Proper British Pub Food & Great Tunes at Aye Taipei

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Tucked away on one of the quieter alleys off of Linsen North Road lies Aye Taipei, a British restaurant and pub that’s relatively new to the Taipei bar scene. Owned by a Scottish man and his Taiwanese partner, Aye Taipei has a comfy atmosphere, polished, modern interior, and unexpectedly good food. We were surprised to find a pub like this in the area, which primarily caters to Japanese businessmen and tourists, and were glad to find that it lived up to our expectations of what a relaxed, expat-friendly hangout might be like.

One of the things we immediately liked about Aye Taipei was its very reasonable Happy Hour, during which selected beers, ciders, house wines, and mixers are only $100. The Happy Hour runs every day from 5-8PM, news which we received gladly. We were impressed to see that drinks were pretty reasonable even without the deal, making it an affordable place to kick back for the night while you listen to a mixture of British classics and nostalgic throwback tunes.

Another thing that caught our attention was the fact that they have an almost bi-weekly pub quiz. Entering is free, and the winning team gets a whopping ten free drinks. Ten free drinks. On occasion they do other fun-looking events like 90s Rap Night, FIFA Tournaments, Latino Nights, and ladies arm wrestling. Keep an eye on their Facebook for more information on upcoming events. If there are no events, you can keep yourself occupied by playing darts, watching sports, or taking advantage of their Nintendo Switch and Xbox, both of which are available as long as there are no big sports games on.

Aye Taipei prides itself on its home-cooked food, and we were excited to see what they had. Unsurprisingly, the first thing we ordered was a British classic: beer-battered fish and chips served with mushy peas and tartar sauce ($350). It’s not always easy to replicate fish and chips outside of the UK, but we did like this one — the fish was freshly made and paired very well with the tartar sauce, and the chips were nice and crispy. Neither were too salty nor oily, so we didn’t feel ridiculously bloated after finishing them. We’re not usually big fans of mushy peas back in the UK, but the ones at Aye Taipei were great, and actually tasted of peas rather than bland green goo.

The next dish we got was even better than the first — homemade sausages served with roast potatoes (it was supposed to be mash, but they had just sold out), peas, and gravy ($350). We loved this. The sausages were absolutely phenomenal and huge, the potatoes were beefy, and the vegetables were cooked for just the right amount of time. What made this dish so impressive, though, was its incredible gravy. Meaty and rich, we marvelled at how good it was we ate, and remarked on how much we enjoyed it when the owner came to clear our plates. She smiled and told us she thought they had the best gravy in Taiwan, and honestly, we’re inclined to agree.

For dessert, we got the chance to try the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream ($150). Once again, this blew us away with how good it was — the brownie was moist and gooey, served hot while the ice cream melted into it. This was probably one of the better brownies we’ve had in Taipei, if not the best we’ve had so far. It was simple in concept but executed perfectly, and we’d seriously consider going back just for that. If you’re hesitating, get it and thank us later.

Check out their full menu down below, but note that it may be updated soon:

Overall, we really liked Aye Taipei. It was nice and modern while still maintaining the comfortable atmosphere of a pub, and the owners were friendly, which made our visit memorable. The food was great, especially the sausages and the brownie, and we’re excited to go back and try more — next time we might even be able to make it for their Sunday roast, which we haven’t had since we left the UK. With its impressive Happy Hour deals, events, and games, Aye Taipei is on track to become a really fun expat hangout on Linsen North Road. The only downside right now is that it tends to be a little quiet during the week, though admittedly that does leave the dartboard and video games open for the rest of us.

What’s the vibe?

Modern pub with great food. It’s usually relatively quiet, although it picks up a lot on pub quiz/trivia nights.

Worth it?

Yes! We loved the food and thought the happy hour deal was great.

Would you go back?

Absolutely. It’s nice to have a Western bar to relax at on Linsen North Road.

Aye Taipei Bar & Restaurant

Hours: Sun-Thurs 5pm – 12am Fri & Sat 5pm – 2am

Phone: 02 2567 2485

English Address: No. 15, Lane 138, Linsen North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

Chinese Address: 台北市中山區林森北路138巷15號