A CUT Steakhouse

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A CUT Steakhouse is a critically acclaimed steak house at the Ambassador in Taipei. They also opened one in the Ambassador Hotel in Hsinchu. A CUT stands among great imported steak houses like Lawry's and Ruth's Chris. A CUT offers a wide array of cuts from different types of cattle and has a wide selection of wines to compliment them. The interior design, silverware, and quality of service reflect the price you pay for the dining experience here. In Hsinchu, this is probably the best steak house available in terms of overall dining experience and food quality. If you have a craving for a upstanding slab of beef, A CUT is a good option for you.
Address: 新竹市中華路二段188號9F
                 No. 188, Section 2, Zhōnghuá Road 9F, Hsinchu City

Phone #: 03-515-1666 ext.3437
Business Hours: 11:30-17:00, 18:00-22:30
Website: http://www.acut.com

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range: $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating
Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  4.5 out of 5
Service: 4.5 out of 5

Overall: 4.5 out of 5

Side Note: Tender steaks with delicious sides

Review

Oyster Ichi

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Oyster Ichi is an oyster bar and izakaya hybrid located at the Civic Blvd and Yanji street intersection. They are an offshoot from the Ichi Izakaya located on the An He road, but incorporated an oyster bar with their delectable grilled item repertoire. The oysters are fresh and flown in from various parts of the world twice per week. You can have the choice of their minerally and substantial Belon oysters from France, or try their lighter Kumamoto oysters from Japan. They also make a pretty good sirloin steak. Their items are a lot more Japanese as they recommended adding a bit on Ponzu sauce on the Belon oysters, but still delicious. This place is a lot more affordable than the Oyster bar at Bellavita, so if you have a craving for oysters but want to save a couple hundred, stop by Oyster Ichi.

Address: 台北市延吉街58號
                No. 58, Yanji St, Daan District

Phone #: 02-2731-8887

Business Hours: 17:30-01:00
Website: Oyster Ichi Facebook Page

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range: $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating
Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Side Note: Rare affordable oyster bar in Taipei

Review

Mitsui 明水三井

Picture Borrowed From This Blog

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Mitsui is a reknown high-class Japanese Restaurant chain with many locations around Taipei. Each location has a bit of its own flair. The Ming Shui Mitsui seems like a Japanese Supermarket-Restaurant hybrid. They sport a sushi bar on the first floor and have a normal grouped seating restaurant on the second. The freshness of their ingredients are on display on the first floor sushi bar area. The upstairs area serves course meals that are a very good value considering the amount and quality of the food with resect to its price. If you come during lunch, you can enjoy a nine course meal for only 1200 NT. Of course, if you rather eat better items you can order up. Their most expensive course meal is priced at 3200 NT. However, you can even grab their bento boxes for around 450 NT, there is something for everybody here at Ming Shui Mitsui.

Address: 台北市明水路602號2F
                No. 604, Míngshuǐ Rd, Jhongshan District

Phone #: 02-2533-8802

Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-22:30
Website: http://www.mitsuitaipei.com.tw/

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range: $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating
Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4.5 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Side Note: Go for straight nigiri or sashimi at bartop at this location.

Review

Ishizen 石膳日本料理

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Ishizen is a surprising little Japanese hot pot restaurant located in the fringe of the Sin Yi District. The chef is an actually Japanese and a direct descendant of a famous chef family line. The chef's grandfather was the founder of sumo wrestler hot pots and his father was a famous french chef lauded by the Japanese royal family. By some twist of fate, the owner married a Taiwanese woman and ended up bringing his family recipes to Taiwan and serves authentic Japanese food to the people here. The standard hot pot set consists of many types of seafood, slices of red meat, and plenty of vegetables. They use the most high quality ingredients, their salmon and scallops are sashimi grade, so the high price is warranted. The soup base is also very special. They use white beans fermented for a year as the base of the broth, and they also place a few secret spices including red peppers. However, the meal will be rather light in flavor in comparison to spicy Taiwanese hotpots, but you can defintitely taste the freshness and the raw unadulterated flavors of their ingredients with their style of soup base and condiments. Ishizen is worth a visit for a unique Japanese hot pot experience in Taipei.

