Steak, Buffet, Japanese Cuisine – 14 Restaurants Battle in Taipei’s Dazhi District

Reporter Huang Shih-yuan / Special Report

When it comes to culinary hubs in Taipei, most people instinctively think of the East District. But lately, a string of new eateries have emerged around Dazhi’s Miramar area. For premium steak, options include Victoria N°168 Steakhouse, The Godfather Steak, and Ruth’s Chris. For French cuisine, try RAW. If you’re in the mood for upscale Japanese dining, head to Shoun Ryugin, Kinsui Taipei, or the newly launched Seisan at The Regent Taipei. And for buffet lovers, the Palette Buffet at The Regent Taipei is a must-mention—even though it starts from NT$1,500, the main dishes can be reordered as many times as you like, making it an incredible deal.

▲ Kinsui Taipei offers traditional Japanese kaiseki cuisine. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

Kinsui Taipei
The Tokyo Hotel Chinzanso, one of Japan’s most prestigious hotels and a nine-time Michelin five-star rated establishment, is opening its first overseas fine-dining kaiseki restaurant, “Kinsui Taipei,” on January 21 in Taipei’s Dazhi area. It will present authentic traditional Japanese kaiseki dining in full form. Handa Hirofumi, the restaurant’s director, expressed hope that Kinsui Taipei will help more people in Taiwan discover and appreciate genuine Japanese kaiseki, along with its cultural significance—this being the primary reason for Kinsui’s expansion into Taiwan.

The original Kinsui was a filming location for the popular Japanese drama “Hanzawa Naoki” and a gathering spot for many political and business elites. Overseas Head Chef Hanenokawa Jin, with 20 years of experience in Japanese cuisine, uses only the freshest seasonal ingredients and the most exquisite tableware. The refined kaiseki course, priced between NT$4,000 and NT$6,000, includes about 9 to 11 dishes. As January marks Japanese New Year, many dishes incorporate festive elements and creative touches—such as fan-shaped kelp carved with the kanji for “longevity” (寿) and meringue that mimics the look of snow.

Address: 5F., No. 299, Lequn 3rd Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City (Dazhi EAT-T Building)
Phone: 02-8501-5329 (Please call between 14:00–20:00 for reservations)


▲ The Palette Buffet offers unlimited king crab during dinner. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

Palette Buffet
Taipei’s The Regent Taipei features five restaurants, one of which is the semi-buffet Palette Buffet. It officially began soft operations on January 9. With premium ingredients like USDA Prime-grade grilled steaks, the Japanese section serves uni sushi, king crab, and Iberico pork sukiyaki. Perhaps most surprisingly, multiple styles of main courses are available for unlimited orders during both lunch and dinner. Prices are NT$1,500 + 10% for lunch (every day), and NT$2,000 + 10% for dinner (every day). The open buffet area is divided into seven zones, offering over 100 different items.

Address: No. 55, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City
Phone: 02-7722-3395

Mipon serves classic old-school banquet-style cuisine. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

Mipon MIPON
The Taiwanese restaurant “Mipon MIPON” at The Regent Taipei brings classic old-school banquet dishes to the table. Executive Chef Dong Qing-qin, who has 40 years of culinary experience, specializes in traditional Taiwanese and banquet-style cooking. He adheres to traditional cooking methods that prioritize heart and ingredient essence, carefully selects natural produce, and extracts their flavors while avoiding artificial coloring and chemical additives.

Address: No. 55, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City
Phone: 02-7722-3391

Seisan at The Regent Taipei presents Japanese cuisine. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

Seisan
Located on the third floor of The Regent Taipei, “Seisan” centers around Japanese cuisine but incorporates diverse cooking techniques to highlight ingredient freshness through various forms. It’s divided into four main themes: tableside kappo, sushi kappo, charcoal-grilled kappo, and teppanyaki kappo. Without a fixed menu, Seisan allows diners to choose from wooden ingredient boxes (neda boxes) filled with daily-selected fresh items. The restaurant also has a sake bar where an SSI-certified international sake sommelier pairs suitable Japanese drinks with your meal. Price per person is NT$3,800.

