The post-1949 mainland-Chinese restaurant district and modern coffee corridor. Le Palais sits at Palais de Chine Hotel; Fika Fika opened the third-wave wave on Yitong Street.
Le Palais has held three Michelin stars since 2018, Taiwan's only 3-star room. Cantonese fine dining with Cherry Valley duck from Yilan as the marquee.
Signature: Crispy-skin roast duck, Char siu Iberico, Chinese spinach and salted-egg dumplings
Order: Cantonese roast duck served in two courses and the salted-egg spinach dumplings at dim sum.
Tip: Lunch dim sum is the easier reservation. Book online four to six weeks ahead through the hotel.
Yang Shin opened 2013 as Taipei's first vegetarian dim-sum tea house. An all-meat-free Cantonese menu beside Songjiang Nanjing MRT, three sittings daily.
Signature: Vegetarian xiaolongbao, Vegetarian char siu bun, Truffle dumpling
Order: Vegetarian xiaolongbao filled with mushroom-stock jelly, plus the truffle dumpling.
Tip: Open 11:30-14:30, 14:30-16:30 and 17:30-21:30 daily. Reserve through Klook for weekends.
Shin Yeh opened 1977 and writes the menu for textbook Taiwanese home cooking. Bib Gourmand, sweet-potato congee on every table, round-table family portions.
Signature: Three-cup chicken, Sweet potato congee, Stewed pork rice
Order: Three-cup chicken, sweet-potato congee and a plate of stewed pork rice.
Tip: Open 11:00-21:30 daily. Reservations by phone; weekday lunch is easiest. Service charge added.
Ming Fu runs Bib Gourmand Taiwanese seafood from a wood-panel room behind Zhongshan MRT. Banquet-style sharing tables, a wine list with Burgundy depth.
Signature: Steamed grouper, Bottarga fried rice, Drunken chicken
Order: Steamed grouper of the day, bottarga fried rice, and a plate of cold drunken chicken.
Tip: Open 11:30-14:00 and 17:30-22:00 daily. Reserve by phone for the back room.
Addiction Aquatic Development is a fish-market food complex in Zhongshan with a standing sushi bar, oyster bar, hot-pot room, and an excellent chirashi deli.
Signature: Standing sushi bar omakase, Live oysters, Sashimi donburi
Order: Counter omakase at the standing sushi bar or a chirashi rice bowl from the deli.
Tip: Open 06:00-24:00 daily for retail; sushi bar 11:00-22:00. Closes 02:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
Shin Yeh in Taipei opened 1977 and writes the menu for textbook Taiwanese home cooking. Bib Gourmand, round-table portions, congee on every table.
Signature: Three-cup chicken, Sweet potato congee
Order: Three-cup chicken, sweet-potato congee, stewed pork rice.
Tip: Open 11:00-21:30 daily. Phone reservations. Service charge added.
Yang Shin opened 2013 as Taipei's first vegetarian dim-sum tea house. An all-meat-free Cantonese menu beside Songjiang Nanjing MRT, three sittings daily.
Signature: Vegetarian xiaolongbao, Truffle dumpling
Order: Vegetarian xiaolongbao and the truffle dumpling.
Tip: Open 11:30-14:30, 14:30-16:30 and 17:30-21:30. Reserve via Klook.
Ming Fu runs Bib Gourmand Taiwanese seafood from a wood-panel room in Taipei. Banquet-style sharing tables and a wine list with Burgundy depth.
Signature: Steamed grouper, Bottarga rice
Order: Steamed grouper of the day, bottarga fried rice.
Tip: Open 11:30-14:00 and 17:30-22:00. Reserve by phone.
Addiction Aquatic Development in Taipei is a fish-market food complex with a standing sushi bar, oyster bar, and the city's best chirashi don to go.
Signature: Standing sushi bar, Chirashi don
Order: Standing-bar omakase or a chirashi rice bowl from the deli.
Tip: Open 06:00-24:00 daily; sushi bar 11:00-22:00.
Fika Fika opened 2013 after founder James Chen won the Nordic Roaster Competition, the first non-Nordic champion. Yitong Street set the third-wave template.
