Java Indonesian Restaurant
“I ordered the chicken and potato in coconut milk and had the sweetened Jasmine Tea (served in a carton).”
“We took the 15 dish rijsttafel which was all very nice, including gado gado, sate, and atjam tjampoer.”
“We ordered Satay, Gado Gado, Mie Ayam, Gulai Gambing.”
Java Indonesian Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This place is great! Food is so tasty, great prices. A small selection of beer and wine but it's great for a non complicated dinner for 2 or 4. Place is small so it's not good for big parties. I have been there twice and I have no regrets. Service is good too, it's a family restaurant.
Java is a recent discovery that came up during a Yelp search when we were in the mood for something exotic. We've got tons of Italian and Chinese around, a few Japanese and other cuisines, and then we were presented with … Indonesian! I'd say that's definitely meeting the exotic criteria.
I haven't had Indonesian before so this rating is simply based off the fact that we found everything to be delicious. This is both foodie and baby approved. The owner was very friendly, and made some recommendations to us as we were new to Indonesian cuisine. Holy flavor town – everything was delish!! For those who need a quick summary of the foods and their ratings:
Soto Madura Soup, A
Chicken Satay, A
Sayur Santan (vegetarian), A++
Nasi Goreng, A++
Fried Banana dessert, A
Garuda (beverage), A
Some chkn dish that I believe is Kalio Ayam, A
We started with a chicken satay and the Garuda beverage as we were with the baby. The peanut sauce on the chicken satay dish is slightly different than the chunky peanut sauce commonly found in Thai/Malaysian cuisine. It is smooth instead, and I found this particular sauce to be more savory. The Garuda reminded me of a pina colada, but perfect sweetness and a tad lighter. It was quite refreshing. The Soto Madura soup seems to be a must-order item as I browse through photos from others, and see this appearing again and again. The key to this soup is ensuring you get a little bit of everything into one bite: noodle, tomato, broth, veggie, tofu, etc. Sayur Santan was the most surprising dish for me as I am always hesitant when someone says "this vegetarian dish is so good!" But it really was amazing. Even hubby said he loved it too, and he is the meat eater in the family. Nasi Goreng was unlike any other fried rice I have ever had, ever; make sure you order this one. Kalio Ayam – I think – had a slight kick, and it was flavorful. Hubby was particular to this dish. Last, but not least, the fried banana, which hit the spot for dessert. It is dressed with chocolate drizzle so it isn't simply fried banana. The shell it comes in is perfectly crispy. It isn't too sweet, but it will absolutely fill you up. Perfect ending to a meal.
In our conversation with the owner, we discovered that Java has been in business for 20+ years. They are clearly a neighborhood staple.
I must warn ya, when you're like us and you order a lot and eat a lot, you should also reserve some time to sleep off the Indonesian-food-induced coma. We'd happily do it again and again, especially because the prices are great too.
By far the most authentic Indonesian food experience in NYC. Highly recommend it to anyone new to Indonesian food or just checking it out. The atmosphere is so cozy (with candle-lit tables and all), and it has so much Indonesian feels.
We came here on a Saturday evening and it was quiet and not that busy. The server, who was also the host and cashier, took our order of gulai kambing (lamb curry), ayam balado (chicken in spicy red sauce), and Singha beer (pretty popular beer in Southeast Asia). The food was so on point and tasted as if it came out straight from my mom's kitchen. Even my non-Indonesian bf could testify that this was legit home-style, comfort food. I just wished we were hungrier when we came here because we would've ordered "rijsttafel style" ("Rice Table" in Dutch – they would bring out literally 15 types of small plate dishes with rice). Compared to ordering 2 entrees, the rijstaffel for 2 is just a few bucks more so it's definitely worth it!
I definitely need to come back for rijsttafel!!
You'll need a wheel barrel to take you out after eating at this South Slope Indonesian restaurant. Went for the $49 rijsttafel for two, a series of 15 dishes to sample. First up was the chicken soup. Broth was a bit bland and there was an egg in it and I hate eggs. Next up was another misfire, the gado gado which had a nice peanut sauce but again, eggs (yuck) and the cabbage was too soggy. The acar was refreshing and not too strong tasting and the bakwan fritters were very good and not greasy at all. Then the big bowl of rice came out along with the entrees. The chicken sate was delicious and smothered in their great peanut sauce but the beef sate was too fatty. The ika bumbu Bali, fried cod fish in a sweet, sour sauce which I was expecting to not like, was delicious, delicate and not fishy at all. The curry chicken was great and spicy and also enjoyed the stir fried veggies. The sambal goreng udang, jumbo shrimp in a too mild curry wasn't too good. The kambing goreng lamb in a soy sauce with mushroom was very tasty. Only dish that wasn't good was the beef rendang which tasted like no rendang I ever had. Then for desert, a cocoanut custard which was lite and refreshing. The food was mostly well done, service was very friendly and prices are reasonable.
