The cocktail-bar and beef-noodle heartland. Yong Kang Street, Dongmen MRT, Indulge and Bar Mood, Yong He Soya Milk for breakfast.
Din Tai Fung's Xinyi Road original is the xiaolongbao counter that turned a 1958 cooking-oil shop into a global chain. Bib Gourmand; queues from 11:00 sharp.
Signature: Xiaolongbao, Truffle and pork xiaolongbao, Cucumber starter
Order: Ten-pleat pork xiaolongbao, niu rou mian beef noodle soup, plus the cucumber starter to share.
Tip: Take the queue ticket on arrival and shop the Yongkang Street strip while you wait; cards and mobile pay accepted.
Yong Kang Beef Noodle has been pulling beef and braising shank since 1963. The two-floor Lane 31 counter is Bib Gourmand and the canonical visitor bowl.
Signature: Niu rou mian classic, Tendon and brisket combination, Pickled mustard greens
Order: Half-tendon, half-brisket bowl with hand-cut noodles and a side of mustard greens.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 15:30 and 16:30 to 21:00 daily. Cash and mobile pay; share the table at peak.
logy holds two Michelin stars under chef Ryogo Tahara, sister to two-star Florilege Tokyo (chef Hiroyasu Kawate). Asian-contemporary, deep Taiwanese sourcing.
Signature: Tasting menu, Mountain ingredients course, Hand-pulled noodle
Order: Whatever the seasonal tasting menu is built around; ask the sommelier to thread the pairing.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. Reservations open one month ahead online; one seating per evening.
Du Hsiao Yueh transplants the 1895 Tainan dan zai bowl onto Yongkang Street. Tiny porcelain bowls of shrimp-and-pork noodle, garlic and coriander.
Signature: Dan zai noodle, Shrimp roll, Braised pork rice
Order: Dan zai noodle bowl with a side of shrimp roll and braised pork rice.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 21:30 daily. Order at the counter; the bowl arrives in two minutes.
Kao Chi opened in 1949 and is Yongkang Street's second xiaolongbao counter in Taipei, often shorter than Din Tai Fung's queue. Bib Gourmand listed.
Signature: Xiaolongbao, Sheng jian bao, Drunken chicken
Order: Xiaolongbao, pan-fried sheng jian bao and the cold drunken chicken starter.
Tip: Open 09:30 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 21:00 daily. Walk-ins; phone reservations only for groups of six plus.
Shan Yuan in Taipei runs Wagyu omakase at the smokeless grill counter, with A5 cuts from Miyazaki and Kagoshima. Michelin Plate; reservations a month out.
Signature: A5 Wagyu omakase, Salt-grilled tongue, Saikoro steak
Order: Wagyu omakase with the saikoro steak as the rice course closer.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Reservations open one month ahead by phone; counter seats only.
Longtail pairs a serious cocktail bar with an Asian-fusion bistro menu in a long Da'an room. Bartender-chef collaboration, small plates for shared dining.
Signature: Asian-inflected small plates, Wagyu tongue tartare, Signature cocktails
Order: Wagyu tongue tartare, charcoal-grilled lamb skewers, and the house Negroni variation.
Tip: Open 18:00 to 02:00 Mon to Sat, closed Sundays. Reservations via the website; counter seats are walk-in only.
Qing Tian 76 turns a 1931 Japanese-era professor's house into a Showa-era dining room serving set lunches and small kaiseki suppers, tatami floors intact.
Signature: Tatami set lunch, Seasonal sashimi, Wagashi dessert
Order: Set lunch in the tatami room and the wagashi-and-matcha dessert pairing.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Phone reservation required; remove shoes at the entrance.
Yong Kang Beef Noodle has been pulling beef and braising shank since 1963 on a two-floor counter at Lane 31 in Da'an. Bib Gourmand listed, half-tendon bowl.
Signature: Beef noodle soup, Tendon beef, Pickled greens
Order: Half-tendon, half-brisket bowl with hand-cut noodles.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 15:30 and 16:30 to 21:00 daily. Cash and mobile pay; share the table at peak.
Kao Chi opened in 1949 and relocated to Xinsheng South Road in Taipei, two-minute walk from Dongmen MRT, Shanghainese xiaolongbao and sheng jian bao.
Signature: Xiaolongbao, Sheng jian bao, Drunken chicken
Order: Xiaolongbao, pan-fried sheng jian bao and cold drunken chicken.
Tip: Two minutes from Dongmen MRT exit 7. Open daily 09:30 to 22:30; queues quieter than Din Tai Fung.
Du Hsiao Yueh transplants the 1895 Tainan dan zai bowl onto Yongkang Street in Taipei. Tiny porcelain bowls of shrimp-and-pork noodles, garlic and coriander.