Signature drink: Nordic-roast espresso
Tip: Open 10:00-21:30 daily. Bring a laptop only weekday afternoons; weekends are turnover-only.
Nozomi is the vegetarian bakery downstairs from Yang Shin Vegetarian, run by the same group. Egg-free milk bread, vegan croissants and pineapple cakes.
Tip: Open 09:00-21:30 daily. Cash and card; busy at lunch with Yang Shin overflow.
Worth the queue: Egg-free milk bread
Fika Fika is the Yitong Street third-wave roaster, founded 2013 by Nordic Roaster Champion James Chen, the first non-Nordic winner of the title.
Tip: Open 10:00-21:30 daily. Retail beans available; the dark roast travels well.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya, Panama
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Wine & Co in Zhongshan is a grower-focused wine bar in Taipei with rotating European pours and a small board of imported charcuterie and cheese.
Signature pour: Etna Rosso by the glass
Wine focus: Independent grower wines from France and Italy
Food: Cheese and charcuterie boards
Tip: Closed Mondays. Bottles retail for off-premise consumption Glass-pour list rotates monthly.
Fish Wine Stand runs a tight pairing list of natural-leaning whites with Japanese seafood plates, a small Zhongshan bar with a single-table cellar room.
Signature pour: Chablis by the glass with raw fish
Wine focus: Natural wines paired with seafood
Food: Sashimi and Japanese seafood plates
Tip: Closed Sundays. Counter seats walk-in; the back table by reservation.
RJ Bar in Zhongshan is a Japanese-style whisky basement in Taipei, deep Yamazaki, Hibiki and Karuizawa bottles, jazz on vinyl, leather chairs.
Signature drink: Japanese whisky tasting flight
Food: Bar snacks
Order: Japanese whisky flight of three vintages; ice carved at the bar.
Tip: Reservation by phone. Open 20:00-02:00 daily.
Taihu Brewing's Zhongshan taproom pours 16 of its own taps, the city's first dedicated craft-beer brand, founded 2014, with native-ingredient recipes.
Tip: Open daily 16:00-24:00. Walk-in; kitchen runs Taiwanese bar plates.
Addiction Aquatic Development is Taipei's fish-market food complex, one building with a standing sushi bar, oyster bar, deli, hot-pot and retail counter.
Tip: Open 06:00-24:00 daily; Fri to Sat closes 02:00. Sushi bar 11:00-22:00.
The Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival is the city's defining food event, run by the Taipei City Government since 2005, three days of beef noodle.
Tip: Free entry. Bring cash and an appetite; runs October 30 to November 1 in 2026.
KKday's bubble-tea making class in Zhongshan in Taipei is a 90-minute session covering tapioca pearl rolling, brewing strong oolong base and shaking.
Tip: Book online via KKday; English commentary on request; small studio.
Addiction Aquatic Development in Zhongshan opens at 06:00 for retail with a chirashi-don deli that doubles as Taipei's most respected sashimi brunch counter.
Order: Chirashi rice bowl from the deli plus a glass of sake.
Tip: Sushi bar 11:00 onwards; retail counter from 06:00.
Fika Fika Cafe in Zhongshan in Taipei runs the Nordic-third-wave brunch model in Taiwan, cinnamon buns and flat whites, third-wave roastery on site.
Order: Cinnamon bun and a flat white with the Nordic-roast espresso.
Tip: Open 10:00-21:30 daily. Weekday mornings are quietest Weekends fill by noon.
Addiction Aquatic Development in Zhongshan keeps its standing-sushi bar pouring sake and serving chirashi until 02:00 Fri and Sat, 24:00 other nights.
Try: Standing-bar sushi and chirashi
Tip: Sushi bar 11:00-22:00 weekdays, 11:00-02:00 weekends Kitchen close differs from bar close.
RJ Bar in Zhongshan is a Japanese-style whisky listening bar in Taipei, deep Japanese whisky list paired with jazz vinyl in a leather-chair basement.
Tip: Reservation by phone. Open 20:00-02:00 daily.