Address:  台北市基隆路一段428號

                 Section 1, Jīlóng Rd, Sinyi District Taipei City

Phone #:  02-8780-2836

Business Hours: 11:30-14:00, 17:30-21:30

Website: http://www.ishizen.com.tw/
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Final Thought: Authentic Japanese Sumo Wrestler Hot Pot

Review

Bamboo Fish Trap 筌壽司

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Bamboo Fish Trap is a Japanese restaurant located on the fringe of the East district hidden in an alley way off the Fuxing and Shi Ming Blvd intersection. Bamboo Fish Trap is a type of restaurant where there aren't any traditional menus, but they serve whatever is fresh and will provide a full-course meal  for you. Their full course meals cost around 2000 NT. Pay this restaurant a visit if you would like to try fresh local fishes in a Traditional-esque Japanese style sushi bar.

Address: 台北市大安區安東街29-1號

                No. 29-1, Āndōng St, Daan District Taipei City

Phone #: 02-2771-1856

Business Hours: 11:30-14:30 , 17:30-21:30

Website: N/A

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Good place for regional and fresh sushi.

Review

Cow Daddy 牛爸爸

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Cow Daddy is the pimpest Beef Noodle restaurant on this block. Depending on your tastes, they can give you their cheapest most bare bones Beef Noodle soup for 150 NT or they can present you with their most baller bowl of beef noodle ever. They have a bowl of beef noodle with 4 cuts of beef (including wagyu) consisting of the most Q noodles and a rich and savory beef stock. Such an extravagant bowl of beef noodles can not be enjoyed without dropping 10 stacks. If you feel like making it rain for some scrumptious beef noodle soup, then you gotta round up the crew and hit up Cow Daddy.

Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段216巷27弄16號
                 No. 16, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd, Daan District

Phone #: 02-2778-3075
Business Hours: 11:00-21:30
Website: http://www.688beefbowl.com/

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4.16 out of 5
Recommendation: Baller Beef Noodles

Review

Indulge Experimental Bistro

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Indulge Experimental Bistro is a hidden treasure among the restaurants and lounges in Taipei. They are tucked away in a seemingly residential section of an alley near the Zhong Xiao FuXing MRT Station. Indulge offers some of the finest cocktails available and at a fair price. At around 350 NT, you can try the  concoctions of their reknown mixologists. The food is worth a try, but their appetizers and late night snack section are safer choices than their dinner menu, which contains entrees like "Spagetti with Wild Flower Crab and East Port Mullet Roe Slice". That entree is an example of Indugle's use of local Taiwanese ingredients to create new European influenced dishes to bring something unique to the food scene. Expect to spend at least 1000 per person to indulge in an array of good meals and mesmerizing cocktails.

Address:  台北市復興南路一段219巷11號
                 No. 11, Lane 219, Section 1, Fùxīng South Rd, Daan District

Phone #: 02-2773-0080
Business Hours: 17:00-02:00

Website: http://indulgetaipei.blogspot.com/

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Great Cocktails and Novel Dishes

Review

The Villa Herbs

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The Villa Herbs is an enchanting dining space in the middle of the south east corner of the Da An District. It is quite close to the Tong Hwa Nightmarket and a light stroll from the Liu Zhang Li MRT station. When you walk through the front gate you are transported to a pseudotropical "villa". It is a comfortable and interesting place to have a meal or just grab a few drinks. They mix pretty decent drinks, but the food is generally not as good for the price you are paying. They do have some good dishes like their truffle risotto. Come visit and enjoy their relaxing atmosphere.

