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 to 14:30, 14:30 to 16:30 and 17:30 to 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 to 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 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 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 to 24:00 daily for retail; sushi bar 11:00 to 22:00. Closes 02:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
Ming Jiang is a long-running Jiangsu-Zhejiang kitchen serving Shanghai-style home cooking, lion's-head meatballs and cold drunken chicken among the staples.
Signature: Lion's head meatball, Smoked fish, Drunken chicken
Order: Lion's head meatball in clear broth, drunken chicken cold platter, plus the smoked fish appetiser.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 21:00 daily. Phone reservations; service charge added.
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 to 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 to 14:30, 14:30 to 16:30 and 17:30 to 21:30. Reserve via Klook.
Ming Jiang is a Jiangsu-Zhejiang kitchen in Taipei serving Shanghai-style home cooking, lion's-head meatballs and cold drunken chicken among the staples.
Signature: Lion's head meatball, Smoked fish, Drunken chicken
Order: Lion's head meatball, drunken chicken, smoked fish.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 21:00. Phone reservations.
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 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 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 to 24:00 daily; sushi bar 11:00 to 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 to 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 to 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 to 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.
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 to 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 to 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 to 24:00 daily; Fri to Sat closes 02:00. Sushi bar 11:00 to 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 stalls at Yuanshan Expo Park.
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 the drink.
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 to 21:30 daily. Weekday mornings are quietest.
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 to 22:00 weekdays, 11:00 to 02:00 weekends.
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 to 02:00 daily.