Recently Prima Rasa Dining Group opened its latest restaurant Liberta, a fusion Italian eatery nestled in the heart of Sudirman Central Business District (CBD Sudirman). Liberta is the Italian word for freedom and the restaurant aims to serve something different for the Jakarta culinary scene, featuring a contemporary Italian dining experience like never before at the iconic Pavilion Retail Arcade building.
“Liberta means freedom, so our concept and spirit are we don’t want any rules. We want the freedom to express how we feel,” Kevin Lie brand owner of Liberta said at a press conference.
Prima Rasa Dining Group is successful in running several restaurants, Tucano’s Churrascaria (Authentic Brazillian BBQ Restaurant), Hokkaido Izakaya (Japanese Bar), and Harum Manis (Indonesian Traditional Restaurant).
Faithful to the concept, Liberta is not your ordinary Italian restaurant. It thrives to use unorthodox ingredients to enhance an authentic Italian dish. According to Kevin every Italian restaurant in various places and cities has its soul, Liberta aims to sparkle some Jakarta touches to the dishes.
The restaurant signature dish, Bone Marrow Spaetzle is inspired by Kevin’s favorite dish when he went to college in the United States. The dishes feature a mouth-watering roasted bone marrow served on top of homemade pan-roasted spinach spaetzle with herbed breadcrumbs and aged balsamic sauce.
“We chose an Italian restaurant to join the Prima Rasa Dining Group roster because Italian food is very versatile in terms of the way they are presented in different parts of the world. We draw many inspirations from how chefs around the world interpret their city-style into Italian cooking,” said Yuji Ishiguro CEO of Prima Rasa Dining Group.
With a total surface area of 660 square meters, one will be greeted by a warm, modern industrial setting when entering Liberta. One of the VIP rooms has been decorated with colorful pastel mosaic windows inspired by being outdoors on a summer day in Venice, Italy.
In contrast, the other VIP room takes guests into the cozy setting of an Italian home. Liberta has a total capacity of 150 seats, which includes the two VIP rooms and an outdoor patio. Guests can also find a warm and cozy ambiance, with a New York City loft-inspired modern-warehouse interior design.
The vibe will change into a more intimate setting in the evening as the brightness of the lights are lowered while the brick walls bore a hint of rust-orange hue. Having said that, you and your colleagues can still enjoy your meal with ample brightness from lamps placed directly above your dining table.
If guests are looking for a more unconventional setting to dine in as opposed to a normal dinner table, they have the option to enjoy their meals at the bar area.
At Liberta, you can enjoy a variety of signature cocktails curated by the champion of the Infinity Mixologist Competition 2019, Asa Madani. Lady Liberta (Amaretto, Aperol, walnut & agave nectar), Italian Stallion (Italian grappa, banana sous-vide rum, coffee liqueur and house-made coffee cordial) and Garden Amore (Scotch based single malt, agave, rosemary, pear, pastis, aromatic bitters), are a few of Liberta’s signature cocktails.
“The Liberta bar serves specialty signature cocktails, each crafted and designed by utilizing fine spirit base as a root. Influenced by the Italian culture and inspired by the LIBERTA concept, which is the freedom to express our creativity and innovation in a cocktail, we strive to let our guests experience the very best of what we have to offer. We incorporate various mixology methods within our drinks to elevate our guest’s experiences based on their personalities; from chic drinks that perfume the room with vibes of elegance, to simple yet intense drinks for the gentlemen, appropriate for any time of the day. Curated by our talented in-house mixologists, each of our drinks feature tasting notes that compliment our beautiful dishes.” Asa said.
Liberta serves unique dishes that are not commonly served at other Italian restaurants in the market today. Each dish is carefully handcrafted to give off that homey & warm sensation that gives us the feeling of having a plate of our favorite Italian comfort food, with a contemporary twist that the market is familiar with.
“We take great pride in our homemade pasta and pizzas. From the first knead of the homemade pizza dough, to the drizzle of olive oil that finishes a pan of pizza; our food is made carefully, from scratch by Chef Yudhie. Likewise, our fresh pasta is all made in house with the freshest, specifically selected ingredients that elevate your pasta eating experience from flavor to texture.” added Kevin.
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