first impression I got when entering the restaurant is the crowded place. The restaurant is not very big and the food section is placed on one site, so when 20-30 people are taking foods, it gets crowded and the chance of people hitting you gets higher. The distance between tables are coordinated tightly, so privacy is an issue as well.

The bread section is just a table in the corner, however the variety is decent.

Sushi and Sashimi bar. The variety of sushi and sashimi are limited, mostly salmon and tuna only. Compared to D’Cafe (Mulia), Asia (Ritz) and Syailendra (Marriot) the restaurant is a shame. On the positive side, the chef gives lots of sashimi small-cut when asked unlike in other buffet. The sashimi feels fresh and good, up to the quality standard of international buffet.

Seafood bar, quite a lot of variety of seafood but it would be even better if it could be cooked in Teppanyaki style (like Edogin in Mulia). They are royal in refilling the seafood, which is expensive by the way.

Nasi Goreng and assorted spices. Since Hotel Indonesia used to be a historic place for Indonesia, specially regarding our first President, so the restaurant serves various Indonesian dishes. The soto mi is good by the way.

Main food section. In this section you’ll find Western, Asian and Indonesian cuisine such as soto mi, mi goreng, etc. They have lots of variety in the cooked dishes. There are more than 15 dishes of fish, chicken and beef cooked with different style.

Duck, Pork and Dim Sum. This is where the restaurant gets interesting, they serve a lot of ducks (with the crispy skin), barberqued chicken, and pork meat cooked in Chinese style. I don’t find this variation in most of the buffet restaurant, and when I do find it, they tend to serve it in small portion.

The dim sum and meat variety I ate are decent, except the chicken BBQ which isn’t so tasty and dry. However, Signature does a great job in providing the Chinese cuisine variety.

The desert section is divided into two desks, located across each other. They serve variety of Indonesian desert and fruits, and quite decent variety of international desert (tiramisu, chocolate-based cake). On the positive side, they have a cotton candy machine serving the guests.

The desert section also serve macaroon’s, chocolate fondue and cup cakes.

Indonesian fruits and desert.

For the desert I ate tiramisu  and cup cakes, both are decent and up to the quality expectation. In conclusion, I find the lack of space quite disturbing in Signature restaurant which makes my lunch experience not-so-enjoyable, but they do made a lot of improvement regarding the food variety and taste, except the sashimi variety. I could even say that they have more variety of cooked dishes compared to other buffet restaurant in Jakarta, but they are lacking Italian foods (so no spaghetti here, only pizza).

“Weekend brunch offers you to enjoy our fresh and fine foods at IDR 360,000++ per person including iced tea and water.”

The price isn’t so bad either, slightly cheaper than other buffet restaurant and when I was there, they have buy 1 get 1 promotion from BCA credit card, so it’s rather affordable for families.

Signature Restaurant

Kempinski Hotel Jakarta, Bunderan HI.

+62 21 2358 3898