榕 RON Xinyi — Restaurant in Xinyi District

I visited here one evening and had a few drinks off their menu. The downstairs was full and so we were sat upstairs -- I was surprised that they had a second bar upstairs but it was not in use.

There menu had a good balance of food and drinks, however, we had already eaten so we ordered a few drinks each. I think the drinks are very interesting -- incorporating lots of local ingredients and interesting spirits. The few drinks that i tried were on the sweeter side, lacking some of the complexity that I expected.

The staff was sometimes inattentive and we often waited a long time between rounds to order another drink. It did not seem particularly busy, however, there was a special event that night in the bottom. The staff was helpful when choosing drinks, pointing out things on the menu that my friend and I would enjoy.

I think this bar would be a great space for a small group or people that were looking for a space to chat/talk. There is plenty of room upstairs and it's not too quiet or formal. The downstairs bar looks quite nice as well with approximately 12 seats along the bar. This seems to be a pretty popular spot -- both nights we stopped by and...

I have a mixed feeling about this bar which is why I didn’t give a five star rating. I came with a high expectation as it was listed as one of the best nine bars in Taipei in an article. The food is excellent. I love their fermented bean curd fried chicken, the bite size chickens were coated with unique and interesting sauce, a bit sweet, sour, spicy, rich and savory. It is a winner. The three cups carrot cakes is also very special and flavorful. But never ordered the nachos which has a nice presentation but a below the average taste. It kills my buildup impression of the bar. They probably wanna consider to remove it from the menu. Servers did a good job explaining all the drinks. They offer unique drink menu by incorporating local rice wines and spirits. I feel the servers on the second floor can do more storytelling of the drinks to help connecting my palate with my brain’s recognizability when I am not sitting in front of the bar to visualize bar tenders in actions. I also feel the place is a little bit pricey. Maybe because I cannot forgive the nachos as a person living in California...

Wouldn't recommend this place.

Service was poor - it was extremely difficult to get a hold of the waiter even though there were only 3 tables on a Tuesday night. The waiter's attitude wasn't great either.

Waited for over 30 mins for some of our food - when we complained the waiter said it's because there were a lot of orders (when there wasn't because again, there were only 3 tables). When we finally got our food though, it was decent - probably the only reason why I'm giving this place 2 stars instead of 1. Do try the chashu pork rice and spaghetti bolognese.

Cocktails weren't good either - the speakeasy upstairs has MUCH...