Bistro Baron (Plaza Indonesia): Won't Leave a Lasting Impression

Bistro Baron attempts to look like a chic French restaurant. And maybe in a way it does look a bit elegant; ornate furniture, European-looking paintings decorating its interiors, and so on. The menu offers some classic & contemporary French dishes, with serious ingredients and all.

But this place just doesn't strike the right chord with me. The food tasted just ordinary and nothing more, that's the main thing.

It seems that the establishment's concept is to resemble a European al fresco or terrace restaurant, except they try to do it inside a mall. It can look rather odd, yet I find it amusing.

The color theme is dominated by navy, red, & gold, which radiates a bit of class and doesn't look too tacky. I like the interior seating much better than the 'outdoor' ones, which feels cramped up and uses small round table (which I always think is uncomfortable for eating).

Complimentary bread. French baguette, unsalted butter.

This is very.. ordinary. It's dry even for baguette standards. Can't complain much though; it's free and it's just starters.

Anyways, appetizer.

Portobello Carpaccio. Roasted portobello mushroom, garlic butter sauce, a bit of salad. 
IDR 85k.

The portobello mushroom was actually juicy and fresh. But the garlic butter sauce was very salty; it dominates any other flavor from the mushroom and salads. It's still enjoyable though, maybe you can try ordering with the sauce toned down a bit.

Pommes Frittes Truffee. Fries, truffle oil, parmesan. 
IDR 55k.

It was a mistake ordering this. I thought it was going to be different from the regular french fries because it's cooked with truffle oil; turns out it's not. I just had some really good truffle oil fries at RoCa in Artotel, and I tried recreating that experience. Sadly the truffle taste was very faint here.

But make no mistake; the fries itself is great. It's crispy, it's savory, it's good (oh and the mayonnaise is strangely good!). Just no different from the fries that come as side dish.

Mains.

Confit de Canard. Duck confit, potato rosti, green beans, red wine sauce. 
IDR 115k.

Duck Confit is probably my benchmark for a French restaurant, but it's also one of the dishes that I enjoy the most out of French cuisine.

This one is a little dry and overburnt. Notice the darkened color of the outer skin; it's crispy, but it has a burnt taste with it that I didn't find too enjoyable. Overcooked maybe?

The meat tasted quite bland. I find myself repeatedly dipping the meat into the sauce (which doesn't have a distinctive taste either; I thought it was supposed to be red wine sauce?) just to compensate for the lack of taste. Quite a disappointment really.

One of the better Duck Confits I've had is probably in Union; that one had a very distinct taste with the duck and the sauce was amazing. For me this is quite a long way from there.

The green beans were welcome. Fresh, as I think most of Bistro Baron's ingredients are.

Potato rosti is an interesting choice. But since it's roasted, and the duck confit is roasted to dryness too, the combination of both didn't end up well. Maybe I prefer mashed potato, which is soft and goes together well with something roasted/fried.

Aglio Olio. Spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, fresh chilli, parmesan, a bit of salad. 
IDR 95k.

Okay color me cliche, but I actually liked this. I think the art of Aglio Olio is achieving a subtle taste but not bland; most restaurants just serve it too tasteless, too spicy, too dry, etc. But this one for me is just right.

It's quite oily, yes. But it tasted nice. Just consider ordering this with something else, like meat. Because it's just spaghetti with a few vegetables.

Fish 'n Chips. Dory, fries, mayonnaise. 
IDR 95k.

This wasn't bad actually. While the fish was crispy on the outside, it's very soft on the inside.

Fish & chips has its limitations (my friend ordered this, which I realize is rather a strange choice in a French restaurant). It's a very casual dish. But this is one of the better fish & chips I've had lately.

Bistro Baron Burger. Angus Beef patty, melted raclette cheese, slightly toasted buns, fries. 
IDR 95k.

I think this burger was rather ok. The patty was alright, although the meat character wasn't too apparent. The meat is small too.

I wished the cheese would stay melting for longer; it wasn't melting any more even when the burger just came. I don't know what 'raclette cheese' is (a short Google research says it's supposed to be the melted part of cheese, scraped off a Swiss cheese), but it doesn't taste unique or anything.

My friend who ordered this was quite disappointed by it. I thought it's fine, but not on par with more reputable gourmet burgers served in places like the Goods Diner for example.

A dinner for four, our bill came IDR 833,700. It was as expected. The meats were quite expensive, but unfortunately I didn't order much of that to give a thorough judgment.

Bistro Baron could have been a great French restaurant. The ingredients are fresh and faultless at least in my eyes. But something about the food just didn't sit right. It's either too bland, too salty, too dry, or something. There's still plenty to enjoy (I sure did enjoy having dinner here), and it can be a nice place to just relax and chat. Just that it doesn't leave a lasting impression for me.

---
Location: Plaza Indonesia, 1st Floor. Close to the gate to The Plaza Office Building.