Founded by Tommy Wibisono, Rahmat “Kibo” Indrani and Bani Mulia, Pelopor occupies a restored Dutch colonial house in Menteng, bringing together a bookstore, library and Smiljan coffee counter under one roof.
Meaning “pioneer”, the name is reflected throughout the space, beginning with the teal Bung Hatta statue at the entrance and continuing across the bookshelves, where the former vice president sits alongside authors and historical figures in a collection of Indonesian literature spanning the pre-independence era to the present. The building itself carries traces of its past, while its books, artworks and food turn the space towards Indonesia’s present.
Each corner offers a different scene. The library room offers a quieter one, with a wooden floor table surrounded by shelves of books. Visitors can settle in with biographies of national heroes, philosophy, political writing and all four volumes of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet. Old issues of Tempo and archived news articles sit alongside the books, giving material from decades past another life among today’s readers.
Beyond the library room, paintings by Indonesian artists hang alongside shelves that move between Indonesian literature, international fiction and children’s books. Long tables run parallel to the bookshelves, accommodating everything from conversations between friends to people settling in to work. At the corner, the Smiljan counter serves coffee and pastries throughout the day.
The menu brings together dishes exclusive to this Smiljan branch in Pelopor with reinterpretations of recipes from the Mustikarasa cookbook. The Sate Lidah Sapi, for instance, takes its cue from Sate Padang, using beef tongue and cabya powder to create a deeper, richer spice paste. Meanwhile, The Endemic Horizon beverage menu continues Smiljan’s exploration of Indonesian spices. Pala Banda, Java Cabya and Toba Andaliman each concentrate a different spice through fermentation, served alongside espresso to be mixed together or enjoyed separately.
Pelopor is a place where different traces of Indonesia sit alongside one another: books that document its past, artworks made by its artists and recipes drawn from an old cookbook. Some visitors come for a book and a cup of coffee. While others might stay long enough to discover something they did not expect to find.