Address:  台北市大安區樂利路11巷32號
                 No. 32, Lane 11, LèLì Rd, Daan District Taipei City, Taiwan 106

Phone #: 02-2732-3255
Business Hours: 12:00-0:00

Website: N/A

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  yes
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Interesting Interior Average Western Food


Review

Alleyway BBQ 胡同燒肉

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Alleyway BBQ is an asian style BBQ house with manly locations including one in the NEO19 building in the bustling Sin Yi District. The Chinese name Hu Tong 胡同 invokes Beijing style cuisine, but the establishment is more like one of those pervasive Japanese style BBQ houses with a little more class. The prices are slightly higher than the average Japanese BBQ house, and each individual can expect to spend at least 1000 NT for a nice meal. They have excellent service and a posh clean atmosphere, and you can come here and dine freshly grilled filet mignon, sirloin steaks, lamb chops, butter chicken, and other bbq-able items you can think of. Out of all the Asian BBQ houses, this one sets the bar in terms of quality of food and service.

Address:  台北市松壽路22號
                 No. 22, SōngShòu Rd, Sinyi District Taipei City, Taiwan 110
Map:

Phone #: 02-2723-8838

Business Hours: 18:00-01:00
Website: http://www.hutong.com.tw/

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4.5 out of 5
Overall: 4.33 out of 5
Recommendation: Classy Asian BBQ with great service



Review

Pizza Pub 比薩屋

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Address: 台灣臺北中正區忠孝東路一段12號
                 No. 12, Section 1, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Jhongjheng District
Phone #: 02-2321-1818
Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 18:00-22:00
Website: http://www.sheraton-taipei.com/english/r_pizza.htm

Price Range:   $$$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 2.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5
Overall: 2.5 out of 5
Recommendation: Don't try their overpriced and bland pizzas

Review

Pizza Pub is a upper-mid level restaurant serving pizzas in a nice dining space. They are located in the B1 level of the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei. The concept of serving pizzas in a homey yet classy pub is a very good idea. However, the restaurant fails to serve delicious pizzas, which leaves you with nothing else to satisfy you besides consuming the unimpressive aura of the dining space. It costs 450 NT for 8 inches of bland, uncheesy dough circles here. The value at the pizza pub is very low and it feels like you are paying a lot for bad food and bad service. I really wanted to like this place, but their core product is just so bad that I can not recommend their pizzas to anyone with a clear conscience. If you have to come to Pizza Pub, try something else instead of their pizza.

Shanghai Shanghai 紅豆食府

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Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段45號11樓
                No. 45, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Daan District
Phone #: 02-2778-1088
Business Hours: 11:00-14:30, 17:00-21:30

Website: http://www.shanghaishanghai.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Good Shanghainese Cuisine in Modern Dining Space

Review

"Shanghai Shanghai" is an upper-mid level restaraunt that offers authentic Shanghainese Cuisine from its multiple locations in Taipei. "Shanghai Shanghai" offers an extensive menu with classic dishes like Dong Puo Pork and Wu Xi Ribs. For those who don't know or can't decide, they also have recommended family set meals where you get appetizers, dishes, soup and dessert for a price of $2550 NT for 3 people. They also provide lunch sets for 450 NT a person. In terms of their a la carte menu, most dishes average around 450 NT, but seafood and beef items tend to cost more. "Shanghai Shanghai" offers a classy Chinese family dining experience with a family friendly price tag.

Joyce East

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Address: 台北市信義區信義路五段128號一樓
                 No. 128, Section 5, XìnYì Rd, Sinyi District Taipei City
Phone #: 02-8789-6128
Business Hours: 11:30-0:00

Website: http://www.joycecafetw.com/

Price Range:   $$$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: semicasual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Recommendation: High-Value Afternoon Tea

Review

In the bustling Hsin Yi district, there are many options for afternoon tea. There is Smith and Hsu, A3 at Bella Vita, and Elite Concept at the Taipei 101 just to name a few. Among the many places to enjoy a relaxing cup of tea accompanied with exquisite snacks and desserts, Joyce East stands out as a prime gateway restaurant to hook you into a life of afternoon tea-ing. Joyce East offers a deluxe afternoon tea experience at the very competitive price of 880 NT for two persons. The 3-tiered set comes with 2 tiers of snacks, and 1 tier of small desserts. The items will vary, but expect to see some sort of sandwich, a few pastries, and an assortment of cakes and puffs. The quality of the items is pretty high, and the prices are a lot cheaper than Smith and Hsu, A3, or Elite Concept, making this an afternoon tea experience with a relatively high value.

