甲蟲秘境｜自然生態教室(親子&寵物友善餐廳) — Restaurant in Taipei

Review of the Beetle-Themed Restaurant: Close, But No Antenna

Let me preface this by saying: for me, restaurants ultimately come down to the food. You can wrap it up in all the glittery beetle shells you want, but if the food isn't good, the experience falls flat on its carapace.

Food: 2/5 I had the surf and turf, which turned out to be more "sog and turf." Everything was so over-breaded it felt like a sponge commercial. Instead of crisp bites, each forkful squeezed out oil like a bad magic trick—and sure enough, indigestion followed me home like a loyal puppy. And when you serve fried fish, surely a dollop of tartar sauce is standard? But nope, it was forgotten, and I had to awkwardly flag someone down like I was trying to land a plane. We also ordered a children’s curry meal, which was met with such monumental disinterest from the child that it sat there, untouched, like a tragic art installation. As for the fruit plate—this was for small children, mind you—the fruit came in giant, skin-on slabs. It was less "fruit salad" and more "fruit wrestling match," with juice spraying everywhere. Small suggestion: maybe bite-sized pieces? Skins removed? You know, basic child survival strategies? At least the chicken nuggets and fries were solid, because, well, even the grumpiest kitchen can't ruin nuggets and fries. They disappeared faster than a beetle in a sandpit.

Price: 3/5 I came in expecting the typical themed restaurant "fun tax"—a 200% markup to pay for all the cute decor and playtime perks. But wow, this place said "hold my beer" and charged 300–325% markup. For that food quality? Let's just say my wallet left feeling personally attacked.

Atmosphere: 4.5/5 Now, here’s the saving grace. The decor is fantastic: playful, colorful, and immersive without being overwhelming. The play area, though small, is cleverly designed and genuinely fun for kids. The beetle "touch and learn" session was adorable—kids were fascinated. And the "sand pit" filled with tiny wooden cubes? A stroke of genius for little ones (but beware if you're an adult: stepping into it feels like an ironic punishment devised by beetles themselves. You’ll sink, you’ll hurt, and you’ll regret every decision that led you there).

Other Comments In the business of entertaining children, a little child psychology goes a long way. During the beetle show, with a dozen kids watching wide-eyed, they handed out only one or two prizes. Cue tears, envy, and confusion. Honestly, just give every kid something tiny—plastic bugs, stickers, even a DIY "Official Beetle Explorer" badge. It costs pennies but wins a ton of goodwill. Are we running a fun family experience or Hunger Games: Beetle Edition?

Also, this "free dessert for getting 100% on an exam" gimmick? Yikes. Look, society already straps enough pressure onto kids’ backs like overstuffed schoolbags. How about offering a free dessert for things like "showing kindness" or "learning something new"? Maybe a "Curious Learner" reward system instead. Kids get excited about growing, not just performing.

A Note About Reviews One more thing—if you check their Google ratings, you’ll notice an unusually high number of glowing 5-star reviews. Turns out, the restaurant offers free gifts to those who leave a 5-star rating. This really skews the review distribution and paints a much rosier picture than reality. Personally, I find this practice a bit unethical (but that’s a discussion for another day). Fellow restaurant-goers: be vigilant, do your own research, and decide for yourselves!

Overall Rating: 3.25/5 In conclusion, the Beetle-Themed Restaurant was charming, creative, and full of potential—but unfortunately, it bugged me just enough to leave me hungry for...

I think this place is just ok to visit once but I wouldn't go back again and I didn't recommend to anyone around. Please do not order 'Chocolate' beetles pancake. (Original beetles pancake is better.) The chocolate pancake tasted horrible. It was not real chocolate filling. The colour was a 'taro purple' colour, not a chocolate colour. To me, it tasted like they used cocoa powder mixed with water or something. Including children, nobody finished the chocolate pancake.

This place charged us mininum spend 250NTD per person (excluding service charge). They charged 250NTD per child too (under 10 years old). And also a friend came to say hello, my friend did not take an extra table and didn't use their bathroom but because my friend chatted with us more than 30minutes, staff insisted my friend also needed to spend 250NTD! So my friend had to order a drink and two beetles pancakes to make...

What an experience 👎👎 before you dine-in , you need to read a full page of regulations that you MUST follow as if you are going to eat in a federal place not to relax like in any normal restaurant. They also don't have hot latte, they only offer Ice-cold SMALL- SIZE latte for 180NTD. The cod fish meal for 400 NTD is only two very thin slices of EXTREMELY OILY crust with very little fish meat inside, so basically you are eating oil , very unhealthy! So I really don't recommend for babies or kids to eat there. Then you need to pay on top service fee/ tax fee.

The only good thing is this place is...