Signature: Dan zai noodle, Shrimp roll, Braised pork rice
Order: Dan zai noodle bowl, shrimp roll, braised pork rice.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 21:30 daily. Order at the counter.
Din Tai Fung's Xinyi Road original counter in Taipei is the xiaolongbao queue that turned a 1958 oil shop into a global chain. Bib Gourmand listed.
Signature: Xiaolongbao, Niu rou mian, Cucumber starter
Order: Ten-pleat pork xiaolongbao, niu rou mian, cucumber starter.
Tip: Take the queue ticket on arrival and shop Yongkang Street while you wait.
Yong He Soya Milk King in Da'an is Taipei's most famous of the 24-hour soy-milk breakfast counters. Salty soy milk, fried youtiao, egg pancake rolls.
Signature: Hot soy milk, Youtiao, Egg pancake
Order: Salty soy milk with youtiao dunked in, plus a sesame shaobing.
Tip: Open 24 hours daily. Cash and mobile pay; queues short before 07:00.
Qing Tian 76 turns a 1931 Japanese-era Qingtian Street professor's house into a Showa dining room, tatami floors intact, set lunch and small kaiseki sittings.
Signature: Tatami set lunch, Seasonal sashimi
Order: Tatami-room set lunch with wagashi and matcha.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Phone reservation required.
Smoothie House on Yongkang Street in Taipei runs the queue mango snowflake ice in summer, mango ice cream over xue hua bing with condensed milk.
Signature: Mango snowflake ice, Strawberry shaved ice
Order: Mango snowflake ice with mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Tip: Open 10:30 to 22:00 daily. Walk-in; mango season runs May to October.
Smoothie House on Yongkang Street in Taipei runs the canonical mango snowflake ice, xue hua bing with chunks of mango, mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Signature drink: Mango snowflake ice
Order: Mango snowflake ice with mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Tip: Open 10:30 to 22:00 daily. Walk-in counter; mango is best May to October.
Rufous Coffee runs the city's most respected siphon-coffee counter, a dark wood-panelled room beside Liuzhangli MRT serving 1990s-style hand-brewed coffee.
Signature drink: Siphon coffee
Order: Siphon coffee of the day and the cheesecake.
Tip: Open 13:30 to 23:00 daily. Cash only; no laptops on weekends.
VWI by CHADWANG is Wang Ce-Chen's Da'an competition cafe. Located in Daan. Open 11:00 to 19:00, closed Mondays. Counter seating only; no laptops.
Signature drink: Competition-grade espresso flight
Order: Brewers Cup signature flight of three single origins.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 19:00, closed Mondays. Counter seating only; no laptops.
INK Coffee Roastery runs a third-wave brew bar above Daan Park MRT. Small-batch roasts, espresso of the season, slow drip filters by the half-pot.
Signature drink: Espresso of the season
Order: Espresso of the season and a slice of basque cheesecake.
Tip: Open 10:00 to 19:00, closed Mondays. Walk-in; counter seats limited.
Qingtian in Da'an in Taipei is a tea house inside a restored Japanese-era professor's residence, gallery on the ground floor, gongfu oolong service.
Signature drink: Taiwanese oolong, gongfu service
Order: Taiwanese high-mountain oolong served gongfu-style at the table.
Tip: Open daily 10:00 to 18:00. Reserve a Saturday for the courtyard table.
Moonleaf is a Yongkang Street bubble-tea cafe founded 2010 by Wei Shih-Pin, a tea connoisseur from Nantou's tea region. Single-estate teas, lower sweetness.
Signature drink: Honey green tea with pearls
Order: Honey green tea with chewy tapioca pearls, half sugar half ice.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 22:00 daily. Mobile pay; small standing counter only.
Oasis in Da'an in Taipei is a Nordic-leaning specialty roaster cafe, founded 2018 by Yu-ta Chu, clarity-and-balance filter, light-roast single origins.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter on the V60
Order: Filter flight of two single origins, V60 and Kalita side by side.
Tip: Open daily 09:00 to 19:00. Small room; bring a laptop for the counter side only.
Le Gout in Da'an is one of Taipei's serious French pastry counters, run by a Pierre Herme-trained chef. Laminated croissants, Paris-Brest, seasonal entremets.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Hot croissants from 11:00; the Paris-Brest sells out by 15:00.
Worth the queue: Croissant and Paris-Brest
VWI by CHADWANG in Da'an is Wang Ce-Chen's roaster-cafe in Taipei, the 2017 World Brewers Cup champion. Open tue to sun 11:00 to 19:00, closed mondays.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter-only filter flights; bean retail at the till.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Bolivia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Rufous Coffee runs the city's most respected siphon-coffee counter and roastery, a dark wood-panelled Da'an room with house-roasted beans for retail.
