A hidden gem on Wahid Hasyim
I’ll be honest — Korean BBQ in Jakarta can feel like a mixed bag. There are a lot of places calling themselves authentic, but very few that actually taste like the real thing. iLLua Korean BBQ 일루와 in Menteng is one of the exceptions, and once I found it, I understood why regulars keep coming back.
The restaurant sits on Jalan Wahid Hasyim in Gondangdia, right in the heart of Central Jakarta. It’s a proper standalone building — large, multi-floor, with its own parking lot, which is already a blessing in this part of town. The ground floor splits between the main BBQ dining room, all tables fitted with built-in grills and ventilation hoods overhead, and a café section that’s a little cozier if you just want coffee and something light. Upstairs there are private rooms and an outdoor terrace. It’s the kind of setup that can handle a table of two just as comfortably as a corporate dinner for forty.
The full name is iLLua Korean BBQ Restaurant & Coffee, and the Korean is 일루와. The owner is Korean and is involved in the kitchen personally — that detail comes up over and over in reviews, and once you eat here, it makes sense. This isn’t a franchise interpretation. The flavors feel like someone’s home.
Google Maps: Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No.87, Gondangdia, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat 10350
Instagram: @illuaresto.jkt
The food: six banchan before you even start
We started the way every Korean meal should — with banchan 반찬. Six varieties came out before anything else, all complimentary, and I want to be direct about this: the banchan here is exceptional. The kimchi in particular stopped me mid-bite. It had that fermented depth that takes time to develop, the kind that most Korean restaurants outside of Korea cut corners on. One reviewer I’d read before the visit described it as tasting “humble and so original,” like home-cooked Korean food, and that’s exactly right. The kimchi keeps coming too — free-flowing, no hesitation from the staff.
Samgyeopsal and the grill section
Once the banchan was out, we moved to the grill. We went with the samgyeopsal 삼겹살 — thick-cut pork belly in the original version — and the staff came over to manage the grill for us, which I always appreciate. Alongside the meat, five different specialty salts appeared on the table. Five. That’s a level of detail you don’t often see. The pork belly crisped up beautifully on the edges while staying tender in the middle, and working through the different salts with each bite turned what could have been a simple meal into something almost interactive.
If you want a little heat with your pork, the go chu jang sam gyeop sal version marinates the belly in gochujang chili paste. It adds a savory, slightly smoky layer of spice that works well against the fat. For something more substantial, the yangnyeom galbi — short ribs in sweet soy sauce marinade — is the move. The meat pulls cleanly off the bone, and the sweetness of the soy cuts through the richness in a way that keeps you reaching back.
[IMAGE: Yangnyeom galbi short ribs marinating in sweet soy sauce, ready to grill at iLLua Jakarta]
Off the grill: jeyuk bokkeum and sundubu jjigae
When we stepped away from the grill for a bit, we ordered the jeyuk bokkeum 제육볶음 — spicy stir-fried pork. This one surprised me. It came out with a deep red color and a heat that built gradually rather than hitting all at once, balanced with a sweetness underneath. Multiple reviewers single this dish out and I can see why — it’s one of those things that pushes you to order more before you’ve finished what’s in front of you.
We also had the sundubu jjigae 순두부찌개, the soft tofu soup with seafood, and it was rich and comforting in the way a good jjigae should be. The broth had real depth — not watery, not aggressively spicy, just layered and warming. It arrived bubbling in its stone pot, and we let it calm down before eating, which took some discipline.
The menu at iLLua is genuinely wide. Beyond what we ordered, the kitchen runs galbitang 갈비탕 (clear beef short rib soup), galbijim (braised short ribs), bulgogi, spicy stir-fried octopus, and several hot pot options. There’s a house version of Samyang spicy noodles made in-house, and a dessert menu anchored by bingsoo 빙수 — Korean shaved ice made with a snow ice machine imported from Korea. The ingeolmi bingsoo, made with roasted soybean powder, is the one to get if you have room.
[IMAGE: Ingeolmi bingsoo 인절미빙수 — Korean shaved ice with roasted soybean powder at iLLua, Jakarta]
So, will we come back?
Absolutely. iLLua is one of the more serious Korean BBQ spots in Jakarta, and it earns that reputation through consistency and care rather than just price point. Yes, it sits at the higher end — budget around IDR 200,000–300,000 per person — and there’s a deposit required if you’re reserving (IDR 500,000). But the quality backs it up. The banchan alone would justify a return visit. Everything else is a bonus.
For the full experience, book a table rather than walking in. The Google rating sits at 4.5–4.6 across over a thousand reviews, and TripAdvisor has it ranked in the top 300 restaurants in Jakarta. Those numbers are consistent across platforms, which tells you something.
Must try:
- Samgyeopsal 삼겹살
- Jeyuk Bokkeum 제육볶음
- Ingeolmi Bingsoo 인절미빙수
