PUN — Restaurant in Da'an District

incredibly disappointed with our experience at Bar Pun, considering this location came highly recommended and was one of the higher profile bar openings in Taipei last year. we came to Bar Pun after dinner around 9PM on a Friday. There were 4 people in our group and we ordered 4 cocktails. Penicillin and Jon Snow tasted fine, but X Fizz and Siri were not drinkable. X Fizz smelled artificial and tasted terrible (think toilet freshener), likely from the sub-par verbena syrup. Siri was way too sweet even for Taiwanese standards. My friends who ordered those drinks essentially left 3 quarters untouched. Even though they had plenty of servers covering the tables, they did not follow-up once on how the drinks were after our cocktails were served. Before leaving, we aired our concerns with our server, he then asked for our phone number to follow-up; it's been two weeks since our visit, and we have not heard back from them. ultimately if you're looking for ambiance and decor, Pun might be a good choice, but if you're a serious cocktail drinker looking for consistency and creativity, I'd probably go...

Beautiful speakeasy / cocktail bar in the heart of Taipei. Must book ahead to enter. To order a cocktail you first choose one of eight cocktail categories (eg refreshing or spirit-forward). Then you’re given a choice of two cocktails for each category. Each cocktail is accompanied by a story told by the mixologist (ours was fluent in English and mandarin).

My personal favorites were the obba top up (a refreshing lime flavored cocktail) and the old-fashioned (Woodford reserve version instead of their tequila version).

The venue was unique — the entrance is in a hidden alleyway and you need to press a hidden button to enter. Once in you go upstairs to the bustling bar or the more exclusive, quieter basement with individual seats. The basement is where you get the cocktail experience mentioned above.

Prices are $300 flat fee and ~$500 per drink. So quite pricey. Time is also a bit rigid at 2 hours. Didn’t quite enjoy the snack that was given with the cocktails. So negatives are price, time flexibility, and snacks.

Worth experiencing downstairs once — probably will try the upstairs...

A wonderfully kept secret in the streets of Taipei. The first trick is figuring out how to enter! A very chill speakeasy. I'm from Chicago and would have no idea about this place without my cousin (who is a local). Great ambience, with exquisitely crafted cocktails and music not so loud you can still hear one another and have great conversation. The hospitality of the staff is outstanding, who are knowledgeable on the menu offerings and prepared to make educated recommendations. My mojito was outstanding, not too sweet or strong. They had unique drinks as well, such as the bubble tea with whiskey boba! Don't forget to order the truffle fries so you can order multiple drinks responsibly. And exiting the bar is another experience, but I won't spoil that adventure. Coming back on my next trip to Taiwan....