Tiny little restaurant. We walked in for an early dinner and were seated immediately. Ordered gado-gado, chicken sate, acar, telor tahu (omelet), kare ayam (chicken curry), beef rendang (braised beef) and sambal goreng udang (spicy fried shrimp). The gado-gado hit the spot, with a good mix of tofu and boiled veggies under a sweet peanut sauce. Chicken & beef we're over cooked and stringy but the flavors were good, although toned way down from authentic Indonesian cuisine. The fried shrimp was a surprise hit, shrimps were fried perfectly and seasoned just right as well. Omelet was unlike anything I've had in Indonesia but still delicious, although over salty. Overall an ok restaurant, worth checking out if you've never had Indonesian cuisine before. Those familiar with the cuisine will likely be disappointed.
Had a dinner date here and it was okay. The place, not the date. The date was very nice, thanks for asking.
Anyway, here's what we ate:
Appetizer:
Pastel- Indonesian patties with thin rice noodles and mixed vegetables. Pretty good, a little greasy. Hot sauce was very spicy!
Entrees:
Him: Sayur Santen- broccoli and cauliflower fried in a batter served with bean curd and seasoned with indonesian herbs, lemon grass, bay leaves, nutmeg and cooked in coconut milk. I liked this a lot.
Me: Sate Bali- charcoal broiled pieces of beef on bamboo skewers marinated with tamarind juice, turmeric and topped with peanut sauce. It was just okay. Meat was fairly tender, peanut sauce was a little sweet and over the top.
Service was friendly but leisurely. They kept my water glass full, though!
They have a grade pending from the DOH, so I hope that gets rectified soon. If it hadn't been a date I probably wouldn't have eaten here.
Probably good for takeout or delivery. The restaurant has a heavy incense smell to it and that gives me a headache so I'd likely not eat in again.
We came here on a Tuesday evening at 7pm. There was nobody there. Our party of 5 was the only group there. We came to try the rijstaffel. The Rijstaffel, I hear, is actually a Dutch tradition, not Indonesian. My friends tried rijstaffel at an Indonesian restaurant while in Amsterdam. The rijstaffel is an order of 17 small dishes including starters like soup, salad, pickles and bakwan (corn fritter) which was delicious. Next came a bunch of main dishes all small sized, which included saucy sauteed and stick dishes. My favorite dish was the Udang Tumis which is sauteed shrimp with mushrooms in Java's sauce. The brown Java sauce is deliciously sweet and savory. You could put it over any meat and rice. It's lick the plate good. We also tried the fried chicken. I wasn't a fan. The flavor wasn't all that and it came out a little dry. And we also tried the Mie Goreng. That was quite good. It's like a cross between filipino pancit canton and chinese take out lo mein. The rijstaffel also included tea for everyone and dessert. That night it was a green coconut custard like dessert. Texture wise it was somewhere near a custard with the firmness of a jello. It reminded me of haupia that we got while in Hawaii. Overall I was satisfied with the meal. The bathroom was nice and clean and had funny art work. The place, though dark, was small but cozy. We lucked out on being the only party for the night so the staff was available whenever we needed them. I would go back there again if a friend wanted to try.
3.5 stars. I met up with a couple of friends for dinner here. The restaurant is smaller than I thought it would be, but still cozy and nice! We ordered the 15 dishes to share between the three of us. The dishes were small, but the entire meal was quite filling. We started with the soup, which was pretty good! The waiter was very nice, he told us the name of each plate, but I won't be able to write them here.
My favorites: cucumber (?), shrimp (w/coconut sauce), curry chicken, fish (2 dishes) and vegetables (w/tofu). The other dishes were just alright. The order also came with dessert, which was corn pudding. The consistency was a bit soft, so that was a bit odd for me; I imagined it to be more like flan. We ended the meal with some jasmine tea, which was perfect. Overall a nice dining experience and would love to come back!