Cosmo Pony is a sultry, sophisticated cocktail bar that blends Singaporean polish with Jakarta’s high-octane edge, where the drinks dazzle but it’s the vibe that truly pours.
If you’re any kind of cocktail hound who’ve done their rounds in Asia, you’ll recognise Cosmo Pony the moment you step in. It’s intimate, but rambunctious. Sophisticated, yet with a touch of rebellion. Flirty, while all elegance and poise.
It’s Jigger & Pony, but in Jakarta drag.
Cosmo Pony is opened by the venerable folks at Jigger & Pony Group — those Singaporean cocktail whisperers who understand that drinking well is as much about hospitality as it is about hedonism — in collaboration with local legends The Union Group, which is why you’ll find so much of its award-winning flagship bar Jigger & Pony’s DNA imprinted within its walls.
Thankfully, it’s turned out a bar that feels less like a hotel adjunct and more like the beating heart of Jakarta’s new-found burgeoning cocktail culture.
The space? Located within Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Cosmo Pony is mid-century modern meets cocktail lounge chic — think deep fabric banquettes, artful wood panelling, elegant basket weave-patterned parquet floors that exude, but not scream, luxury. The cocktail enthusiasts among us may prefer to hang at the bar where the action is, perched precariously on its vintage-style bar stools along an impressive forest green marble bar counter.
Others may prefer to head into its intimate lounge section, which allows for quieter conversations or a view of Jakarta’s historic Monumen Bunderan HI — affectionately known as the Selamat Datang Monument — in the distance.
Cosmo Pony’s cocktail menu ‘RISING CITY’ — still its debut menu when it opened in July last year — is a bold, lovingly-illustrated 64-page menuzine, inspired by Umberto Boccioni’s 1910 painting ‘The City Rises’. It’s supposed to reflect Jakarta’s dynamism and vibrancy… and also perhaps a little of its chaos.
But I know little of art. Cocktails, though? Somewhat more.
‘RISING CITY’ is a sprawling tome. A manifesto, even, with over 20 signature cocktails, punch bowls, and premium decanter serves. Many are familiar, with direct imports or riffs on favourites from Jigger & Pony that’s tweaked to tell the Jakarta story.
There’s Ugly Bananas, a whisky sour inspired by its sustainability-driven tomato sibling from Singapore but uses overripe bananas instead, or Mithai, a twist on the Brandy Alexander laced with notes of coconut and pistachio as a tribute to India’s cultural influence on Indonesia. The classic Espresso Martini is a must, if only because it’s a casual nod to the country’s reputation as a prodigious coffee producer.
For those who can only have one cocktail? Go for the bar’s namesake, the Tequila Cosmo. Yes, it’s a take on the now-unfashionable Cosmopolitan, but trust the Cosmo Pony crew to give it a makeover that’s positively sultry. Plus it taps into the Jakarta drinking public’s current tequila craze.
The best part about Cosmo Pony isn’t even the drinks. Sure, this love child of the Jigger & Pony Group and The Union Group may have the soul of a futurist painting and the polish of a world-class cocktail institution. But it’s really the vibes that slap. Cosmo Pony somehow fuses the classy polish of Singapore’s cocktail scene with the unbridled edgy energy of cosmopolitan Jakarta for a bar experience that hits just right.
And that’s all the reason you need to visit.
[Photo credits: Cosmo Pony]
Cosmo Pony
Address Grand Hyatt Jakarta, 4th Floor, Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Jakarta, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10350, Indonesia (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 5pm to 1am Mondays and Tuesdays; 5pm to 2am Wednesdays to Sundays
Tel (62) 821-1030-3800
Web www.cosmopony.com
Instagram @cosmopony.jkt
Reservations book here
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