Jakarta Globe

It is early afternoon, and the main road to Kemang in South Jakarta, normally congested, is surprisingly empty. At Eastern Promise bar and restaurant, a few people sit at the bar, reading newspapers or working on laptop computers while enjoying a refreshing beer. It is a cozy place, with wooden interiors, a pool table and a dartboard scattered around the bar. As time passes, the bar quickly fills. Most of the customers know each other and greet other patrons as they arrive or chat with the waitresses, appearing very much at home.

This Saturday, Eastern Promise will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, making it one of the longest-lasting spots on Jakarta’s fast-changing restaurant and bar scene.

Joel Friedman, an aid worker from America, first visited Eastern Promise in 1990 and has been a regular since 1995, after he moved to Kemang with his family and started to work just across the street.

“Back then, it was one of the few places that served beer and it was known as a friendly place,” Friedman said. “At the time, nobody had mobile phones, and every time you stopped by at this place, there was always someone to talk to.”

When asked what made him return almost daily for so many years, he simply said, “People,” then explained he doesn’t only mean the other customers who have become close friends, but also the staff that make the place what it is.

“Our chef Pak Heri has been at EP since the beginning,” said Lens Ter Wee, who has been manager of Eastern Promise for more than three years. “Another iconic waitress, Ibu Eni, has been here for 16 years. She never forgets a name. If she gets your name on your first visit, you will be greeted by name on your second visit. Unbelievably, sometimes customers from over 10 years ago pay us a visit and she still remembers their names.”

Eastern Promise was opened and established by Carl Gilchrist, who owned “a small British Empire in Jakarta,” as Friedman described it. At one point, Gilchrist owned 18 pubs throughout the country, including in Bali, of which only Eastern Promise and Country Woods in South Jakarta still exist today. When Gilchrist returned to Britain a couple of years ago because of health problems, new management took over Eastern Promise, but were unable to maintain the homey touch and lost almost all the regular customers to other venues.

In April 2006, Bartele Santema, who already owned several entertainment venues in town, came to the rescue and, together with Lens, who was then working as an English teacher in Jakarta, helped to bring back the good old days.

“First thing we did was to locate all the earlier regulars and we invited them here one night, to get their ideas and input about how things should be done,” Lens says.

Asking for input worked. The bond between staff and guests grew strong again and went well beyond having the occasional drink together. Friedman recalled an incident when a member of the community became ill.
“He didn’t have any insurance at the time,” Friedman said. “So the whole bar came together to collect a large amount of money and got him back to the UK — a testament to the community here. There is actually still some money left over and we decided that this money should be used for expatriates who are destitute.”
The upcoming anniversary will be celebrated, said Lens, as a thank you to loyal Eastern Promise’s customers and some of the longest-serving staff members.

“I tried to collect old photos of the people who have been coming here for many years,” he said. “For the anniversary, I am planning to put on a slide show. There will also be a free flow of beer from nine until midnight. And of course, there’s going to be lots of live music.”

Eastern Promise hosts regular open-mic nights every Tuesday, a monthly quiz night and live music: jazz night on Wednesdays, rock and pop music on Fridays, Blues and Country on Saturdays and an acoustic band on Sundays. The venue is also known for its food.

“We are a British-Indian restaurant,” Lens said. “We serve typical British-Indian curries like chicken tikka masala, beef vindaloo and Balti curries, as well as bangers and mash, traditional fish and chips and an assortment of meat pies.”

Eastern Promise also features an outdoor area with a stage where bands supply live entertainment, as well as an extra room that is mostly used for sport events screenings, such as rugby, football, cricket and Formula One racing.

This might be the secret of Eastern Promise’s success: that along with a friendly staff that cares about their customers, the venue offers entertainment for just about everyone.