Review: The Reading Room Jakarta

Imagine coffee, food and books combined. I am not talking about those over oblivious customers who takes a long time studying / reading / writing while sharing one cup of iced latte in an over populated fastfood like McCafe or Starbucks. Oh god those two places share the top spot of my most hated places to hangout. So again, imagine coffee, food and books combined. Plus it is located in quiet neighborhood and does not get crowded on weekends and you will be surrounded by tons of books neatly arranged on shelves that serves was the dividers and decorations of the place itself. That is how The Reading Room looks like.


I first read about this place in an in-flight magazine and was referred to as one of the to-go places in Jakarta if you love books and you wanna hangout in a quiet place. The Reading Room is in a 2-storey building located in Jalan Kemang Timur Raya. Getting there will take about 20 minutes from Jalan Sudirman without the traffic. As a foreigner in Indonesia, I pretty much like the idea of these hangout places in Kemang where you can getaway from the busy and over populated malls in the city.

The Reading Room serves an all day meal and coffee and drinks. I would rate the food to be just average but worth it enough for the price you pay. The plus side of this restaurant is that you have a cozy and wide place and if you are a fan of books, you will enjoy seeing a lot of them on both floors surrounding you as you eat our meal or drink your coffee. The idea of using books was just spectacular for me. I have never seen, so far, such a place comparable to this.

The Reading Room is located at Jl. Kemang Timur Raya No. 57, Jakarta, Indonesia 12730
Opening Hours:
Sundays to Wednesdays 10:00 AM - 12:00 MN
Thursdays to Saturdays  10:00 AM - 2:00 AM (the next day)

Email: info@readingroomjkt.com

I hope we can have more of these places everywhere that encourages people to read books.

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jigomeister
03.03.2014

Jigo is the Filipino author of pinoyjourneys.blogspot.com and is currently working and travelling in and around South East Asia but spends most of his time in Jakarta, Manila and Singapore.