Merlot Cafe & Bistro — Restaurant in Da'an District

We had spent about seven weeks in the warm embrace of the southern hemisphere; Australia, Thailand, Viet Nam. Then we arrived in Taipei to (relatively) cold, wet weather. Ironically, the last time we saw rain was in Los Angeles, before we left the US. We ditched our bags in our lodgings, then we started looking for something to warm our spirits. Out of sheer dumb luck, we looked down a nearby lane and saw a sign that said “Merlot”. First, we understood the language, second, we knew we could warm our spirits. And how warm we found it to be. We ordered a half bottle of a very nice Italian Chardonnay, but as we sat at the bar, we met two other Anglophones, and best of all the owner and his wife. We drank both halves of the bottle and made reservations for the next night. Dinner the next night was wonderful. Oh, I should mention that though we are in the middle of Taipei, Merlot is an Italian restaurant. We had a flavorful mushroom soup with truffle oil, an antipasto of Parma ham, good mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto, then our mains, a New Zealand beef short rib and a shrimp pesto penne. Um, and more wonderful wine. The owner has really good sources for his ingredients. Not only does the food taste good, the plates are gorgeous. We chatted with the owners over after dinner drinks. They gave us all sorts of good advice about visiting Taipei, which we have followed to our benefit. And that’s the thing. We wandered into this place cold and wet. We found a place filled with warmth, charm, grace, and lots of garlic. We’re not romantic, but I could see this as a perfect place for a romantic evening. In fact, one of the Anglophones we met on our first night was there because his fiancée was down the street selecting her wedding dress. I’ll bet they have dined there together before. I know I would be a repeat visitor were we in...

This restaurant is fast becoming our favorite restaurant in Taipei. We have been to a few well known fine dining places in Taipei (ephernite and mume) but our overall experience in this restaurant is amazing. The location, the ambiance, music and most importantly the food is astounding not to mention you don't feel like you are breaking the bank with the prices. We spent less than $100 for two people plus the maitre d was kind enough to offer us two glasses of complementary wine.

Reservation can be easily done through facebook. They respond very quickly to messages. The staff speak English fairly well. On our first visit we ordered anti-pasta with some french wine, pesto soup, Bolognese risotto and wild mushroom risotto. It was delicious. The flavors are not too strong, you can clearly taste the rich flavor of mushroom and mushroom sauce with the risotto pasta. Our second visit, we ordered anti-pasta again and paired with white wine from Chile. We ordered wild mushroom soup since last time we had the pasta we figured the soup might also be good. We were not disappointed. We also ordered chicken pesto sauce pasta which was rich and the chicken was flavorful. We also had pan seared sea bass which I highly recommend. It comes with roasted vegetables (carrots, cabbage spoutes, mushroom and zuchini) and a cream herb and spiced sauce which makes the fish mildly sweet.

I highly recommend this place for those wanting something private and romantic experience...

We need to share our thoughts about our visit to Merlot Cafe & Bistro (actually several just to be sure our first visit wasn't just a 'great experience on a good night'.) We were very impressed with the attention we were given by Bob, the owner. Our selections of the main courses were excellent and wine paring suggestions were coming from someone who understands the delicate balance of food and wine. Truly well done.

But we also believe there are other ways to tell if the owner has a memorable dinning experience in mind for you (other than food and drink). First impressions are always important. Friendly people willing to show their enthusiasm for this Cafe and well set tables are always a good sign. We got the impression the table was set by someone who cared about what they were doing. Silverware and stems were placed with care. I don't want to be a bore about this but I think it is worth noting. We got a good feeling just sitting down at the table --- before the waiter arrived. Again, well done.

We recommend Merlot Cafe & Bistro (and we will be back).

Richard and...