Le Blanc Taipei — Restaurant in Da'an District

I debated whether to post this review but ultimately went ahead because of the drastic food experience I got compared to the overall rave reviews I read on G. And because I read the reviews, I would want others to share their true experience.

First and foremost the store was clean and service was good overall. Main reason for my low rating is because of the quality of the steak. As many have mentioned, LB basically only sells two items, Steak & Lobster. I figured even a moron can cook decent steak after 5 years of operations.

So, I RSVP for M-Day celebration and we all ordered the 10-oz "USDA Prime Rib-eye" as printed on menu for NT$ 1,500. I specifically asked the waiter for medium-rare and not on the the medium side. And also to leave the steak whole. First to serve was the carrot soup and bread pudding like bread. Both were alright and I thought this maybe a good sign that the steak will be decent.

So steak was served and my first impression was that these steaks do not look like Ribeye. Ok, I never had 10-oz Ribeye so maybe just my bad. Then, I noticed an end portion was sliced off and barely connected. Hmm...i asked the steak to be left whole. That's fine, I didn't complain. So I cut open the middle and it looked medium rare but a bit over . Still fine, what's important is the taste and texture. So after taking the first and 2nd bite I knew this was, IMO, most Definitely NOT PRIME, NOT RIBEYE, and very likely not even USDA. I'm guessing Australian. The steak was bland, absolutely none of the fat induced flavor you get from USDA Ribeye. Even if you used no salt. And there's no way in hell this is Prime as stated on Le Blanc's menu. At best, this is some low level grade Choice New York Cut. All of our steaks had many sinews in them. You do not get that in USDA Prime Ribeye. They call it Prime for a reason. I didn't expect it to be Prime even if LB states it on the menu. Because I've had Choice grade meats served at US steak chains in Taipei.

I'm not a trained chef but I grew up in the US and have dined at the major Intl, LA & Chicago, Mid-west chains...etc I also cook my ribeye every so often using Costco Choice & Prime grade Ribeye and can cook my Choice Ribeye to taste like Prime served in US restaurants. In fact, I've also gone to Costco in Taipei many times to buy their ribeye, both Choice & Prime. So that's why I'm like 99.999% sure that LB did not serve my party Prime Ribeye. And also pretty sure it is not USDA.

Lastly, except for a few and one Western reviewer, who complained about the drink mix up and mentioned the food was so-so, nothing to rave about. Most of the patrons who posted, both from Taiwan and the West, raved about their steaks. I really do not understand what these people are talking about. Either they're clueless when it comes to Ribeye or my party got served low grade...

Seriously bang for your buck steakhouse in Taipei.

Reservations are a must - we decided to go on rainy Wednesday night and had to be put on a wait list. Luckily, someone cancelled so we were able to take their spot!

We got the steak (NT1000) and lobster (NT1400) set. Both sets come with profiteroles, soup or salad, and unlimited fries.

They have alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as delicious sounding milkshakes. I decided to go for the non-alcoholic sparking drink (grapefruit, came in a glass bottle so not freshly mixed but that's fine since this is a steakhouse).

The salad was super fresh and included sliced cheese. The pumpkin soup was rich and flavorful. The profiteroles were baked a bit too long for my liking but still good.

I really wanted to try their truffled mac but completely forgot about it as they didn't even offer the menu with the sides. Quite disappointed about that actually.

We got the steak medium. The meat was perfectly pink. It also came with horseradish on the side.

The grilled lobster was conveniently split in half for us. It also came with a large corn on the cob, buttered up fairly well (bit too much butter). The corn should have been cut in half, to be honest, because eating the entire cob in my hand in a well-mannered way was difficult (this is a steakhouse after all).

Dessert was strawberry cheesecake and yuzu panna cotta. The size of the cheesecake was underwhelming (cut in a way that seemed as if they had to cut away the "bad half" or someone just ate half the slice haha). Needless to say, it was small. However it was a good, thick, and rich NY style cheesecake. The panna cotta was unique because the yuzu part is actually just the top ice part. Underneath is panna cotta and a sweet jelly layer. Both desserts were delicious.

Overall, highly recommend for great steak and lobster at a reasonable (compared to other big name...

Came here on Wednesday night with a reservation for a group of 6 at 8pm.

The restaurant is very bright and clean. I saw about 5 or 6 front of house members, and the dining room only had about 20 people counting us.

The menu is pretty simple, and for the most part, the food is good. Specifically, the salad is delicious with a nice tangy vinaigrette. Good salad is hard to find in Taiwan. The warm popovers and fries were also delicious. I don't usually like thin fries, but these were really good.

The reason for the average food score is the steak. I ordered the steak and a whole lobster, the only things on the menu, really. It was recommended medium rare, and that's how I like my steaks, but this one came out rare, even blue. I didn't bother sending it back, but another person in our group did. It also came pre-cut because why?

Well, the why is because I don't think the steak knives they have on the table have ever been sharpened after they were bought.

My lobster, however, was steamed perfectly, and the corn was buttery and tender.

Service was weird because we ordered a bottle of wine, but instead of bringing it to our table, they kept it in a wine bucket at the bar. So, every time we needed a refill, we had to flag down the server who was not proactive about filling our glasses. You'd think they'd want us to drink more of the NT$1200 bottles.

Overall, it was a decent meal with friends but it could've been better. Everything but the steaks was delicious, but you're a steak restaurant. Cook your steaks properly, don't pre-cut it (I'm not a child), sharpen your steak knives, and if your servers are not going to be proactive in pouring wine, leave the bottle and wine bucket...