Tip: Open daily 13:30 to 23:00. Cash only; no laptops on weekends.
Sources from: Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia
How they serve: Siphon, Filter, Whole bean retail
INK Coffee Roastery in Taipei runs a third-wave brew bar above Daan Park MRT. Small-batch roasts, espresso of the season, slow drip filters available.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Bean retail on site; small bar seating.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Indonesia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Indulge in Da'an is the bistro half of Aki Wang's two-room operation in Taipei. Wine pairings with the small Taiwanese plates downstairs, cocktails upstairs.
Signature pour: Sangiovese with Taiwan rice-spirit infusion
Wine focus: Wine list as cocktail backbone
Food: Modern Taiwanese small plates
Tip: Closed Mondays. Walk-ins at the bar; tables by reservation through FunNow.
Tasting Room in Da'an is a wine bar near Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT pouring Old and New World wines by the glass with Spanish-leaning tapas plates.
Signature pour: Rioja Reserva by the glass
Wine focus: Old World and New World by the glass
Food: Tapas-style small plates
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. Reserve by phone; happy hour 17:30 to 19:00.
Vino Vino in Da'an is an Italian wine bar on Dunhua South Road, regional bottles by the glass with cicchetti and pasta from a small open kitchen.
Signature pour: Barolo by the glass
Wine focus: Italian wines and aperitivo
Food: Cicchetti and pasta
Tip: Aperitivo hour 17:00 to 19:00; small standing bar at the front.
Indulge is Aki Wang's Asia's 50 Best regular in Da'an, ranked 11 in 2023. Cocktails weave native Taiwan teas, fruits and aged spirits through the menu.
Signature drink: Cocktails infused with Taiwan teas and native ingredients
Food: Modern Taiwanese small plates
Order: House cocktail flight with the night's tea infusion.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter walk-ins; tables by reservation through FunNow.
Bar Mood is Nick Wu's elegant cocktail bar in Da'an, opened September 2017, Asia's 50 Best Bars regular ranking 72 in 2025. Taiwanese and Japanese whisky.
Signature drink: Ingredient-driven Taiwanese cocktails
Food: Snacks
Order: Whatever the bartenders are running through their ingredient menu that month.
Tip: Open 18:00 to 01:00 daily. Reservation by Instagram DM; small bar room.
Draft Land is Angus Zou's pioneering cocktails-on-tap bar, opened 2018 in Zhongxiao with HK collaborator Antonio Lai. Twelve cocktails on draft beer-style.
Signature drink: Tap cocktails by Angus Zou and Antonio Lai
Food: Light snacks
Order: The night's draft list, ordered as a flight of three.
Tip: Open 18:00 to 01:00 daily. Walk-in standing bar; counter seats fill weekends.
AHA Saloon in Da'an is the music-themed cocktail bar opened 2018 by Diageo World Class winners Kae, Victor and Jeffrey. Asia's 50 Best Bars 2022, rank 24.
Signature drink: Cocktails with Asian flavours
Food: Snacks
Order: Acid Party Girl, cachaca with pandan leaf, coconut and fermented pineapple.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Open Tue to Sun 20:00 to 02:00. Reservation by Instagram DM.
Ounce is one of Taipei's oldest speakeasy-style cocktail bars, hidden behind a coffee counter on Section 1 Dunhua South. Cocktails by hand-shake only.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails with Taiwanese ingredients
Food: Charcuterie and cheese
Order: House sour with local pomelo and an Old Fashioned with Kavalan whisky.
Tip: Open daily 20:00 to 02:00. Enter via the coffee counter; reservations by phone.
To Infinity and Beyond in Da'an in Taipei is a hidden cocktail bar by the team from Trio. Order the house signature: oriental beauty tea with cognac and yuzu.
Signature drink: Tea-infused cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Order: House signature: Oriental Beauty tea with Cognac and yuzu.
Tip: Reservation by Instagram only. Open 20:00 to 02:00 Tue to Sat, closed Sun and Mon.
TRIO in Da'an pairs a serious cocktail bar with a bistro kitchen in Taipei, Asia's 50 Best Bars Discovery, run by Diageo World Class veterans.
Signature drink: Negroni variations and Old Fashioned
Food: Bistro plates and pasta
Order: Negroni variation flight, pasta course, and the bar's house Old Fashioned.
Tip: Open 18:00 to 02:00 daily. Reservations by phone for tables.
Longtail in Da'an pairs a serious cocktail bar with an Asian-fusion bistro menu, bartender-chef collaboration, walk-in bar seats, reservations for tables.