Chao Fare Collective 潮品集

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Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段172號
                No. 172, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Da-an District
Phone #: 02-2772-2687-9
Business Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11:30 – 14:30, 17:30 – 21:00
·                           Fri-Sat: 11:00 – 15:00, 17:30 – 21:00

Website: http://www.sanwant.com/

Price Range:   $$$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: semicasual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Upscale Chao Zhou Restaurant
Review

The Chao Fare Collective inside the San Want Hotel on Zhong Xiao East Rd is an upscale Chinese restaurant featuring the regional cuisine of Chao Zhou. Although part of the menu seems to be cantonese dim sum, most items in the front of the menu claim to be Chao Zhou cuisine. Chao Zhou Cuisine seems to be a little less salty and not so heavy. Also, it seems like most of the dishes have a sweet quality in them. The set meals all consist of shark fin soup, appetizers, entree, and a dessert starting from 980 NT. However, from now til 5/31/2011, you can try their all you can eat 880 NT per person special anniversary menu to try this restaurant out for a cheaper price. This special menu applied only to dinner hours only. Check this place out before this promotion is over.

Chamonix 夏慕尼

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Address:  新竹縣竹北市光明一路128號1樓
                 No. 128, GuāngMíng 1st Rd, Jhubei City, Hsinchu County
Phone #:  03-657-0648

Website: http://www.chamonix.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Take out: yes

Waiter Service: yes

Outdoor seating:  no

Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5

Decor:  4.5 out of 5

Service: 5 out of 5

Overall: 4.67 out of 5

Recommendation: High-Value Teppanyaki with wide menu selection.

Review

Chamonix is a chain teppanyaki restaurant run by the Wowprime Group. They are known to deliver high quality dining experiences at each of their restaurants. Chamonix is no exception. At the flat rate of 980 NT a person, you can enjoy a full 6 course meal: appetizer, bread and salad, soup, entree with sides, and dessert with beverage. At under 1000 NT, it is a fair value for the meal you are receiving. You can also choose from a different combinations of entrees and sides, that a return trip could offer a whole different experience. It would be difficult to exaust the menu in few trips. I recommend Chamonix as a safe bet for quality teppanyaki at a bearable price. I have yet to find out if the Taipei 101 teppanyaki priced at 2k+ is worth its weight. For now, Chamonix is high up on the list, their food paired with their excellent service makes this place a solid leader in Taiwanese Teppanyaki restaurants.

Ninja 忍者

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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!

DOZO

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Address:    台北市大安區光復南路102號1樓
                   No. 102, GuāngFù South Rd, Da-an District

       
Phone #:    02-2778-1135
Website: http://www.dozoizakaya.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:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Good place for drinks, pricey array of Japanese Cuisine.

Review

Near the Sun Yat Sen Memorial MRT station, there is a trendy Izakaya called Dozo. They serve an assortment of Japanese cuisine from sushi to yakiniku. A lot of their items do not seem very traditional, but a modernized twist of Japanese fare. It will also take a couple dollars to fill yourself up, since their menu items are quite pricey as the quantity of each dish is quite small. Three pieces of nigiri will run you around 300 NT. And six skewers of meat will run you 340. Yet, if you can afford the cost, Dozo offers a sleek modern space to enjoy intriguing cocktails over some snack-type foods. They also offer a small selection of original desserts that are delicious and well-presented.