Pubs & Bars
Alcohol is legal across most of Indonesia, but whether and where you can drink depends heavily on locality, by design. Under a decentralised regime dating to Presidential Decree 3/1997, provinces regulate distribution while regencies license venues, and any region may ban alcohol outright if the local majority objects. Aceh prohibits it entirely under sharia law; Bali and the tourist hubs serve freely; Muslim-majority Java and Sumatra sit in between. The buying age is 21, and since 2015 minimarkets may not sell beer, Bali excepted.
If a place caters to foreign residents or tourists, it almost certainly serves. Bars here rarely sell only drink: most double as restaurant and social hub, as full of young Indonesians over soft drinks as of anyone ordering a Bintang, the dominant local beer. Heineken and Guinness are brewed locally; imported spirits and wine cost two to four times European prices.
Ramadan and regional restrictions
The old advice that Ramadan brings only minor changes understates matters. In Jakarta the provincial government orders nightclubs, discos and bars to close for the fasting month, from its eve until a day or two after Idul Fitri, sparing only four- and five-star hotels and certain zones. Raids, seizures and permit revocations follow each year, and other regions impose their own bans around religious events. Licensed hotel bars generally keep serving discreetly, but expect the wider scene to go quiet.
Where to drink in Jakarta
Jakarta's scene has moved decisively south. Jalan Jaksa, the old backpacker strip guidebooks once pushed on newcomers, has faded into hostels, hipster cafes and high-rises; it is no longer where anything happens. What matters now is SCBD for glossy corporate clubs, Senopati and Gunawarman for upscale cocktail bars, Kemang for relaxed foreign-resident locals and craft beer, and a reinvented Blok M, whose "Little Tokyo" izakaya pubs and M Bloc complex draw nightly crowds. Eastern Promise (established 1989, the British pub pictured) still trades, in Kemang now rather than on Jaksa; Jaya Pub and B.A.T.S. at the Shangri-La endure too.
Live music and sport
Indonesians love loud music, and Jakarta obliges with rock, blues, jazz and dangdut, a home-grown style with Indian, Arab and Malay roots. Karaoke counts as live music here and is everywhere, so a quiet drink is not always on offer. Football is the other fixture: most bars hang several screens, but broadcast rights shift unpredictably, so whether your local shows a given match is a lottery.
A note on safety
Nightclubs and discos attract drug dealers, and foreign nationals out on the town will very likely be offered ecstasy, sabu (methamphetamine) or ganja. Penalties are severe, up to and including death; read our illegal drugs page first. Running a bar, as distinct from drinking in one, is itself a licensed activity needing the correct KBLI classification and, for foreign owners, a PT PMA company; Okusi Associates covers the establishment detail.
Contributor: marmalade
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