Popolamama Jakarta

Popolamama is a popular Italian restaurant chain from Japan established in 1995, and not until 19 years later that it's being brought to Jakarta! *whoopie!*. Popolamama's first outlet is located in the Indofood Tower (where I went for this one!) and in just almost two months, they're already expanding two other outlets each located in Mall Taman Anggrek and Grand Indonesia. Talk about quick expansion!

Just when you think and wonder how that cute "Popolamama" name came from, it's actually taken and inspired from Italian words: "Popolare" and "Mama", which then equals to "popular mama" or in this case means more like a popular mom's cooking, remembering that most Italian home made food is made my the talented mothers. If you've ever been to Italy, you should know that eating is not a necessity there, it's a LIFESTYLE!

I went to their outlet in Indofood Tower, it wasn't exactly uber spacious nor fancy, but there's a sense of comfort, simplicity, in a way made you feel like you're in a proper diner to have your quick comfort food.

Nuff yakking, PHOTOS!

I appreciate the NO SMOKING policy!

The overall seating capacity was for estimated 75 people.

Boxes for take aways!

Iced Lemon Tea

IDR 15k

Typical iced lemon tea but still, refreshing!

Iced Pink Grapefruit and Lychee
IDR 18k
Clearly nothing pink about this drink and mostly tasted just like common iced lychee tea, the grapefruit flavor was just fair.

In a sense, even though the Japanese branding feels heavy on this particular brand, but I must say the meal concept was pretty much like AW Kitchen, the menu was mostly Italian cuisine with a little touch of Japanese, but don't compare this with AW as the overall menus weren't compare-worthy, totally different range, price-range and class.

The food in Popolamama was so affordable, mostly around IDR 40k something.

Japanese Mushroom Salad
IDR 30k
The Japanese mushroom salad was overall pretty decent. The lettuce and the rocket leaves were fresh and the mushrooms (Eringi, Shitake, Bunashimeji) were perfectly consistent. The Wafu dressing was light and tasty, and finally topped with Kizami Nori.

Bolognese Potato Gratin
IDR 30k
I was pretty much fond of this one, overall like typical lasagna only the filling was roasted potatoes. The Mozarella cheese was generous, the overall flavor was pretty good, but still, loving this even MORE with a little hint of spicy.

Three Japanese Mushroom Pizza
IDR 65k
Their pizza kind was called "Napoli" pizza, which by the way one of Italian's pizza kind and normally had around 30cm in diameter with thin crust and fluffy chewy dough.

For this particular pizza, the overall flavor was good, seasoning was light and tasty without feeling overpowering cheesy, the mushrooms topping were generous and pretty much the same as the salad (above), but to be frank, this wasn't out of the world good to me, I feel like this pizza was lacking something, probably some basic seasoning to make the every bite felt more memorable and bolder, but just so you know, this wasn't bad.

Pepperoncino Basil Pasta with Potato and Chicken Sausage
IDR 55k
The pasta here was freshly home made and I love the texture, it was cooked properly al-dente: still chewy but a little firm,

For this one, me loving the pesto sauce, it was generously given and generally tasty! The champ must be the chicken sausages, sooo juicy and perfectly seasoned and savory.

Yokubari Aglio Olio
IDR 72k
This was simply delicious, yes simple but pretty yummy. As you can see from the photo, the toppings were generous enough: ham, mushrooms, eggplant, sausage and broccoli (appreciate the usage of broccoli to add a little green). The overall flavor was very light, even lighter that most Aglio Olio(s) I've had before.

Overall, I had a pleasant lunch in Popolamama! The food might not be out of the world good but there's some concepts of the Italian food that stick, but mostly just simplicity, as you can see from the presentation, the flavor and the food itself.

Price wise, I totally got what I am paying, told you earlier that the food here is mostly affordable (more like cheap actually!) and with the quality that I experienced, value for money? tick!

Will there be another visit? Of course, still drooling (again) for the pesto pasta, even more as I am typing this and actually looking at it right now! Unsurprising enough, I still recommend you guys to go here and try this currently trending eatery. HAPPY EATING!

Popolamama
Indofood Tower/Sudirman Plaza Ground Floor (GF)
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 75-78
Jakarta Pusat 12910
021 - 5793 6799
Opening Hours: 9 AM - 9 PM (closed on Sundays)
Price Range: IDR 30k - IDR 75k
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Map for Indofood Tower/Sudirman Plaza