Bintang Cafe

The three of us arrived at the restaurant without booking a place in advance. It was nice of them to let us sit in the back garden provided that we would leave by 09:00pm (it was 06:30pm when we came in). The place looks a bit rundown from the outside, but don’t let this fool you as it has a very nice, comfortable back garden.

Given the place advertises itself as an Indonesian restaurant, and given the two accompanying me wanted to try Indonesian food (& I am an Indonesian myself) I thought it would good to try this place.

So we ordered mostly Indonesian food: Gado Gado (Salad with peanut sauce) and chicken satay (skewered chicken with peanut sauce) to start with. We also had the crispy duck pancake as a starter (Chinese dish).

Being an Indonesian I thought the gado gado tasted a bit odd, as did the Satays. To start with the peanut sauce was not right (it was too bland and certainly was missing the thick, sweet soy sauce – Kecap). On top of that the veggies they put in the Gado gado were not the correct ones either. Veggies like lettuce and carrots do not belong in gado gado. Last but not least you wouldn’t find slices of bananas in real gado gado. The Satay had the curry flavour – tasted more like an Indian food. I guess it had to do with the sauce they put in. You can’t prepare an Indonesian food without kecap!!!

The main course was the Bintang sea bass (grilled over a piece of banana leave) & the rice noodles with king prawns which I guess were more of oriental dishes and not specifically Indonesian. Again, the sauce use had the curry flavour but they were great, nevertheless.

Dessert was great. I had the coconut ice cream while my friends had the banana fritters with ice cream. Again, the fritters were their loose interpretation of the Indonesian fried bananas.

All and all the food was good & the atmosphere was great. The back garden certainly was a pleasant surprise. We spent a lot of money for a meal (£20 per person), but it was a great experience. Service was great and we didn’t have to wait too long to get the food like others had experienced, apparently.

If you’re looking for Indonesian cuisine, I can tell you that they’re not even close to the real thing, but then you might have to go to Indonesia to taste the real thing, so this place offers a great alternative if you’re in London.
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Erwin - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

excellent food, good service, venue is magical and the music is like the cherry on top.

average spend is like £7-10 per head and you can bring your own wine!

the only bad thing i can say... is that its too small!!!! they're always fully booked. just make sure you get in there early. i learned the hard way
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james miguel
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I went recently with a party of 20 I was bit nervous about the service from my past experience, the food is still 10 out of 10 I must applaud the management that they have taken positive steps to improve the service. I saw more staff on the floor very attentive it was busy night to my surprise main course was served within 10 minutes of finishing our starter.

I was very happy to see the improvement in service and I love the food on of the best quality food in london.
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mintoo mia
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 01, 2007

Nightmare service! But yummy food at a good price. And bring your own too... Small parties seemed to get served quite quickly. But I'd say don't bother going in a group. You'll starve.
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Kenny
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Sunday, July 22, 2007

Wouldnt rate this place, which is a shame, because the food smelt absolutley top notch. My girlfriend and I arrived with a full bottle of wine at about eight, and got seated in the back garden ... after a few glasses of wine, some other diners arrived, got seated, and the place was almost half full. By the time we'd drunk half a bottle of wine (we were'nt really going for it), it was about half past eight, most of the other diners who had arrived had food, and the waiter had yet to ... at the very least, look up and wave. Walked up to the bar, ordered food. 8:30. The waiter eventually arrived at about ten to nine, to tell us that he'd given our dinner to someone else, and would we mind waiting five minutes.. At Half past nine, we'd finished the wine, and were getting pretty chilly so walked out, via the manager, who said (and I quote) "bye" Raa. Great value for money though, didnt spend a thing there

Thing was, It was a really nice garden, and the food smelt pretty good. It's quite worth going to on a sunny afternoon, with a couple of cold beers to drink and some good friends. If you get food, it's a bonus, if not, there's some great resturants in the area
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tom story
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, June 22, 2007

"Exciled from Thailand, Bintang's chef effortlessly fuses tinned food with the worst of Bangkok's cuisine"

Torpedo Prawns grown in test tubes.

Vegetarian springrolls, meaty taste.

Inspired Lentil dish backfires with ambitious mix of lemongrass and salt.

Indonesian Lamb, served with a single slice of potato proved hard work.

Parsley garnish could not save dishes.

Rice was good; no it wasn't.
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Ash & Emma
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Saturday, June 16, 2007

The food is always lovely and the portions great and staff friendly. The only issue I have is BEWARE VEGETARIANS! I hadn't eaten fish for 19 years till I came here, ordered a vegetarian dish which came smelling of fish. The staff told me that of course there was fish in it, even though the menu says vegetarian, and didn't seem to think it a problem. I wasn't offered a discount or even an apology!
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Fiona
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 10, 2007

Best kept secret of Camden, I travel Malaysia & Indonesia regularly I have yet to come across a restaurant in Indonesia & Malaysia to beat the quality of Bintang restaurant Camden. Generous portions, tasteful quality, feel the freshness of ingredients, highly recommended.
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Chimmi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 30, 2007

Fab, fab, fab!

This little gem of a Camden restaurant will keep you coming back. The food is terrific (try prawn or chicken ulek if you like it hot!) and they have corkage too which means the bill is usually a pleasant surprise rather than a shock. We have visited a number of times now and we have always recieved excellent service, the food has been outstandingly authentic and the atmosphere is always friendly.
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Jodie
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 09, 2007

I have been to Bintang a few times and always go there for birthday parties. The service can be slow but it is only a small place and the food is always worth the wait.
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Vicki
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, July 19, 2006