L'arrière-cour, also known by its Chinese name Hou Yuan, sits down a quiet lane off Section 2 of Anhe Road in Taipei's Da'an District. The whisky bar opened in 2000, and as Taiwan Nights records, it keeps around 400 whiskies on the shelf at any one time, with more than 3,500 different bottles poured across its run. The pitch is a deep whisky library run by owner and collector Steven Lin rather than a cocktail counter.
Published March 28, 2026 · By Morten Andersen
The room
The room is small and dimly lit, a collector's den of bottle-lined shelves and low seating that holds only a couple of dozen drinkers. Reviewers on Tripadvisor describe an intimate, plush space where the staff guide the choice rather than a loud bar. The crowd skews to whisky enthusiasts, after-work professionals from the surrounding Da'an blocks, and visitors sent by word of mouth.
Lane 23 runs off Anhe Road in the Da'an District, a short walk from the Xinyi Anhe metro station. The bar hides at the back of the lane, which is part of its appeal as a quiet retreat from the streets above. Finding the door is half the visit, and regulars treat the obscurity as a feature.
What to order
The list is built around single malt and world whisky rather than cocktails, with the by-the-glass range the way most guests taste through the shelf. Whisky Magazine, in its guide to Taiwanese bars, places L'arrière-cour among the country's serious whisky destinations. The staff steer drinkers by style and budget, opening rarer bottles for those who ask.
For a first visit a flight or a few measures chosen with the bartender is the order the room is built around. The depth of the back bar rewards a return, since the rotating rarities rarely repeat. Prices climb with the rarity of the pour, in line with a specialist whisky bar.
Who it is for
L'arrière-cour fits a whisky drinker after range and guidance, an after-work pair wanting a quiet measure, and anyone who rates a collector's bar over a busy cocktail room. Skip it for a large group or a loud night out, since the room is small and the mood is hushed. It rewards guests who come to taste and let the staff open something new.
Best time to go
The bar trades in the evenings, and its small size means a quiet weeknight is the calm window for the staff's attention. A reservation is wise given the limited seating, especially later in the week. An early arrival buys a seat at the bar and time to talk through the shelf.
Weekend nights fill the few seats quickly, so booking ahead is the safe call. A midweek visit is the relaxed way to work through a flight without the wait. The depth of the list, rather than any single bottle, is what should set the pace of the evening.
The detail worth knowing
The longevity is the detail that sets it apart, since the bar has poured since 2000 and built one of Taipei's deepest whisky shelves in that time. Taiwan Nights notes the roughly 400 bottles kept in rotation, a figure few bars in the city match. Owner Steven Lin's standing as a whisky authority is the reason serious drinkers seek the lane out.
Few Taipei bars carry the back-catalogue depth that two decades of collecting have given this one. The hidden-lane setting keeps it a word-of-mouth find rather than a walk-in. More than twenty years on, it remains a default name on the city's whisky maps.
The bottom line
L'arrière-cour is Taipei's veteran whisky den, a hidden Da'an room open since 2000 with around 400 whiskies and an owner who knows them all. Come on a quiet evening, book ahead for the small room, and let the staff pour. It is a collector's whisky bar rather than a cocktail lounge, and the shelf is the reason to find the lane.
Keep exploring with our best whiskey bars in Taipei guide, the full Taipei bar guide, and our edit of whiskey bars worldwide. Pair L'arrière-cour with Kavalan Tasting Bar, Le Kief, and Ounce.
