Taipei Bar Guide
50 bars across the city, organised by neighbourhood and occasion.
Taipei has quietly become one of the best cocktail cities in Asia. Three of the worlds top 50 bars have been Taipei bars in recent years. The local bartender community is small, ambitious, and obsessed. The ingredients available — local fruits, Taiwanese tea, regional rice spirits — are unique enough to drive distinctive drink programmes.
Five neighbourhoods cluster the action. Daan and Xinyi are where the world ranked cocktail bars are. Zhongzheng has the older neighbourhood institutions. Ximending is loud and young, the place for dive bars. Linsen North Road has the after work crowd. Da'an Park area is the residential quiet zone with smaller bars locals defend.
Most bars open at 7pm or 8pm and run until 2am. The cocktail scene takes itself seriously. Prices are mid range — a serious cocktail costs about 400 to 500 NTD, around 12 to 15 euros. The food scene supports drinking; most cocktail bars do small plates that are far better than they need to be.
Browse by occasion
Pubs in Taipei
Traditional public houses
Tiki Bars in Taipei
Tropical cocktail rooms
Whiskey Bars in Taipei
Single-malt selections
Wine Bars in Taipei
Curated bottle lists
Cocktail Bars in Taipei
World-class cocktail rooms
Rooftop Bars in Taipei
Skyline drinks
Sports Bars in Taipei
Watch parties
Date Night in Taipei
Romantic spots
After Work in Taipei
Borrel hours
Live Music in Taipei
Bands and DJs
Craft Beer in Taipei
Microbreweries and taprooms
Hidden Gems in Taipei
Unmarked doors
Top Picks This Week
Indulge Bistro
Routinely in the worlds top 50. Aki Wang built the program around Asian botanicals — Taiwanese tea, makgeolli, kumquat. The cocktails are precise and the kitchen is excellent.
Bar Mood
Modernist cocktail room with an exceptional whisky selection. The seasonal menu rotates every quarter. Reserve. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
Draft Land
Cocktails on tap. Pre-batched and chilled, served in 5cl pours over giant ice. The format is Taiwanese in origin and the drinks are precise. Casual, cheap, fast.
Ounce
Hidden behind a bookshop. You enter through a fake bookshelf. The room is quiet, the cocktails classical, and the bartenders trained. Reserve.
Room By Le Kief
Le Kief, one of the senior Taipei bartenders, runs this. The room is small and the menu is six drinks rotating monthly. Standing room only after 9pm.
Sober
Whiskey focused with a back bar of around 200 bottles. The bartenders know what they have. Quiet conversational room. Open Tuesday to Sunday.
Neighbourhood Guide
Daan
The serious cocktail district. World ranked bars cluster here. Walk-up MRT access at Daan or Zhongxiao Fuxing. The crowd is mid thirties professional.
Xinyi
Newer commercial district with skyscraper cocktail rooms. Bar Mood and a few hotel bars anchor the scene. Skews wealthier and more international.
Zhongzheng
Older neighbourhood with the heritage cocktail rooms and a few unmarked doors. Ounce is the headliner. Bars are quieter and more discreet here.
Ximending
Loud, young, dive bar central. The bars are simple and cheap. Worth a visit if you want energy and a karaoke room. Less interesting if you want craft.
Songshan
East of the centre, mixed residential and creative. Small cocktail rooms have been opening here. Less crowded, often smarter.
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