The landscape of high-end dining in Jakarta is thriving with the arrival of ESA, a restaurant centered around contemporary cuisine, led by Chef Aditya Muskita and Jessica Eveline. Located in the urban SCBD Park Lot 7A3 area, the restaurant embraces the fine casual interior concept, a genre currently popular in the global restaurant scene.
Derived from Sanskrit, ‘esa’ means ‘one’ or ‘singular.’ This aligns with ESA being the first restaurant for its owners. Collaborating with the Bandung-based design firm, Nusae, responsible for iconic visual designs like Taman Ismail Marzuki and the Peggy Hartanto fashion brand, ESA’s logo, symbolized by vertical strokes, draws inspiration from banana leaf veins. “The symbol of a banana leaf is chosen because of the values it represents—unity or common ground in various Indonesian and Asian culinary cultures, symbolizing gathering, representing home, and transcending background differences,” explains Jessica Eveline, Restaurant Director and Managing Partner of ESA.
To create a calm, modest-luxury, yet warm restaurant interior, ESA partnered with KantorGG, an interior and architecture firm from Surabaya, East Java. The dining space is meticulously designed to provide comfort, creating a gastronomic destination in the heart of Jakarta’s business district. Supporting the aesthetic, ESA also collaborated with Erreluce, an experienced space lighting consultant with a track record in high-end restaurant and elite residential projects.
Collaborative Spirit at ESA
ESA recognizes collaboration as a key element in building a sustainable brand. With the kitchen as the restaurant’s main focal point, ESA proudly collaborates with Nayati, an Indonesian kitchen appliances brand with a global reputation. Collaborations extend to the consumer experience, where ESA, in partnership with Atsiri, crafts a special aroma that embodies warmth, grounding, and elegance—a scent enhancing the sensory experience during dining at ESA. To complement the diverse plate shapes used in the restaurant, Chef Aditya designed them himself, produced by Jakarta-based artisan pottery maker, Tanakita Ceramics.
ESA's Contemporary Cuisine
Designed with skill and passion by Chef Aditya Muskita, the chef-partner of ESA, the menu boasts dishes crafted from his experiences in renowned high-end restaurants like Mozaic and Room 4 Dessert in Ubud, Daniel Boulud Bistro in Singapore, and Relae in Copenhagen, Denmark. Each dish combines familiar flavor profiles with surprising touches. For instance, in one of ESA’s menu items, the “Ikura Tart,” homemade burrata cheese is paired with salmon roe (ikura) and served with crispy plantain tart.
ESA introduces its first season of menus under the theme “Season Heritage.” “The heritage concept we embrace doesn’t necessarily mean something traditional or ‘old.’ In ESA’s first season, heritage refers more to the backgrounds of the chef and ESA’s founders, who, as Jakarta residents, have experienced a mix of various ethnic backgrounds and exposure to various local and international culinary concepts,” says Jessica. “Therefore, briefly, ESA’s food is always inspired by our heritage and upbringing. In this first menu series, guests can experience a variety of familiar flavor discoveries in one dish. For example, a touch of Chinese, Sundanese, and French influences in our ‘Foie Gras Parfait’ dish,” she adds.
The concept of serving food is made unique by emphasizing progression or segments in ESA’s menu. “There is something beautiful about the culture of sharing food in Asian culinary traditions. We don’t want to eliminate that. Instead, we blend it with the course menu concept typical of high-end restaurants, offering a fresh concept in Jakarta,” explains Chef Aditya Muskita, referring to ESA’s set menu, where food is served for sharing but still follows a sequence from appetizers to petit fours.
In addition to bringing a fresh concept with a “sharing set menu” style, ESA also presents a fermented juice concept paired with its menu. “Fermented juice pairing is a concept gaining attention in many gourmet restaurants in Asia and Europe. It’s not just wine that can be paired; fruit and vegetable-based drinks made by the restaurant’s team, fermented and designed to harmonize with the served food,” says Jessica Eveline. Unique combinations like apple and vanilla, pineapple with cinnamon, and cranberry and chocolate create distinctive flavors during fermentation, making the dining and drinking experience even more memorable.
ESA officially opens to the public on January 19, 2024, from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM.
ESA Restaurant
Sudirman Central Business District, SCBD Park,
Lot 7 Unit 3A, Senayan, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta City, Jakarta 12190
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