Lelli Sports Cafe is not an ordinary restaurant in Denpasar. It offers everything soccer fans want to enjoy.
Cafe attendants greet customers clad in the bright colorful uniforms of the world’s top soccer teams, such as Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil.
The small but cozy cafe has been open since the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The atmosphere of the inside is a world of soccer.
Posters of legendary Brazilian player Pele and famous soccer teams are hang from the walls. Replicas of FIFA trophies, the flags of participating nations, dolls and other accessories are scattered throughout the cafe.
Tables are designed to match a soccer field for different national teams, such as the Argentine table or the French table.
The cafe, which is on JL. WR Supratman, offers a special menu — East Javanese dishes named after world famous soccer players.
The cafe serves a tempe (soybean paste) dish named after Diego Maradona, a former Argentinian soccer star and now the Argentine team coach. It also offers pecel (mixed steamed vegetables with coconut sauce) a la Pele.
Customers can also order (former Dutch soccer star) Ruud Gullit sambal (chilli sauce) Zidane orange juice or Ronadhinho hot tea. Visitors can also sipp AC Milan mango juice or Chelsea avocado juice.
“We want to entertain our customers and to make them happy,” said cafe owner Kastur Basuki.
“The idea to open a soccer cafe came from my family, who are all crazy soccer fans. We all love soccer,” said the father of two who came from Malang, East Java.
Basuki and his wife, Lelli Rahmawati, started the soccer cafe in Denpasar in 2006.
“We sell inexpensive food and beverages because most soccer lovers here come from low- or middle- income families,” he said.
Visitors may only have to spend Rp 10,000 (US$1.10) for nasi campur (rice with mixed vegetables
and meat).
The family collected its decorations and accessories over the years. “It was a meticulous effort from every member of the family,” he said.
The current World Cup in South Africa, which will feature the Netherlands and Spain in Sunday’s final, has brought fortune to the family.
“More and more people come here to watch the soccer games and taste our food and beverages. We are very grateful,” he said.
Indonesian soccer has little commercial value for Basuki. He offers only menu item, plain tea, named after an Indonesian player, Kurniawan Dwi Julianto, and the national soccer association (PSSI) has a mixed juice.
Yudi Yulianto, a visitor from Surabaya, said the cafe was unique and that he was surprised to hang around.
“The interior design and the concept of the cafe are very special and unique. I like it because I am a soccer fan,” he said.
