Indonesian Squid Game-themed cafe attracts fans of hit Netflix series

Every day more than 200 customers come to Cafe Strawberry, drawn by the chance to take part in playground games featured in the hit Netflix series

In the week since launching the games, which include a recreation of ‘red light, green light’, the Jakarta cafe says its earnings have tripled

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Waiters wearing ‘Squid Game’ costumes carry trays with dalgona honeycomb toffee at Strawberry Cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:24pm, 18 Oct 2021Updated: 9:59pm, 18 Oct 2021

An Indonesian cafe is jumping on the global Squid Game bandwagon, hoping to fuel its pandemic recovery by recreating some of the games from the South Korean television series in its cafe space.

In a dark room with neon lights, patrons are greeted by staff dressed as the ominous hooded and masked guards in the nine-part thriller, holding toy guns and ushering them toward the end of the room where the “red light, green light” playground game starts.

Customers hurry through a course and then freeze at the sound of commands in Korean, fully immersed in the game, even though the winners go home without any prizes.

A customer plays the 'Red Light, Green Light' game from ‘Squid Game’ at Strawberry Cafe in Jakarta. Photo: Reuters

“Not all cafes would actually imitate and make it exactly like in the real show. I think it’s unique and exciting so everyone can feel how tense the Squid Game show is,” 16-year-old student Jennifer Susanto said after she failed to finish the game.

Every day, more than 200 customers come to Cafe Strawberry, drawn by the games from the Netflix series, which also include chipping out a shape from dalgona honeycomb toffee.