Sip by Sip | Taipei Nights and Creative Spirits
Taipei, Taiwan’s dynamic capital, is a city of contrasts that somehow coexist in perfect balance. Ancient temples sit quietly beside high-rise towers, night markets bustle just steps from Michelin-starred dining, and hidden behind unmarked doors, an evolving cocktail culture continues to rewrite the rules of modern mixology.
Long before Taiwan’s southern cities began to rise in bar rankings, it was Taipei that laid the groundwork for the island’s cocktail renaissance. Bartenders here were the first to move beyond whisky lounges and bottle-service clubs, creating spaces defined by intimacy, precision, and creative expression. They introduced concepts like speakeasies, terroir-inspired menus, and tea-based cocktails—elements now seen across the island.
Today, Taipei’s cocktail scene is more diverse than ever, shaped by returning bartenders with global experience, a strong culture of mentorship, and a growing appetite for drinks that tell stories. From thoughtful reinterpretations of classics to playful conceptual menus, each bar brings something distinctive to the table—and to the glass.
This chapter of Sip by Sip brought me to three standout Taipei bars: the serene Pine Bar, the art-forward unDer lab, and the bold revival of Mad:Men, formerly Room by Le Kief. Each of these venues reflects a facet of Taipei’s character -refined, risk-taking, and deeply connected to Taiwanese identity.
Like everywhere in Taipei, the best bar experiences come with timing, mood, and a little serendipity. But reservations are highly recommended, especially if you want a seat at the bar, where the magic happens.
Whether you’re visiting Taipei for the first time or returning to dive deeper into its layers, these bars offer an unforgettable window into the city’s creative soul – one sip at a time.
Exploring the Capital’s Cocktail Identity through Pine Bar, unDer lab, and Mad:Men
Pine Bar | A Forest in the City
The street outside is quiet – the kind of quiet that only Da’an’s tree-lined lanes can hold. There’s no neon sign shouting for attention, just a discreet entrance. Step inside, and the city drops away. Pine Bar doesn’t announce itself. It hums.
Once a lumber shop, the space still breathes wood. Stone floors meet warm grain, and light filters through linen-curtained shelves where bottles hide like secrets. The design is minimalist, almost monastic, and yet every detail invites presence—eyes rest, ears soften, and the palate prepares. My seat, just in front of a delicate abstract painting, 松 (pine), inked in elegant calligraphy by artist Godkidlla, offered the kind of stillness that makes you lean in, not out.
Founded by veteran bartender Yilin Chiu, Pine Bar opened in 2021 with a concept as clear as the drinks it serves: cocktails as reflections of Taiwan’s landscape, its seasons, and its quiet power. With ingredients like high-mountain tea, preserved plum, pine needles, and ginger lily, the drinks don’t just flavour the glass—they evoke terrain, memory, and mood.
The current menu, now in Season 6, is a collaborative fusion with Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne, where New Taiwanese cuisine meets New Taiwanese-style cocktails. The theme, 菜市場 (marketplace), hints at nostalgia—but what arrives at the table is restrained, modern, poetic. My opening choice was a long drink built around sake, gently bitter from gourd, lifted by Jin Xuan oolong soda, with a whisper of plum and cedar liqueur. Clear, refreshing, layered like the bar’s ambient jazz playlist—subtle but memorable. Then: 38° Kinmen Kaoliang, deep and grainy, balanced by clarified starfruit, a savoury shrimp note, and topped with a taro and condensed milk espuma. The mouthfeel was cloudlike, sweet and saline at once—a strange comfort, like eating a childhood dish in a stranger’s house. My final drink leaned into the vegetal: Tequila, clarified passionfruit, fermented manganji pepper, and Pine’s own vinegar—complex, bright, and pointed, paired with a delicate slice of seared bonito (Katsuo no Tataki) that echoed the smoky undertones of the spirit.
The menu is presented as a cleanly designed booklet—photos, ingredients, seasonal notes -and opens with this line: “Let flavour become the language of dialogue. When food and drink intertwine, New Taiwanese flavours are no longer just a collision but a resonance.” That idea – resonance – lingers.
