TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - We can guess easily from its name that Liberte French Brasserie is a cafe with a French taste. Liberte, which means freedom, indeed adopts the data-style of most French cafe to its menu and interior. At least that what we had seen when we visited the cafe located inside Pacific Place Mall, South Jakarta.

French data-style is reflected from the interior that is all about minimalist and sweet, though less glamourous than other cafe in Jakarta. Once in, we can see the cook in action through a glass-walled kitchen. Minimalist chairs, mostly made of wood, are arranged under the dim light confined in gray walls where posters of Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower, and corners of Paris displayed.

The sofa in the smoking area side is a good spot to sit since it is next to wide window through which we can see the view of Jakarta from the top, although it only covers around SCBD area.

I found that the place is dominated by men aged from 30s to 50s.

“May be because our location is near to an office complex, so indeed more adult men are spending tie here,” said Yossie Novianlius, Liberte’s public relation manager.

According to Yossie, weekdays at Liberte often used for semi formal meeting by office workers, government officers and even minister. This is because the location is less than 5 kilometers away from Senayan, Sudirman, and Kuningan. On weekends, younger people crowd the cafe.

“Although there is no closed space at Liberte, its ambience is calm,” Yossie said.

“Therefore people like to have semi formal meeting here.”

The atmosphere is so calm that we will feel uncomfortable to make loud voice or laughing out loud. This kind of atmosphere can be very enjoyable for those who dont like noises.

Upon recommendation the waiters’ recommendation, we ordered High Tea package (Rp79,000) which connsists of one hot drink—tea or coffee—and sweet canape, a sweet cake that’s gone in one bite. I opted for oolong rose, which is known as antioxidant and good for loosing weight. It came with four small-sized canape that looked so cute. One of the canapes is Creme Brulee.

Liberte’s collection of beverages is quite vary. You can find tea, coffee, milkshake, juice, beer, mocktail, and cocktail here, as well as Signature Martini. After finishing my canape, I ordered the French Coffee (Rp75,000). French Coffee is 10-cm espresso which is mixed with Frang Marnier liqueur. It kept the eye open, leaving bitter taste on the mouth’s ceiling. It was memorable just like the memory of a slice of France in the cafe.

KORAN TEMPO