A little background about La Hoya, it's under the Arena Gourmet group, which also organized other well known restaurants such as Seribu Rasa, Delika, Hong Kong Cafe, Penang Bistro and Tatsuya...and boy I love them. Seribu Rasa is where you go for Indonesian food with your family, Delika is a bakery, Hong Kong Cafe is where you go for fusion food and I love their Mango King, Penang Bistro for peranakan cuisine and Tatsuya, oh I freaking love Tatsuya as they provide decent but affordable teppanyaki!
One thing I noticed about Arena Gourmet group restaurants is that once you step inside their restaurants, you'll be welcomed by the scent of this relaxing aromatheraphy: jasmine with a touch of lavender and it was just relaxing without overpowering the ambiance. I just don't like it when I eat somewhere and the smell of the entire room overpower (what should be) the food itself. The restaurant was not large-spacious, more like medium but it's quite homey for me with approximately 100 people capacity. The design was sophisticated and clean, for some reasons it managed to create that "Mexican" ambiance and atmosphere through out the overall.
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I noticed this restaurant was packed mostly during dinner time and weekends, so come early in advance! The first thing you'll notice when you enter the restaurant should be the fountain (couldn't show you the pic, mine was blurry as hell) and the wine rack container.
They have separated smoking area (which I always appreciate on restaurants)
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La Hoya provided quite decent range of beverages starting from the alcohol (beers, cocktails, margaritas, tequila) to the non-alcohol ones (mocktails, juices, teas) and the price range for the beverages kicked off at IDR 12k - IDR 125k per serving. I of course, opted for their mocktails! Got recommended to try some.
El Ponche
IDR 35k
For a 35k and considering the hideous price at new restaurants lately, this was a good and affordable beverage judging from the pricing. This was the mixture orange, lychee and passion fruit juice with soda and Grenadine syrup! The color was beautiful: reddish orange gradient (after stirred) and expectedly, the flavor was just as sweet as the appearance! Fruity, refreshing, sparkling and yes you should have this on your visit here.
Virgin Lychee Mojito
IDR 35k
I have always loved that greenish color of Mojito, so very simple but somehow very refreshing and pleasing to the eyes! This was again another good drink that was just refreshing, sour, sparkling and minty. The lychee chunks were also quite generous (three chunks and yes I freaking counted). What more can I say, it's the good old Virgin Lychee Mojito! Bet most of you can imagine the flava!
For the food, their concept was Tex-Mex, so basically the food here was the fusion of Texas and Mexican and some of the general highlights ranges from chicken wings to steak and burritos.The price range for the food started from IDR 33k - IDR 235k! Okay let's dig in!
Los Nachos
IDR 56k
This is their own version of homemade crispy tortilla chips with homemade Beef Chorizo, olives, Jalapeno pickles, dressed in Cheddar cheese and topped with sour cream. I honestly quite liked it (except for the cheese), the chips were a huge success with what for me, just the perfect state of crispiness, crunchiness and density, other condiments were also fresh but maybe they could be a little more generous with the Beef Chorizo. The serving came in three dipping sauce: Guacamole, Homemade Salsa and Cheddar Cheese. I liked their Guacamole the best as it's the more neutral flavor, simple but captivating. Overall, this was quite addicting, the chips themselves were dressed in light salt seasoning, one bite and trust me it's not enough,
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El Burrito
IDR 60k
I had the beef burrito and the burrito skin (wheat flour tortilla) was good on thickness (not too thin but not thick either) making it easy to chew and digest. The shredded grilled chicken filling was quite generous and tasty, it's also completed with aromatic red rice (well not that aromatic) but I could definitely hint the herb and spices infused flavor. I also love how they mix the filling with sour cream and guacamole which I consider to be quite smart in order to add the play for flavor. This was one hell of a successful dish, I assume the beef one had the potential to "scream" louder and I regretted not having it.
Taco de Camaron (Shrimp Taco)
IDR 69k
The serving portion came in three pieces of semi-crispy taco skin with Cajun style cooking for the shrimp (they're also sauteed in butter), and completed with cabbage, lettuce and Pico de Gallo. They also came with three dipping sauces like the sour cream, Guacamole and Tomato Salsa. The overall flavor was delicious with a lot of play of flavor and texture, it's like one bite and burst in your mouth. The seasoning of the sauteed shrimp was good: very light but somehow flavorful with the juice of the shrimp itself and I found that complimenting the other more neutral ingredients like the cabbage and lettuce. I also adore the fact that they made the taco skin to be semi-crispy, somehow making it chewy.
Pasta Al Ajillo
IDR 65k
Surprisingly, my favorite menu of the night was not the most authentic Mexican, but their version of Pasta Al Ajillo or Fettuccine with shrimps! The cream was just very good: creamy without being too milky but still very tasty with hint of garlic, and that works just well with the homemade al-dente fettuccine. The shrimps were also fresh, juicy and chewy. It might be the most simple dish presented that night, but for me, my most favorite.
Pastel de Tres Leches
IDR 35k
This one was basically a milk dessert, three kinds of milk used to create and soaked this fluffy sponge cake. I basically didn't like milky stuff but I decided to fight my gut and tried this...and boy it was quite pleasant! I proudly declare that this was the milkier version of Tiramisu but not overpowering taste bud (even mine) and there's also a little (and I mean very little) hint of Brandy. The texture was indeed wet but somehow matched the concept. Such a sweet closing I must say.
...or it's just me, after years of dining experiences, through out these glorious years, my standard kept getting higher and higher and new restaurants should try really hard to impress me, if I am allowed to rate La Hoya (but I initially don't do mark ratings), it's 7,5/10 for me. Clearly not bad, especially with their affordable prices and what they have in store.
Well, thank you La Hoya for gracing us with your presence! Finally another decent place to have Mexican food that you should pay a visit!
La Hoya Comida Mexicana
Main Street, Gandaria City Level G, Unit MG 31-32
Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda
Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta Selatan 12240
021 - 2923 6458
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 10 PM (weekdays), until 2 AM (weekends)
Price Range: IDR 35k - IDR 235k, budget: IDR 100k/person
Dresscode: Casual
WiFi: Yes!
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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com
Map for Gandaria City Mall
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