Mitsui Cuisine — Restaurant in Songshan District

Mitsui is a great place to go for a nice Japanese meal. The restaurant interior is really immaculate and the food is very good. Taipei is full of really good Japanese restaurants and this is one of them. Definitely recommend if you are looking for a nice meal.

Food: 4.25 stars Service: 4 stars Environment: 4.25 stars Overall: 4.25 stars Recommendations: Dan syue seasonal set

I had the Dan syue seasonal set, which includes 7 courses and a dessert. The portions are quite substantial for so many courses and the price. Really good value for 2500 NTD.

1. shellfish appetizer- cooked whole abalone over a side salad. The salad itself is pretty standard. The abalone though was really nice and was really big. Not a huge abalone fan but this was quite good.

2. Deluxe sashimi set - This is the highlight of the meal. Really generous portions of sashimi. The toro here was really nice. All the sashimi was high quality.

3. Seasonal tuna cuisine- I really enjoyed this dish as well. Typically I’m not a fan of course led tuna. This dish was really tasty. Quite impressed with this one.

4. Steamed lobster with clams- The lobster is on the small side but still quite fresh. Had a nice snap to the meat and the broth was really nice.

5. Grilled A5 Wagyu- Not a lot of steak here but the meat quality is really good. Three pieces of meet were served on a skewer with bbq peppers.

6. Salmon roe sushi- Three pieces of sushi. One topped with salmon roe, toro, and another type of fish. All very good.

7. Blacklip abalone shabu shabu- This wasn’t quite what I expected. More of a soup than a hot pot. I enjoyed it still but...

Disappointing Main Courses Despite Nice Ambience

Ambience & Music: 8.5/10 The underground location feels exclusive and serene. Modern Japanese aesthetics with soft lighting create an elegant vibe. Background music—subtle jazz fusion with traditional instruments—was perfectly curated.

Food: 5/10 (Price-Adjusted) Highlights: 小鮑沙拉: Fresh, delicate, perfectly dressed. The standout starter. 盛合刺身: Competent quality, though not memorable. 馬糞うに手卷: Rich and briny—worth the NT$520 supplement. Major Letdowns (Meat Disasters): 宮崎柑橘牛肋條の塩煮: Fatty cuts overwhelmed the dish. "Salt stew" seasoning amplified greasiness instead of cutting through it. Left a nauseating aftertaste. 本鮪油三角オリーブ焼: Sour, funky notes in the meat. Oiliness was cloying—felt like eating tuna scrap. 羊ラム肉長蔥ステキ: Mediocre at best. Lacked depth of flavor, though less offensive than the other meats. At NT$2,800+ for the set, protein quality was unacceptable. Seafood starters saved the meal from total failure.

Service: 8/10 Staff replaced plates and towels diligently. However, critical miss: My 阿里山金萱烏龍茶—served in a cup with a teabag—was never refilled with hot water. For premium dining, tea service should be attentive.

Final Verdict: 6/10 Ambience and seafood appetizers hint at greatness, but inexcusable meat execution at this price point. Total bill: NT$5,104 (incl. 10% service fee). If you visit, stick to sashimi and avoid land animals. Won’t return unless they revamp their...

I don’t know what happened! The dinner I had 2 night ago tasted nothing like Mitsui food! Mitsui cousin used to be one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Taipei, especially when I had large group gatherings, this would be my go to restaurant. This time, I had 3 groups of friends that came to visit Taiwan during thanksgiving holidays, so I decided to host the thanksgiving dinner with all my out of town friends and my own family members there. I had hosted a 16 ppl dinner last year and it was amazing! I can’t tell you how upset and disappointed I felt with this last experience. The food and the service both were so sloppy I felt like I was at a different place, a much lower standard restaurant, it was so bad that I think it should be shut down before the name is completely tarnished with the way it’s running. I spent NT75000 on a 15 ppl dinner which comes to NT5000 per person. The abalone salad had no taste. The sashimi fish slices were still half frozen.it was not defrosted completely. And the toro was chewy because it wasn’t really toro. I have so much to complain about my last dining experience but I don’t want to waste any more of my time writing about a restaurant I will never go again, and neither should everyone who enjoys good food and services! I feel the restaurant is under different management! I don’t think it can stay in business much longer if it is...