Blue Terrace Brings the Soul of a French Bistro to the Heart of Jakarta

“It’s cheaper to come to Blue Terrace than to fly to France,” Chef Olivier Piganiol, Director of Culinary at AYANA Midplaza Jakarta jokes but behind the humour lies a very serious philosophy about what authentic French dining truly means.

At Blue Terrace, Chef Olivier is not trying to recreate fine dining France. Instead, he is bringing something far more personal to Jakarta: the everyday comfort of a real French bistro.

For the French-born chef, bistros were never about white tablecloths or elaborate gastronomy. They were meeting points. Places filled with familiarity, warmth, daily rituals, and dishes people return to repeatedly. “French food is comfort food,” Chef Olivier explains. “It’s generous, comforting, and deeply connected to memories.”

This philosophy now shapes the new identity of Blue Terrace at AYANA Midplaza Jakarta, where classic French cooking is interpreted through the lens of local Indonesian produce and everyday dining culture.

Having lived in Indonesia for years, Chef Olivier found surprising similarities between French and Indonesian eating habits. “Both cuisines are very balanced around starch, protein, vegetables, and sauce that links everything together on the plate,” he says. Even at home, he cooks French meals for his children using Indonesian ingredients — a habit that naturally inspired the Blue Terrace kitchen.

Many ingredients are sourced locally, from artisanal cheeses and cold cuts to locally farmed crayfish and cultured butter. “Some Indonesian butter is actually better than imported ones,” he shares with a laugh.

The restaurant’s signatures reflect both nostalgia and craftsmanship such as the real homemade smoked salmon prepared in-house, rustic pork pâté (Pâté en croûte du charcutier aux lapin - Labuan Bajo black pig and rabbit meat with pistachio and fig jam), classic egg mayonnaise, and Parisian-style hot chocolate. The lemon sorbet (Le citron givré - frozen lemon filled with lemon sorbet and kalamansi dust) meanwhile, is inspired by a cherished childhood memory - a refreshing treat commonly enjoyed by children in French households.

One of the restaurant’s defining highlights is Le Semainier, the traditional French weekly menu rotation rarely found outside France. Rooted in authentic bistro culture, diners know exactly which dish will be served on a particular day of the week from Joue de Boeuf à la Bourguignonne (a classic dish from the Burgundy region, features beef cheeks braised in robust red wine, accompanied by mushrooms, onions, and carrots) on Wednesdays to Vol-au-Vent à l’Ancienne (a classic French dish that features delicate puff pastry shells filled with a creamy mixture of poached organic chicken and meat ball with mushrooms white sauce and served with homemade French fries with Bali sea salts) on Fridays.

“It’s how people really eat in France,” Chef Olivier says. “You return to your neighborhood bistro because you know what day your favorite dish is being served.”

At Blue Terrace, the experience is ultimately less about formality and more about familiarity, a place where French traditions, Indonesian ingredients, and everyday comfort come together naturally.

Email: jakarta.pr@ayana.com