SKYE bar is one of those rare places that can challenge almost every preconception about Jakarta an outsider might have. Perched on the top of the BCA building and overlooking a glistening city of lights, you could as easily be New York as you are in Indonesia capital city, listening to the sound of traffic 56 floors below while sipping whiskey sours.
Sound impressive? It is. SKYE bar is designed to appeal to the hedonist in you, a show of bright lights, flashy drinks and fancy shoes. Even the elevators are gorgeous, complete with marble pillars and the smooth whir of expensive machinery. If you want to impress a visitor with an outdated idea of Jakarta, then SKYE is the place to take them.
We visited with a friend on a Wednesday night, after a delicious Italian dinner at Trattoria (post to follow soon). Despite being a school night, it was quite busy, complete with resident DJ pumping out house tunes. We were seated along the wooden benches on the edge of the building, the perfect vantage point of National Monument below.
An attentive waiter/photographer (for you can’t visit SKYE without an obligatory photo in front of the view) took our order, a lychee martini, double scotch on the rocks and an amaretto sour. The drinks were expectedly expensive, starting at RP95,000 without tax and going up much higher as you got into the liquors. No happy hour after 8pm, and even worse, no free bar snacks.
For all of its modern-chic design and without question, absolutely spectacular views of the city, the one thing that SKYE is really lacking is atmosphere; that trendy undercurrent of so many of city’s bars have without even trying. It’s almost though that in trying so hard to be at the very top of Jakarta, it forgot its roots.
Still, I’d say that if you’re passing through then it’s worth a trip up, one cocktail and a selfie to see what all the hype is all about.
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