Pine Bar doesn’t offer spectacle. There’s no flame, no fog, no clinking of Instagram glassware. But there is clarity. There is care. And there is an unmistakable sense of place. For anyone seeking a drink that doesn’t just taste like Taiwan, but feels like it – this is a place to sit, breathe, and sip slowly.
unDer lab | Below the Surface, Beyond the Ordinary
From the street, you’d never guess what waits below. Just a quiet door in Taipei’s Da’an District—no neon, no noise, only a faint sense that something unusual is happening underneath. Slide past the entrance and you descend – into shadow, into sound, into something that feels part speakeasy, part science lab, part stage set. unDer lab isn’t just a bar. It’s a concept that shifts with time, mood, and season – an immersive playground where every detail, from the shape of your seat to the rim of your glass, is part of the story.
Founded by Jackie Lin, unDer lab is built around interaction. The bar is shaped like a capital “D” – a subtle architectural cue that draws guests into close conversation with their bartender. This isn’t background service. It’s a guided tasting, a curated experience. The seating, the spotlighting, the careful choreography – it all encourages you to lean in, ask questions, engage.
On my visit, the space pulsed with quiet energy. The lighting was low but deliberate, spotlighting each cocktail like an artefact. The industrial edges, concrete, brushed steel, were softened by warm tones and the hum of creative tension.
The menu is divided into five thematic categories:
- Seasonal Scene – drinks that echo Taiwan’s shifting landscapes
- Cuisine Art – cocktails inspired by culinary technique and plating
- Teatails – tea-forward, elegant, contemplative
- Tea x Classic – modern riffs on the classics, rooted in Taiwanese tea
- Food Pairing – designed for dining, rich and integrated
There’s a clear philosophy here: cocktails aren’t just beverages – they’re memories, landscapes, sensations. Everything ties back to Taiwan’s subtropical climate, local spirits, herbs, teas, and culinary DNA.
I opened with La Pomme from the Cuisine Art section. Built on Le Gin, Fino Sherry, dry vermouth, and touched with absinthe, Genepi, and sea salt. It arrived with a slice of torched Brie, aromatic and earthy. The first sip was cool and clean, but the cheese brought out hidden warmth in the apple and herb. Savoury, silky, quietly indulgent. But I was here for tea-tails, so next: Meet Me in the Park – a dreamy blend of Bacardi Carta Blanca, watermelon, ylang ylang, and shiso. The drink was topped with a Shizuoka matcha and beetroot powder checkerboard—precise, vivid, almost too pretty to disturb. But the taste? Balanced. Fresh. Herbaceous and bright with a whisper of perfume.
That night, I got lost in conversation with the bar team. They offered stories behind each drink—what inspired it, how it evolved, why it belongs in this season. The bar felt alive, fluid. unDer lab reinvents itself every few months. Past themes have included sci-fi, Taiwanese folklore, surrealism, and time travel. The transformation isn’t surface-level – it reaches into the cocktails, the staging, even how the drinks are served. It’s no surprise the bar earned #72 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars and was named Tatler Dining’s Best Innovation. It’s not trend-chasing. It’s original, and it knows it.
For lovers of concept bars, for those who like their cocktails with a side of design, theatre, and mood – unDer lab offers something rare: drinks that don’t just satisfy, they linger.
Mad:Men | Where Structure Meets Soul
If Pine is about nature and unDer lab is about narrative, then Mad:Men is about structure. Elegance without excess. Precision without pretension. A bar that walks into the room in a tailored suit—sharp lines, quiet confidence, and just enough edge. Tucked into a side street in Taipei’s sleek Xinyi district, Mad:Men is a rebirth of sorts. The space once housed Room by Le Kief, one of Taiwan’s most experimental and gastronomic cocktail experiences. Today, under the creative direction of Seven Yi, the concept has shifted – but the DNA remains. The bones are still there: the minimalist polish, the culinary backbone, the high-concept design. But Mad:Men brings warmth into the frame. It’s smoother, more accessible, an upscale lounge that leans into modern classics, Taiwan-style.
Walk in and you feel the energy tighten. Clean lines, low light, soft textures. The room feels designed for pause – for a second look, a longer sip, a good story told slowly.
The drink menu is structured, too: 20 cocktails, each dialled in, no filler. I started with the Zen Tonic, a drink that does exactly what the name promises. Built around Muzha Tieguanyin, it’s aromatic and restrained. A thread of smoke from kombu pulls the oolong deeper into the glass, lending it a savoury, almost meditative calm. You can taste the silence between notes.
