Robin ChienTaipeiHome / Drink
21:30The best conversations in Taipei happen after ten, in a room where the music is low or the jazz is very good.
Pick the mood
Low music, good chairs, and a bartender who knows when to stay away.
Floor-to-ceiling windows, an outdoor terrace, steak and a proper wine list. Three private rooms exist precisely for business dinners.
A hotel bar on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, with controllable volume, leather sofas and steady service. Walkable from Zhongxiao Fuxing, about ten minutes by taxi from Taipei 101.
WET on the 10th floor is the poolside bar facing the Xinyi skyline. YEN Bar on the 31st floor is the indoor sky lounge, the steadier choice for real conversation.
A cave-like basement bar whose cocktails are built on koji and other rice-ferment bases. Calm, minimal, and it serves Japanese-style noodles late.
A living-room bar with a herb garden on the counter and cocktails built on Taiwanese tea and local produce. On Asia’s 50 Best Bars every year since 2019 (No. 82 in 2026).
The bar that put Taiwanese terroir into cocktails: pineapple, longan, osmanthus and aged oolong, with a bistro menu alongside. A fixture on Asia’s 50 Best Bars for years.
When the deal is done and you’d rather listen than talk.
A jazz house since 1974, unrelated to the New York chain. Small, with a drinks list, live jazz most nights, and the room can be booked for private events.
A listening club since 2005, where the music is the point. Wonderful for an evening, wrong for discussing numbers during the set.
Jazz only, every night. It feels like a private concert in someone’s living room.
How late can it go?
From my own notes. Hours change, so check before you go.
Each bar shows how late a place stays open on a weeknight, not when it opens.