Hooters (Jakarta)

When I first heard that Hooters was coming to Jakarta, my first thought was that it would make a perfect target for the FPI or any other religious groups. I was skeptical that it would actually open, and if it did, I remember saying to friends that I would not feel safe visiting it.

It turns out I was wrong. The first Hooters in Indonesia official opened in Jakarta last Friday (March 24th), and I went there yesterday (March 28th).

For those who don't know, Hooters is a cultural icon in America. It is a chain of sports' bars/restaurants where all the waitresses are pretty girls in sexy outfits. They tend to flirt a bit with customers as a way to encourage repeat visits.

The exact location is in Kemang, just in front of Eastern Promise. The entrance is rather discreet, especially with the Hooters sign being plugged off at the moment (is it on purpose?).

It must be the tiniest Hooters branch I've ever visited. It is a 30-meter-long, L-shaped room with around 100 seats, including 5-6 dining booths on the side. It looks clean and bright like typical fast food restaurants are. Anything inside - the girls, the furniture, the signs, the posters - is either orange or white. Finally, a huge screen on a wall and plenty of flat-screen TVs are here to remind you that Hooters is also for watching sports.

I came to Hooters after dinner so I only had a few Bintangs. At almost IDR90,000 net for the cheapest beer bottle and over IDR160,000 for a cocktail, the prices are pretty steep and fall in the "tourist trap" category. Even a rooftop like Skye is cheaper.

The food consists mostly of popular American food: Burgers, steaks, sandwiches, sliders, wings, nachos, fish & chips, etc. Expect to pay at least IDR100,000 for appetizers and IDR200,000 for a main course.

Ok now for the best part, the Hooters Girls. They are of course the main attraction here and the only reason guys will accept paying such high prices for junk food.

In a Hooters in the US, the waitresses generally have generous breasts and their uniform will reveal as much cleavage as possible. Nothing like that in Indonesia.

First, it seems the managers in Indonesia have chosen to select only "petite" girls who are rather short and slim.

Second, the Indonesian girls wear a high neck T-shirt instead of a low-cut one, meaning there isn't much skin to see in that area. It's just a few centimeters of fabric and yet it makes a big difference as you can see below:

On the positive side, the short pants are exactly the same in Indonesia as in any other Hooters branches worldwide.

I don't know what it says about me, but I knew two of the waitresses in Hooters on that night. Both are students in their early 20s with outgoing personalities. Having dated several expats, they can speak great English and they are fun to talk to. They are the kind of girls you would meet in X2, Dragonfly or Immigrant on a Saturday night. 

My guess is that all the other girls have a similar profile. There were also two Filipinas working there.

The music in Hooters is quite loud, and especially late in the evening. It is more like a club than a restaurant. The songs are all commercial party hits, nothing original.

Every 15 minutes, the girls will perform a staff dance like in this video:

The girls in Hooters move much better than in the strip clubs from North Jakarta and I imagine they are actually enjoying their work. Is it worth paying almost IDR100,000 for a Bintang? I'll let you the judge of that.

What surprised me is that there were almost no foreigners in Hooters. Most guests were Indonesians, including at least 25% of women (a few of them were even wearing a hijab).

I think Hooters is mostly overrated. It is interesting to visit if you've never been to one before, but don't expect too much out of it. Basically, it is an expensive sports' bar with cute girls who try to make you spend more money than you should. The guys who fall for that are the same guys who waste money on karaoke girls.

Even though it is far from being evil, I also believe there is a strong chance that it will be closed down in the near future by religious fanatics (or just locals trying to extort money).