Signature drink: Negroni variation
Food: Asian bistro plates
Order: Negroni variation flight with the small plate of Wagyu tongue tartare.
Tip: Open 18:00 to 02:00, closed Sundays.
Fourplay Cuisine in Da'an runs a tasting-menu approach to cocktails, four sequential builds paired with food. Long-running Asia's 50 Best Bars Discovery list.
Signature drink: Course-pairing cocktail flight
Food: Tasting-menu cocktails
Order: Four-course tasting flight; ask for the dessert cocktail finale.
Tip: Open 19:00 to 02:00, closed Mondays. Reservation by phone.
East End in Da'an is a cocktail bar on Dunhua South serving classics with twists, plus one of the city's deeper Kavalan whisky lists. Walk-in counter seats.
Signature drink: Manhattan with Kavalan
Food: Bar snacks
Order: Kavalan Manhattan, or a Penicillin with Taiwan-distilled honey liqueur.
Tip: Walk-in or Instagram DM reservation. Open 20:00 to 02:00 daily.
Yong He Soya Milk King in Da'an in Taipei is the 24-hour breakfast counter that most locals default to, salty soy milk and youtiao at every shift change.
Try: Hot soy milk and youtiao
Tip: Open 24 hours. Order at the counter; pick up in the dining hall.
Zhang Men Brewing's Yongkang Street taproom pours 24 taps of Taiwanese craft beer including IPAs, sours and seasonal lagers, with food-grade snack plates.
Tip: Open daily 15:00 to 24:00. Walk-in; small front bar and a back beer garden.
23 Brewing in Da'an is the local-leaning Taipei brewery, native-ingredient brews using Taiwan winter melon sugar, pomelo and oolong tea, weekly rotating taps.
Tip: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Walk-in; tap list rotates weekly.
Hit Cat in Da'an is a 25-tap craft-beer bar inside Breeze Plaza on Fuxing South, pouring Taiwanese and imported lines with a small bar-plate kitchen.
Tip: Mall hours apply. Tap list updated on the website daily.
Shida Night Market in Da'an is the night market beside National Taiwan Normal University. Student-priced eats, hand-pulled noodles, bubble tea cluster.
Tip: Open 17:00 to 24:00 daily. MRT Taipower Building, Exit 3.
Yong He Soya Milk King in Da'an in Taipei runs 24-hour breakfast counters in Taipei, salty soy milk and youtiao under NT$80 for a full sit-down meal.
Try: Salty soy milk and youtiao
Tip: Open 24 hours. Cash and mobile pay.
Yong Kang Beef Noodle in Da'an has been NT$240 to NT$300 a bowl since 1963 for the canonical Taiwan tourist beef noodle near Yongkang Street. Bib Gourmand.
Try: Beef noodle soup
Tip: Open 11:00 to 15:30 and 16:30 to 21:00. Cash and mobile pay.
Yong He Soya Milk King in Da'an in Taipei is the 24-hour soy-milk breakfast counter most travelers default to, hot soy milk and youtiao around the clock.
Order: Hot salty soy milk, youtiao, egg pancake roll.
Tip: Open 24 hours daily. Cash and mobile pay.
Yong He Soya Milk King in Da'an is Taipei's 24-hour soy-milk breakfast counter, where shift workers and late finishers meet for hot soy milk and youtiao.
Try: Soy milk and youtiao
Tip: Open 24 hours daily. Cash and mobile pay.
Indulge in Da'an keeps its cocktail bar open until 02:00 with Aki Wang's tea-infused Asia's 50 Best Bars builds. Late-night kitchen menu continues.
Try: Tea-infused cocktails and Taiwanese small plates
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter walk-ins; tables by reservation.
Blue Note Taipei is the city's long-running jazz club above Taipower MRT, three sets a night with local quartets and rotating international guests.
Tip: Reservations by phone. Cover charge NT$300 plus drinks.
Ounce in Da'an is Taipei's longest-running speakeasy cocktail bar, hidden behind a coffee counter on Section 1 Dunhua South Road.
Tip: Enter via the coffee counter. Reservations by phone.
To Infinity and Beyond in Da'an is a hidden cocktail bar in Taipei from the Trio team, Asia's 50 Best Bars Discovery list, tea-infused signature builds.
Tip: Reservation by Instagram only. Open 20:00 to 02:00 Tue to Sat.
Carnegie's in Da'an is Taipei's long-running expat pub and late-night dive in Taipei, dance-on-the-bar after midnight Thursday through Saturday.
Tip: Open 17:00 to 04:00 daily. Walk-in; busiest Thursday to Saturday after 22:00.