Address: No. 55, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City
Phone: 02-7722-3393


Chao Yue Fang offers Cantonese and Teochew cuisine. (Photo / Huang Shih-yuan)

Chao Yue Fang
The Cantonese restaurant “Chao Yue Fang” at The Regent Taipei focuses on authentic Guangzhou and Chaozhou dishes, paired with Hong Kong-style dim sum. The ratio of Guangdong to Chaozhou cuisine is 7:3. It uses premium seafood sourced globally and delivered fresh, combined with local Taiwanese specialties. Guests can choose their seafood from the onsite aquarium daily and select preparation styles such as steamed, soup-based,避风塘 (Befengtang / spicy fried), salt-baked, or request a preferred method.

Address: No. 55, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City
Phone: 02-7722-3390


▲ The dining atmosphere at GMT European Restaurant is also very comfortable. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

GMT European Restaurant
The refined European dishes at “GMT” are inspired by the cuisine of the Mediterranean region, using a large amount of high-quality local produce, paired with premium meats selected by Meifu, while avoiding excessive seasoning to return to the essence of olive oil, wine vinegar, and natural flavors.

Address: No. 55, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-7722-3390


▲ Taipei Marriott Hotel targets the high-end market with Mark's Teppanyaki, an upscale teppanyaki restaurant. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

Mark's Teppanyaki
Taipei Marriott Hotel focuses on the high-end market, hiring Chef Lin Kaiqin, who has over 20 years of teppanyaki experience, to launch the premium teppanyaki restaurant Mark's Teppanyaki. By combining Japanese cooking techniques with French sauces and plating, it aims to capture the prime food battleground in Dazhi. How does Mark's Teppanyaki differentiate itself? Chef Lin explained that aside from sourcing only the freshest and top-tier ingredients, the cooking method is a fusion of Japanese and French styles, presented innovatively. In the future, it may even incorporate Chinese dishes, making Mark's Teppanyaki a truly borderless teppanyaki experience. Take, for example, the amuse-bouche of perilla-flavored mackerel rolls with white wine clams—its intricate preparation is something you won’t find at ordinary teppanyaki restaurants.

Address: 2F, No. 199, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2175-7952


▲▲ Garden Kitchen Restaurant features floor-to-ceiling windows offering direct views of the beautiful outdoor courtyard. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

Garden Kitchen
The Garden Kitchen Restaurant on the first floor of Taipei Marriott Hotel boasts large floor-to-ceiling windows that provide direct views of the scenic outdoor courtyard, which is particularly eye-catching. In terms of dining, Garden Kitchen differs from the typical all-day buffet model found in hotels. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are presented as a buffet, semi-buffet (main courses plus half buffet), and classic à la carte set meals, respectively.

For lunch, after selecting your main dish such as pasta or steak, you can visit the vegetable and fruit section, nut section, appetizer section, and dessert section to pick your favorite items. The vegetable and fruit section even provides QR codes to check the product traceability. Dinner offers classic Western set meals, including charcoal-grilled gourmet steak, charcoal-grilled ribeye steak, charcoal-grilled Iberian pork, and Boston lobster, starting from NT$1,680.

Address: No. 199, Lequn 2nd Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2175-7957


▲ N°168 PRIME Steakhouse has also been ranked among the top ten popular steakhouses. (Photo provided by Victoria Hotel)

Victoria Hotel N°168 PRIME Steakhouse
The N°168 PRIME Steakhouse in the main building of Victoria Hotel uses an imported Australian super-dream grill to cook top-tier steaks that even Michelin masters highly recommend. The new season’s menu features exquisite dishes resulting from culinary collaborations with Michelin-starred and international chefs invited this year. Additionally, Thomas Chiu, the Executive Chef of Western Cuisine, brings back the classic and traditional essence of American steakhouse dining by pairing top-tier professional steaks with organic, healthy vegetables, presenting a series of gourmet favorites loved by international celebrities.

