VG the Seafood Bar, Taipei — Restaurant in Da'an District

Food was much better than the service. Let's start with the positives: Flavorful dishes with creative plating. The lemon tart was spectacular. Environment calm, spacious, and relaxed, although a bit chilly. The oysters were fresh and delicious. I enjoyed the salmon dish - not only the mix of herbs and flavors together but the textures as well. Bread was fresh and warm. Ahi tuna poke was a great choice of starter. Beef was not overcooked and quite delicious. Duck done to perfect. Despite this winning selection of food and (a member of my party) being invited by an investor, the service was unprofessional. I was seated and offered sparkling or still, I chose still - which apparently meant that I made the choice for the entire party because no one was offered this choice again. I have no problem paying 100 for free flow, but let each person choose what they want. Waited 25 min. until we had to ask for a menu. Came half way through our main course to tell us the daily special (kinda late to order it). It was especially hard to get waiters attention, not sure if it was where we were seated, or they weren't paying attention. We ordered tea and dessert at the same time (to enjoy together) and there was a 20 min gap between them. Had to wave down the server for the bill. Our dinner was nearly 3 hours because of these big delays. If you're gonna charge those higher prices, you gotta get the service on point. It's worth noting most of our service was done by the manager, who assumed everything was fine. Half the party said they wouldn't return, half said the food would make them come back, maybe the service would improve next time, as they are still fairly new. I would try it again cuz I enjoyed...

Waited more than 1 hour and 15 minutes for my main dishes to arrive. Which was considered extremely long. Didn't have much appetite due to the long wait so we didn't get to savour the food properly. I have went to many high end restaurants in the world and I think this was the first time I've waited so long for the food. For the price that I was paying I was expecting much more. They did give me non-alcoholic wine on the house to make up for their delay. But it just felt weird drinking it as I was already drinking wine (with alcohol). I did try to cancel the main dishes after I waited for more than an hour but I'm glad I didn't.

Enough of the negatives and let's move onto the positives. I ordered their scallop with miso as an appetizer. This dish was extremely tasty. And the miso base gave the dish a strong umami effect. As the main dishes, we ordered the iberico pork and steak. The pork was done so well that I felt that I was eating a steak from a Michelin steak house. That was how good it was. Tender, not overcooked and charred at the right areas. I even finished up all the side vegetables as that was equally good as well. My girlfriend finished up only half the steak as she didn't have any appetite due to the long wait. I did taste the steak and the steak could give Mortons a run for their money. Service was good and the servers were extremely apologetic for the food delay.

Overall, I would definitely return again as I travel to Taiwan once every two months. I just hope that they will improve the waiting time for the food as I believe that they were severely understaffed...

1 star for service as they hovered around making sure we got what we needed but the floor manager should be more involved. Also no magician is needed to entertain the guests your food should speak for itself. 1 star for trying to push Western food in Taiwan. No stars for failing to understand concepts of accompaniments such as chimichurri for shortrib goes on the not for dipping unless asked. Mashed potatoes does not fit with shortrib and chimichurri. Lobster with fries and salad is not needed. If anything just provide drawn butter with it. No stars for execution. Lobster is overcooked as are most proteins. Pickled beets and cream cheese: Please taste your own food. You get a mouthful of cheese that forces you to chew it like peanut butter, not a good feeling. The beet is also very over priced. Making things simpler will help the ingredients stand out in flavor. Don't cover it up by complicating it. Does the squid ink really add to the crab other than color? No stars for illegible menu with a host of mistakes. Please proofread the menu. Please align the columns. Please use the same font...