A new restaurant and bar – Mad For Garlic – is easy to remember for its luscious garlic-themed dishes.

From outside, the place appears to be little more than a narrow section on a quiet corner of the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town’s west mall in Central Jakarta.

Upon entering the main dining area – with dark cherry wooden tables and wooden, leather-cushioned chairs – the restaurant exudes a warm, relaxing-yet-sophisticated ambience, lit by garlic-shaped wall lamps and chandeliers covered in garlic.

The high, U-shaped booth was comforting and the partition screens allowed for more dining privacy.

For those who want an exclusively private dining experience, there are two private rooms that can seat 16 and 24 people, respectively.

Mad For Garlic was opened by PT Mas Millennium Indonesia, the company that brought Tony Roma’s to Indonesia.

“Founded in 2001, Mad For Garlic now has 17 restaurants in Seoul. In 2009, Mad For Garlic opened in Singapore as its international debut,” said the com-pany’s managing director Miana Sudwi-katmono.

She said Jakarta was selected as the next destination because of its robust economy and the similar taste profile of local Indonesians, who are constantly craving unique and spicy menu items.

The dishes basically classic Italian with a Korean twist. Italian food is not typically spicy, said Miana, and the Korean culinary influence – known for its heavy seasoning – gives Mad For Garlic’s menu an extra kick.

For starters, there is the Dracula killer – a soft bread with garlic and anchovies that is cooked in olive oil. Another starter is the seafood salad: sautéed seafood served on a bed of fresh vegetables.

After the starters, pasta lovers can go for the garlicpeno pasta – a plate of spaghetti with olive oil, jalapenos, anchovies, chopped garlic and herbs, garnished with sliced and fried garlic.

Pizza lovers should try the calzone, a half-moon-shaped pizza stuffed and accompanied by a sweet garlic sauce.

The waiter will tell the story of the origins of the half-moon shape while cutting it into eight pieces and explaining how to combine it with the dressing.

Another pizza is the chili curry chicken pizza, a thin crust pizza with a sweetened Japanese curry sauce and topped with chicken and red and green peppers.

If that’s not enough, guests can try the garlic-holic rice – fried rice served with pepperoncini and garlic.

Another rice dish – and also their signature dish – is the dancing salsa, a mix of rice, beef and vegetables on a hotplate.

When serving, the waiter will mix the ingredients at the table. The tapping during the mixing process make the waiter tilt to the right and left, hence the name dancing salsa.

“There are no neutral dishes at Mad For Garlic because we cook all of them using garlic. It can be seasoning or garnish for food,” said Roni Prananto, Director of PT Mas Millennium Indonesia.

The drink list is garlic free, however, and boasts more than 50 wines and various cocktails and mocktails, which can be enjoyed in the lounge area.

The most-recommended cocktail is the flower power – a mix of vodka, Cointreau, a lime twist, simple syrup, orange and strawberry juice.

Other cocktails are the Manhattan suite, lychee caprioska, apple spark, kiwi basil and the blueberry cocktail.

Those who don’t want alcohol can try mocktails such as the baby butterslide or virgin peach colada.

Other non-alcohol drinks are their signature ades. The yujaade is imported directly from Seoul. It’s a mix of citrons, honey and Sprite.

For dessert, they have the garlic sprinkle gelato – two scoops of homemade vanilla ice cream doused with chocolate sauce and garlic sprinkles and served with a garlic cookie.

The medieval European interior evokes 15th century ambience, but with garlic aplenty, Dracula will certainly not interrupt your meal.

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