Ninja 忍者

Profile

Address:   台北市松山區市民大道四段129號
　　　　  No. 129, Section 4, ShìMín Blvd, Songshan District, Taipei                  

Phone #:  02-2577-3300
Website: http://www.ninja-tw.com/
Price Range:   $$$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  5 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.67 out of 5
Recommendation: Entertaining Ninja Themed Japanese Restaurant
Review
Tired of the same old boring Japanese food places with similar food and uninspiring ambience? Go to Ninja! This ninja-themed Japanese Restaurant will revolutionize your Japanese Cuisine experience. Is the food great? No, but its actually pretty good. The price per person and presentation sure makes up for the fact that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto isn't preparing your monkfish tableside. For about 600 NT per person, you can have a unique dining experience in Taipei with all the smoke and mirrors alongside your sashimi. Each plate is sure to inspire awe and WTFness. Tourists should give this place a gander, and locals could seriously use some time relaxing at this joint. Even though they say the meal is 600 NT per person, ration in some alcohol and service fee for about 1000 NT per person. You are truly eating the decor, service, and atmosphere when you enter. Click "read more" to see how amazing this place is!

Instead of commenting on the decor, service, and food, I'm going to try to retell the play-by-play. You got to reserve in advance here, because it gets packed on the weekends and you have to be lucky like us to get the last remaining table on new years eve. When you walk to the entrance of the restaurant you are greeted by a comely kimono server lady who will escort you to the main dining hall when your table is ready.

She will take you to this waterfall bridge entryway where the only way in is to yell out Ninja, to activate the draw bridge. How cool is that? Past the secret passageway and up the stairs you will enter the main dining room, where you will spend the most interesting 2 hour meal you have had in your life.

The main dining hall is really packed, but there are plenty of ninja waitresses to serve you promptly, skillfully, and joyfully. The service here has to be one of the top in the middle-class dining industry. There are also tables upstairs that are more private, which can be a great option for those who are willing to spend a little more money for their own space.

Don't forget to order a lantern of beer, which is the economical way to order for a party of 6 or more. 

First course? Salad! Prepared skillfully by a female ninja. There ain't no salad like one prepared with a touch of ninjitsu. This adds so much in service points.

Second course, sashimi. What would a 9 course japanese meal be without this? Did it come presentated in a ice filled wooden wash tub with a smoking faux-volcano on top? Yes it did. The pieces of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail? all tasted great, and the fake wasabi was not so bad either. Average food presented fabulously and creatively.

They got to fill you up somehow, so the third course was none other than a ninja star shaped fried rice. Gimmicky, but it touched the child that lives in my heart.

Next up for the fourth was this not so charming plate of simmered vegetables and mushroom. I guess it's just for the fact that you need a balanced diet.

Then in come this grilled fish for the fifth course. Not too dry, pretty flavorful, but too much for us to actually finish the whole thing. Our table was not too big of a fan of grilled fish.

Would the meal be complete without tempura? I don't think so. You get a teepee of 10 shrimp tempura, and underneath you get a myriad of tempura'd vegetables. The yam is a crowd pleaser here. It comes with the typical sauce that you dip these items in. The sixth dish.

The seventh course is the chicken teriyaki. Succulent, moist, and tender. There is enough for everybody. The dish even comes with a small Seppuku so that those who dishonor this place by not being able to finish their skewers can redeem themselves through death.

At this point, it was alreayd too much food for 6 people to handle. They had to bring on this Beef Don plate to add to our troubles. Tasted similar to what you can get at yoshinoya, but with a deeper sauce and no white rice to pair it with. The amount of food you get here is ridiculous: number 8.

As if we did not have enough food, they come up with the last and 9th dish, the miso soup fish hot pot. This is a nice way to soothe your belly with some hot soup after wolfing down a lot of everything here. Also, the female ninja prepares each serving with discipline and care.

You can also order desert after the meal, or you can just enjoy the eye candy all around you. They also have a "show-time" where they get two dancers to parade around the room and then bring a lucky guy onstage to strip him of all his clothes except his underwear, and then pour a pitcher of ice down there too cool him off. Aside from that, a magician tours the dining hall to bring some tableside entertainment to the patrons. Also, at the end, you can draw straws for an extra item. The female ninja server was cool with us, so she automatically gave us the grand prize worth 900 NT: 18 peach vodka shots. We downed all of them with gratitude, and tipped her and her band of ninjettes with candy canes. It was a great dining experience. I recommend everyone who enjoys fun, food, and fantasy to come and dine at NINJA.