28 Best Shopping Malls in Jakarta

Malls in Jakarta are much more than just shopping venues. They are privately-owned cities where you can find pretty much anything including offices, residences, cinemas, schools, hospitals, restaurants, nightclubs, gyms, mosques, churches, karaokes, games, banks, boutiques, supermarkets, etc. It is not surprising that many malls add the words "town", "village" or "city" to their names, for instance Kuningan City, Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, Kemang Village, etc.

The environment of Jakarta has become so hostile that malls are one of the only places where you can escape from the heat and the pollution. Living in Jakarta means that you will spend large chunks of your time visiting malls, whether you like it or not, because it is one of the very few things to do here.

The following review is a subjective list of my 28 favorite malls in Jakarta, starting with the best. I added a short description to explain the particularities of each and why you should visit them. I only wrote about malls I have been to within Jakarta (I could have listed over 50 but many are not really interesting).

Plaza Indonesia has always been my favorite mall in Jakarta. It is the most expensive for renting retail space, before Plaza Senayan.  Rich and beautiful Indonesians shop here, in one of the numerous luxury shops such as Cartier, Chanel, Gucci, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. It has two famous nightlife venues, Cloud Rooftop Lounge and Immigrant Nightclub. For day-time eating, I enjoy La Moda or Kitchenette because they are well-placed for watching people. The main Starbucks at the entrance is perfect for setting up dates. It is home to two 5-star hotels, the Grand Hyatt and Keraton at the Plaza.

There is nothing more cliché than saying you'll meet your friends in Grand Indonesia. Much larger than Plaza Indonesia but not as luxurious, it has several department stores, including Seibu and Central. Indonesian girls from the middle to upper class enjoy it because they can buy from Zara, H&M and other popular fashion retailers. On the 4th and 5th floor, you will find an upmarket food court and trendy restaurants. The Blitz-CGV cinema is one of the largest in Jakarta. There are no nightclubs in Grand Indonesia but Social House and the rooftop Skye are two happening bars. The luxurious Kempinski hotel is within Grand Indonesia.

Located right in the Central Business District of Sudirman, it is a medium-sized luxury mall with a lot of popular cafés, including Potato Head, Cork&Screw, TWG and Paul Bakery. It also has the French department store Galeries Lafayette (the most exclusive in Jakarta), the amusement center Kidzania and several luxury brands (Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Lamborghini, etc.). It is mostly busy during the week with office workers so I enjoy going there on weekends for a quieter atmosphere. The cinema in particular is rarely full. The Ritz Carlton SCBD is attached to Pacific Place.

The third luxury mall in Jakarta with Pacific Place and Plaza Indonesia, it is managed by a Japanese company who also owns the boutique mall Senayan Arcadia, the luxury hotel Fairmont and the Sentral Towers. Luxury brands boutiques include Dior and Louis Vuitton. It has some interesting F&B venues like Union, Garçon, Rustique and Kayser. I also like to sit in Monolog or De Luca and watch the people go by. For party, there is the famous X2 nightclub.

The major mall in South Jakarta, it consists of several buildings (PIM 1, PIM 2) and an extension dedicated to F&B restaurants and cafés (Street Gallery). It has a luxury feel but the brands are mostly middle-class ones. Many expats visit it.

Just opposite of Plaza Senayan, Senayan City is a mall targeting younger upper class Jakartans with several fashion boutiques and trendy F&B venues (Domain, Portico).

One of the most popular and largest malls in North Jakarta. I generally go there to watch IMAX movies. It is a middle-class mall with all the local and international brands you can think of. The crowd is almost entirely made of Indonesians, particularly Indochinese. The food court is excellent.

I was living near Lotte Shopping Avenue so I'm quite familiar with it. It is a modern, upmarket mall with popular fashion brands (H&M, Uniqlo), an art center, a duty free shop and a concert hall. There are also several bars and restaurants including Bacco, Revolution, Gonzo's and JJ Royal Bistro. It is part of the larger complex of Ciputra World I with DBS tower and the Raffles Hotel.

With brands like Sephora, Bershka, H&M, Zara and Skechers, Central Park is the favorite mall of Jakartans in their late teens/early twenties. On the ground floor, there is a small park with regular events and several open-air cafés. The nightclub Nebula and the hotel Pullman are also there.

The first decent mall in the East of Jakarta, Kota Kasablanka is very crowded with people coming as far as Bekasi. It does not have anything special though apart from the usual mid-class brands and restaurants.

Gandaria is a lifestyle mall in South Jakarta and the second one with an IMAX theater in Jakarta. Targeting young people, it has several trendy fashion boutiques, mobile phone shops and some larger stores like Gramedia, Metro and ACE. The best restaurants are Basilico, La Hoya and Eric Kayser.

One of Jakarta's most iconic malls, you cannot miss it if you come from the airport with its huge outside LED display. It is a massive complex with several residential towers and over 350,000m2 of retail space. One of its unique features is the ice rink on its 3rd floor.

Located within the complex Kemang Village, this medium-sized mall is noticeable for its Avenue of the Stars, an open-air area with cafés and restaurants including Colonial, Meat Me, White Elephant and Seribu Rasa.

This is a lifestyle mall for young people with mostly restaurants, coffee shops and bars. You also have trendy boutiques, fitness centers, a university (BINUS), a hotel (Harris Suites FX) and the Arab nightclub De Leila.

This modern mall in West Jakarta is similar with Pondok Indah Mall. It is clean, with an upmarket feel and it is popular with expats. Since it is far from the city center, I've only been there a couple times.

Conveniently located in the city center, ITC/Ambassador is one of the oldest malls in Jakarta. It is very popular with middle-class Indonesians. It is recommended if you need to buy cheap clothes, electronic equipment and accessories. I also enjoy the food court on the 4th floor, especially the Manadonese food stalls.

I've only been once to Mall of Indonesia, which is supposed to be one of the largest in Jakarta. It has several large tenants like ACE Harware, Centro, Sportstation, Payless, Carrefour. They only have chain restaurants. Mall Kelapa Gading is better.

A large mall with many unbranded and fake products (accessories, clothes). It is a popular destination for tourists from all over Indonesia because it is close from the airport and affordable. You have several hotels inside (Amaris, Ibis, Novotel).

I used to be a regular of this mall 10 years ago because they had the best collection of pirated DVDs. I only go there now if I need to buy cheap electronic or photography equipment. It is connected to Mangga Dua Mall, Pasar Pagi (wholesale) and Harco Mas Mangga Dua. If you are a tourist, it is worth visiting for the local atmosphere.

Citywalk is a small shopping gallery with mostly F&B outlets, including a bar and a family karaoke. It is targeting the middle class with affordable prices and fast food joints. It is more busy during week days than weekends.

A new mall, it is walking distance from ITC Kuningan and opposite Lotte Shopping Avenue. It suffers from the area's tough competition and as a consequence, it is quite empty. I still visit it sometimes to go to Exodus nightclub and for the cinema XXI.

This mall has mostly mid-range local and international brands like Body&Soul, Charles&Keith, The Body Shop, Sogo or Giordano. They usually have small events in the large atrium.

Source: All photos from Instagram.