HANKO 60 hides on Section 2 of Hankou Street in Ximending, behind the facade of an old movie theatre, and takes its name from the address: number 60, Hankou Street.
It suits drinkers who like a sense of arrival, a dim room, and cocktails built around a place rather than a spirit category. It is less suited to anyone who wants a quick walk-in pint or a loud night out; the entrance alone, a small button beside an unmarked door, sets a different tempo. For a brighter, more experimental contrast, Indulge Experimental sits at the other end of the Taipei cocktail spectrum.
The room
The bar leans into Ximending's history as Taipei's cinema and pop-culture quarter. Press the button, the door opens, and the space drops into a low-lit underground room that several guides, including Taiwan Nights and Taiwan Obsessed, describe as one of the district's most atmospheric speakeasies. The cinema theme is the citable hook: the bar treats the neighbourhood's film past as its design brief, from the theatre-front entrance to the dark, screening-room mood inside. Reviews on Yelp and Tripadvisor consistently point to the hidden door as the first impression that sets the tone.
It is a sit-down bar built for conversation rather than volume, with seating that fills early on weekends. The location in Wanhua puts it within a short walk of Ximending's main pedestrian grid, which makes it an easy late stop after dinner on the west side.
What to order
The house signatures are the point. The menu is built around cocktails inspired by elements of Taipei, so the move is to ask the bartender which drink maps to which corner of the city and order on the story rather than off a spirit category. Start with whichever signature the bar is best known for that season, follow with a spirit-forward stirred drink to judge the bar's balance, and let the bartender steer the third round. For drinkers who prefer classics, the team builds standards cleanly; the signatures are simply where the bar makes its argument. Pricing sits in the upper-mid Taipei band, in line with the city's destination cocktail rooms rather than its night-market stalls.
The crowd and best time to go
The room pulls a mix of Taipei regulars, couples, and visitors who came for the hidden-bar experience. Best time to go is earlier in the evening, before the Ximending crowds peak, when the door is easier to find and the bar has room to talk you through the list. Later, the room tightens and the weekend wait grows, so a reservation helps on Friday and Saturday nights. Ximending stays busy late, so the bar’s calmest stretch is the first hour after the door opens.
What regulars say
Yelp and Tripadvisor reviewers single out the hidden entrance and the attentive service as the highlights, with the occasional note that the room runs small and books up at weekends. The signature cocktails draw the strongest praise, and visitors who came for the speakeasy experience tend to rate the arrival as much as the drinks. The advice that repeats is to find the button, then let the bar guide the order.
Who it's for
HANKO 60 is for speakeasy hunters, dates that want atmosphere, and drinkers who like a cocktail with a local story attached. It is not the spot for a fast, casual round. It belongs on any Taipei cocktail bar route through the west side, and features in our best cocktail bars in Asia guide. Browse more on the Taipei bar guide.
