Kaohsiung
A casual 1km stroll from Pier-2 Art Center through a charming neighbourhood brings you to this neat little place that serves up tasty and affordable soup…
Must-see restaurants in Taiwan
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Decorated like a heavily stylised tree, this roadside coffee shop gets wildly busy on holiday lunchtimes for meal sets served on lotus leaves. These…
Taipei
There’s no English sign for this extremely popular unagi (eel) restaurant; you’ll spot it by the long lines waiting outside. The queue moves quickly…
Taipei
Salt Peanuts offers inventive brunch sets with delicately dressed salads, homemade bread and chunky vegetable quiches, as well as some of the best…
Taipei
At the northern end of historic Dihua St is Taipei's finest Guizhou restaurant. The interior is upscale but relaxed, and dishes are authentic and well…
Taipei
Hearty plates of Thai favourites from a tangy, lemony pad thai to coconut curries. Sara Thai has a rowdy, studenty vibe at night, but the service and food…
Taroko National Park
This unpretentious but contemporary place in Fushi/Taroko village serves set meals with plenty of fresh local ingredients, giving an accessible…
Penghu Islands
Simple but contemporary, this eat-at-the-counter outlet of a local seafood producer serves their juicy oysters in a range of formats: on the shell (NT$150…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
If you're driving or cycling Hwy 9, consider stopping to eat one of the imaginative multidish meals at this outwardly inauspicious roadside diner 7km…
Northern Taiwan
This clean and efficient little shop close to City God Temple serves tantalising Taiwan-style roasted duck shredded on a bed of rice (鴨肉飯; yāròu fàn)…
Taichung
The owner of Miyahara has transformed an old bank (1966) into a trendy three-storey cafe and restaurant. The old vault doors and standing-height counter…
Northern Taiwan
English-speaking owner Pinyu presides over this cute cafe-restaurant with furniture hewn together by a local artist and funky hanging bottle lighting…
Taipei
Opened in 2007 by a New Zealander, KGB (short for Kiwi Gourmet Burger) has developed a near-cult following because of its amazing burgers (including vegan…
Kaohsiung
A laid-back restaurant known for well-executed Taiwanese dishes and above-average pricing. At lunch, it's full of middle-class families and couples. At…
Taipei
Imaginative Taiwanese and western cuisine using tofu and lots of vegetables. The three-cup lion's mane mushroom is a delicious bowl of big meaty mushroom…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Choose from four beautifully presented sticky-rice meal sets that come artistically arranged on wooden plank-plates with well-chosen garnish dishes. The…
Taitung
This youthfully relaxed but moodlily atmospheric mod-Japanese izakaya does particularly satisfying don (rice-bowl) meals. The small tables are good for…
Taitung
A whole row of ultrasimple eateries at Fugang Port offer superb fish at very reasonable prices, cooking up a catch that's just been landed from boats that…
Taichung
Qinyuan Chun offers hearty, old-fashioned Shanghainese cooking. The restaurant opened in 1949, the year Chiang Kai-shek and his forces fled to Taiwan, and…
Tainan
A narrow corner space that whips up a mean donburi (Japanese rice bowl), and other goodies like fried chicken and beer (served in frosty mugs). There are…
Kaohsiung
An elegant teahouse that makes refined versions of classics such as braised pork and panfried milkfish. Pore over a book or watch the world go by as you…
Behind-the-Temple Seafood Congee
Kaohsiung
This wonderful street-corner shop with an iron roof whips up delicious soups and congee with fresh local seafood. The signature seafood congee (招牌海產粥,…
Tainan
This modern milkfish joint sells the usual suspects – fish broth, panfried milkfish and braised pork rice, plus innovations like soy milk- or miso-based…
Tainan
Possibly the world's most elegant place to suck on a popsicle. This beautiful Japanese house with koi pond and pruned bushes was built in 1925 as an…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Driftwood branches, netting and shell-mosaic lamps give a gentle charm to this cosy wooden restaurant, hidden just off the main road in Hongtou (Imaorod)…
Taichung
The ecoconscious chef of this private kitchen takes great pains to source quality Taiwan ingredients for his skilful French-style meals – line-caught fish…
Tainan
Da Dong hasn't yet caught the attention of mass tourism despite the high number of delicious stalls. Vendors here have clearly delineated boundaries: if…
Taipei
Loud, rustic and fun, #21 offers great food that's very fresh and very Taiwanese. The place gets its name from its two specialities: roasted goose meat…
Kenting National Park
Kenting's night market is renowned as being one of the best in Taiwan, and that's saying something. Every evening as the sun goes down, the vendors stalls…
Southern Taiwan
Rustic Ibu is a specialist in indigenous cuisine and a worthy one at that. Ingredients are sourced from surrounding hills – fresh mushrooms for soup, tart…
Taipei
What's more natural to eat by the seaside than a plate of fish and chips? Opened by a British chef who married a Taiwanese guy, Britshake serves soft…
Kaohsiung
Sanmin St heaves with cheap and cheery stalls brandishing all kinds of deliciousness. One of the most famous is Chou's, for its duck cooked in angelica…
Tainan
A haven for the health and environmentally conscious, this restaurant uses naturally farmed local produce. The Asian fusion food is light and lightly…
Taichung
Fermented cabbage is the star here and it appears in various dishes – the signature hotpot (酸菜鍋, suāncài guō) alongside dried shrimp, celery and whatever…
Tainan
Fusheng is famous for wǎnguǒ, a Tainan speciality that translates into 'pudding in a bowl'. Essentially steamed rice gruel embedded with sliced pork,…
Southern Taiwan
Locals say this is the best bantiao shop on Meixing St. The noodles, made the traditional way, are indeed delicious. There's also an assortment of other…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Excellent set meals – one of them featuring utterly delicious chilli chicken with mountain pepper – come with miso soup, fruit salad and as much rice as…
Taichung
This small shop is famous for its stepped-up bento classics: rice with succulent fried pork chop (香酥排骨飯, xiāngsū páigǔ fàn) or with flavourful fried…
Kaohsiung
Great place for breakfast or a late-night snack – it's open all the time. At a glance it's just a regular street shop that specialises in milk tea, but…
Tainan
A smoky one-man affair that does one thing only but does it really well – chicken skewers. The cuts are cherry-picked, not too fatty, too lean or too…
