[REVIEW] Smarty Fancy Italian at Scusa, Intercontinental Hotel Jakarta

I, on behalf of the website I work for, was recently invited to a very pleasant lunch at Intercontinental Jakarta's Scusa, which was apparently revamping its menu with the recent arrival of their new chef, Gianluca Visciglia.

Despite Scusa's reputation as one of the best Italian fine dining place in Jakarta, this was my first visit to the restaurant, because as much as I love food, it's a rarity for me to be able to justify very expensive food. But I do like to and feel the need to explore the entire gamut of food experience, in all price range!

To Scusa's defense, I have heard that the restaurant is one of the firsts (a senior Journalist said that at one point you could not get any fancier than Scusa) fine dining restaurants in the city, and now, compared to other Italian restaurants like Rosso or Casa D'oro, Scusa has the least extravagant price tag.

There are a number of highlights on the new menu that were presented that day, but for the first course, we were presented with a platter of three appetizers which includes Vitello Tonnato, a Piedmontese dish of cold, sliced veal covered.

Below: Vitello Tonnato a Modo Mio, thinly sliced slow cooked veal loin served with tonnato sauce, lemon jelly, capers and polenta croutons,

Choosing to return to the roots of classic Italian food, Chef Gianluca is now placing greater emphasis on home-made sauces, pasta and bread prepared daily from scratch, like this gnocchi and tomato antipasti.

Dessert: pistachio mousse with berry sauce, I have to say this is the least impressive presentation of the day. The mousse is way to solid and the taste is rather bland. 

Below: Porcini-crusted mulwara beef tenderloin with mashed potato & sautéed vanilla carrots and veal jus; The meat is insanely tender (it is a tenderloin after all, a very well cooked one) and the reduced jus is heavenly.  

Scusa is not a restaurant you casually walk into for a quick lunch (unless you have that kind of limit in your credit card) but it is definitely a great and classy one to consider for a special occasion and if you want great Italian food, beyond pizza and pasta. 

Scusa at InterContinental Jakarta MidPlaza

2nd level, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 10-11

For enquiries and bookings, please call:

(021) 251 0888 or e-mail scusa@icmidplaza.com

www.jakarta.intercontinental.com