Café Batavia

The story

Café Batavia occupies an early nineteenth-century building facing Fatahillah Square in Jakarta’s old colonial centre. Tall shuttered windows, teak floors, sweeping staircases and walls dense with photographs create a layered view of the city’s complicated past.

Why Café Batavia is iconic

Few cafés connect Jakarta’s contemporary life so directly with the architecture and memory of old Batavia.

Selected by Ernst Aben · Information reviewed July 2026