Address: No. 168, Jingye 4th Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-8502-0000


▲ Godfather Steak. (Photo captured from the Godfather Steak Facebook page) Danny's Steakhouse Fan Page）

Godfather Steak
Named with the meaning of a guarantee of godfather-level quality, Godfather Steak offers steak options such as American premium gourmet, ribeye, New York strip, filet mignon, as well as dry-aged New York strip. For Australian beef, there are Wagyu ribeye and the rare 10+ purebred Wagyu New York strip. Other main course choices include grilled pork chops, Australian lamb chops, American lobster, and daily fresh fish. Lunch sets start from NT$1,200+10%, and dinner sets from NT$1,950+10%.

Address: No. 58, Lequn 3rd Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City (near MRT Wenhu Line - Jiannan Rd. Station)
Phone: 02-8501-1838


▲ Ruth's Chris ribeye steak. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

Ruth's Chris
Located in the headquarters of Hsinchuang District’s Hitron Building, the Ruth's Chris Dazhi branch has also opened here (on the 3rd floor). It has engaged the internationally renowned náo architecture firm, which designed the Shanghai Bund Ruth's Chris, with the concept inspired by the “New Orleans skyline,” using urban silhouettes to create a visual focal point. Most notably, the column-free space, paired with flexible partition designs, can accommodate up to 150 guests for large Western-style banquet events.

The beef used at Ruth's Chris is all U.S. Prime grade, aged 21 to 28 days for a unique flavor through wet aging. To fully preserve the best taste of the steak, the brand founder Ruth Fertel patented a specialized 982°C grill. Each steak is cooked to a specified perfect doneness according to its cut and texture, then served on a heated 500°F ceramic plate that sizzles as it arrives at the table. Seasoned only with pepper and salt, no sauces are used.

Address: 3F, No. 301, Lequn 3rd Rd., Taipei City
Phone: 02-8501-5900


▲Longyun Longyun Winter Menu – First Hot Appetizer: Steamed Egg. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Shōun Ryūrin
Taiwan’s Shōun Ryūrin Japanese kaiseki cuisine is served as an evening set menu of around 12 courses, including several hot and cold appetizers, soup, and

Address: 5F, No. 301, Lequn 3rd Rd., Taipei City
Phone: 8501-5808


▲RAW has been in Taiwan for a year now, but it’s still hard to get a reservation. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

RAW
When RAW was established, André Chiang positioned it as a restaurant offering a new taste of Taiwan—using local Taiwanese ingredients to create flavors that best represent Taiwan and to showcase them to the world. After a year, facing 2016, André Chiang remains committed to the essence of Taiwan, though he says that in the past, the “Taiwanese taste” might have been associated with grandma’s cooking. What RAW aims to do is to redefine the “Taiwanese taste” of this generation, so that the next generation can understand what the “Taiwanese taste” of today truly is.

Address: 1F, No. 301, Lequn 3rd Rd., Taipei City
Business hours: Lunch and dinner are served from Wednesday to Sunday

Sansho Miramar
Sansho Miramar is an off-site restaurant of the Regent Taipei, located on the fifth floor of Miramar Entertainment Park, covering an area of 120 ping (approximately 396 m²) with 168 seats. It includes a 12-seat sushi bar and a private room that can accommodate up to 42 people. The interior design continues the style of Sansho, exuding a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of Kyoto, Japan. The menu features some of Sansho’s most popular premium offerings, such as all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu hot pot, sukiyaki, and nigiri sushi, along with value-for-money refined Japanese set meals tailored to the characteristics of the commercial district.

Address: 5F, No. 20, Jingye 3rd Rd., Taipei City (5F, Main Building of Miramar Entertainment Park, Zhongshan)
Phone: 02-2532-8338

Download the “ETtoday News Cloud APP” for the latest food updates →
iOS:https://goo.gl/rmIDdx
Android:https://goo.gl/XPe8Uj