The city’s nightlife has acquired a new resident, and it’s not shy about announcing itself.
Vagabond, perched rather dramatically on the 25th floor of Multivision Tower in Kuningan area, is a cocktail bar that insists it has “personality.” Now, most bars claim that, but this one seems determined to prove it by mixing global bar culture with expressive cocktails and a philosophy that sounds uncannily like a slogan from a travel agency: “Not one place, but many moments.”
In practice, this means you’ll find yourself in a space that values atmosphere over spectacle. Translation: no flaming shots or bartenders juggling bottles like circus performers. Instead, Vagabond prefers to “read the room,” which is a polite way of saying they’ll adjust the vibe depending on whether you’re in the mood for quiet sophistication or something that feels like Darwin himself just ordered a martini.
The bar’s global mind is co-founded by Michael Callahan, a charismatic fellow who has spent decades behind some of the world’s most respected bars, from Africa to Asia, Europe to North America. He’s judged competitions, taught classes, and guest-bartended in more places than most of us have stamps in our passports. He’s joined by the equally stylish Payman Bahmani-Bailey, whose career path looks suspiciously like the server list of a teenager’s VPN: New York, Los Angeles, Taipei, Singapore, and now Jakarta. Their history started at Proof & Company in Singapore and helped forge the tone and culture behind the award-winning 28 HongKong Street bar.
Michael has described Jakarta as “intense in the best way,” which is a diplomatic way of saying the city is gloriously chaotic. He insists Vagabond isn’t about imposing a global template but about listening to the city and building nights that feel “personal, unrepeatable, and quietly legendary.” Payman, meanwhile, assures us that hospitality here isn’t scripted, which is good news if you’ve ever been subjected to a waiter reciting specials like they’re auditioning for Shakespeare in the Park.
The drinks list is where Vagabond flexes its muscles, offering 12 signature cocktails alongside rotating classics and even communal punch bowls—because nothing says conviviality quite like sharing a ladle with strangers. Among the highlights are Untitled (2025), a rum cocktail inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat that proves booze can be as highbrow as art; The Beagle, a freezer martini with a brined ice sphere that melts over time in a nod to Darwin and evolution; and The Whizzer, a clarified, carbonated concoction built with garam masala gin and chicken stock, sounding more like a student experiment than a bar menu item but deliberately “unexpected, distinctive, and exactly the point.” The team insists these drinks aren’t meant to impress quietly—they’re designed to spark conversation, or at the very least, spirited debate over whether chicken stock truly belongs in a cocktail.
Vagabond isn’t just a bar; it’s a stage. Literally. There’s a dedicated platform for DJs, curated music journeys, and ritual-led moments. Some are planned, others spontaneous, all designed to make the night feel alive. It’s nightlife as a theatre, but without the velvet curtains. The bar positions itself not as competition but as conversation within Jakarta’s already vibrant ecosystem. It’s worldly but not aloof, refined but not stiff, confident without shouting about it. In other words, it’s the kind of place where you might overhear someone quoting Darwin while sipping a martini, and somehow it doesn’t feel ridiculous.
In essence, Vagabond is for those who live between places, between conversations, between plans. It’s for people who value atmosphere over attention, memory over performance, and nights that can’t quite be replicated. Because, as the bar rather poetically puts it, some stories aren’t meant to be posted. They’re meant to be lived.