Originally this area was a forest and was overgrown with Menteng fruit trees (Baccaurea racemosa). That's why the people named the area Menteng. In the 17th century, Menteng was an area south of Batavia and was a lesser-known area still inhabited by wild animals. Another story states that the name Menteng came from a Bugis, Makassar merchant named Daeng Menteng. In the past, the area was owned by Daeng Menteng as a reward for his service to the Dutch East Indies government.

Zaenuddin HM in his book entitled "212 Origins of Djakarta Tempo Doeloe", (2012), since 1810, Governor General Daendels opened the area for the development of the city of Batavia. Furthermore, in 1912 the land around the Menteng area was purchased by the Dutch government, then it was used as a residential area for Dutch East Indies government employees.

The development touch of the Menteng area was first carried out by an architect from the Netherlands, P.A.J. Moojen. The architectural design is believed to have followed the British city designer, Ebenezer Howard, whose main feature is the integration of settlements and city park facilities. However, Moojen's design is more modern, namely making the development of the Menteng area into a suburban area that is integrated with the road network and other public facilities, such as schools to places of worship as well as road routes that are connected to other areas.

The projects designed by Moojen were named Nieuw Menteng (Menteng Baru) and Nieuw Gondangdia (Gondangdia Baru). Nieuw Gondangdia is a road network development as well as the concept of the city of Menteng and the Gondangdia area. The Menteng area on the southern boundary is located on the West Flood Canal which was completed in 1919. Moojen's design was later modified by another Dutch architect, namely F.J. Cubatz in 1918 by changing the layout and adding gardens. In Moojen's design, Menteng was used as part of the development of the Gondangdia area to the north, while Kubatz designed the development design of the area to the south and added a pond (Situ Lembang) to the east of Bisschooplein Park (Taman Suropati). Its construction began in 1920 by N.V. Gondangdia and reached a steady state in the 1930s.

Characteristics of house buildings in the Menteng area, in general, there are several architectural models. Some are characterized by classic or old style Indische Nieuwe Zakelijkhed, New Indis, Art Nouveau (Art Deco), Amsterdam, De' Stijl, and Le Corbusier which apply elements of traditional European style houses and a combination with Indonesian traditions characterized by tropical countries. In addition, there is also a building style with a villa or bungalow model.

Waterways and roads were built, as were various supporting structures, such as the N.V. de Bouwploeg (now Cut Mutiah Mosque), Bataviasche Kunstkring Building (now immigration office), Nassaukerk (now GPIB Paulus), schools (Theresia Primary School which opened in 1927) and cinemas. The cinema that existed at that time was the Menteng Cinema which was built in the Indo-European style in 1950 (now it has changed to Plaza Menteng).

After Indonesia's independence, Menteng remained a premium elite area located in Central Jakarta. In addition to the consulate office, there are several historical places or sites. For example, the former residence of Admiral Maeda which is now the Museum for the Formulation of the Proclamation Manuscript is located on Jalan Imam Bonjol No.1. In the Menteng area, former President of the United States, Barack Obama spent his childhood.