Next, I went local. Guava is one of those fruits that belongs to Taiwan – bright, familiar, slightly wild. This version was crystal clear, made with white chocolate, cedar wood, and rum. The balance was remarkable – earthy, floral, faintly sweet. Processed with centrifuge and milk washing, it tasted like the memory of guava, distilled and refined.
Mad:Men has a lab upstairs, a full kitchen and modern mixology playground. Seven Yi gave me a tour after we got chatting at the bar. Think centrifuges, sous vide, rotovaps – the tools of today’s best culinary bars, humming quietly behind the scenes. It shows in the drinks.
One of my favourites? The Coffeetini, a silky mix of house-distilled coffee and spirits, finished with a generous miso mousse. It was soft, umami-rich, and slightly indulgent. Like a dessert with discipline. Of course, the drinks here lean culinary, and the bar food follows suit. I tried the French-style ramen, a fusion dish that’s become a house favourite, rich broth, delicate textures, unmistakably comforting. The octopus and avocado salad came next – cool, fresh, beautifully plated.
Mad:Men feels like Taipei at its most polished: confident, cosmopolitan, but still deeply rooted. Where Pine is reflective and unDer lab theatrical, Mad:Men is pure structure. Clean technique, modern flavours, and a bar team that moves with purpose.
It was the last stop on my Taipei trip, and fittingly so. I sat back with one final drink, the light catching in the glass, the energy around me mellow and sure. This wasn’t just a bar – it was a statement. For anyone wanting to understand where Taipei’s cocktail culture is now – not where it’s heading, but where it already is – Mad:Men is essential.
Final Sip | Taipei’s Cocktail Identity
What I love about Taipei’s cocktail scene is that it doesn’t shout – it resonates. From the moment I stepped into Pine Bar’s forest-like serenity to the theatrical immersion of unDer lab, and the clean confidence of Mad Men, each bar spoke in a distinct voice. And yet, they shared a common thread: thoughtful flavour, beautiful execution, and a quiet reverence for place.
In Taipei, cocktails are more than just drinks. They’re vessels of memory and expression, built not just to impress, but to evoke. Whether you’re looking to reflect, to be surprised, or simply to enjoy something deeply considered, Taipei offers a bar that will meet you in that moment. And the city isn’t done evolving. Just like the drinks, its cocktail culture continues to layer, shift, and surprise – one sip at a time.
Trends Defining Taipei’s Scene. The capital continues to lead Taiwan’s cocktail movement, and not just in quantity:
- Speakeasy Allure – From hidden vending machine doors to unmarked staircases, mystery adds magic.
- Cocktails as Art – Menus are increasingly conceptual, with drinks presented like installations or stories.
- Tea and Terroir – Local teas, herbs, fruits, and spirits define flavour here. Not gimmicks—just ingredients deeply rooted in place.
- Cross-Cultural Fusion – Global influences reimagined through a Taiwanese lens. A balance of familiarity and surprise.
- Food x Drink Integration – From French-style ramen at Mad:Men to elegant pairings at Bar Mood, cocktails and cuisine now go hand in hand.
Recognition, Reflection, and What’s Next
Taipei’s bars consistently feature on Asia’s 50 Best Bars. Indulge, Bar Mood, Vender, Wu (Nothingness), and The Public House continue to draw international attention, while bartenders like Nick Wu, Kae Yin, and Pedison Kao have earned global acclaim for their skill and creativity.
But the true beauty of Taipei’s cocktail scene isn’t just in its accolades. It’s in the balance – between polish and intimacy, between precision and play. That’s what makes this city unforgettable.
Explore my full series!
This was Part 4 of my series Sip by Sip | My Cocktail Journey Through Taiwan. Curious about where the story started? Here’s the full series so far:
- Kaohsiung – A rising harbour city with quiet confidence. Featuring Voice Over and Bar Dip.
- Tainan – Taiwan’s ancient capital with timeless charm and layered flavours. Featuring Moonrock, Bar Lonely, Swallow, and more.
- Taichung – The heart of Taiwan where bold concepts meet local terroir. Featuring Vender Bar and Tor Dāy.
- Taipei – The capital, the origin, the evolution. Featuring Pine Bar, unDer lab, and Mad Men (this article).
Stay tuned for the final chapter – a full-circle reflection on Taiwan’s ascent as one of Asia’s most exciting cocktail destinations. Until then, drink well. And travel slow.
