Industrial Chic Brunch at Spot Taipei
Spot is a popular brunch place near Zhongxiao Dunhua known for its cool atmosphere and solid food menu. It’s a well-known restaurant in the expat community — you’ll always find at least one table of foreigners on weekend afternoons.
The main appeals are its diverse and boozy Western brunch menu and its relaxed yet sophisticated setting.
The dining area is open plan, with high ceilings and big windows offering plenty of natural light. Industrial-style bulbs hang over the downstairs seating area with concrete floors. Spot’s cool aesthetic is punctuated only by the warmer furniture tones and small flower arrangements. A sizeable loft with additional seating overlooks the tables below.
We’ve visited a couple times on weekend mornings and ordered a variety of brunch items:
The Iced Mint Latte (NT$180) was just as good as it looks. It’s creamy and sweet without being cloying or overpowering.
Glasses of red and white sangria are NT$270/glass, or NT$800/pitcher. We’ve had better sangria, but both tasted smooth and had us buzzing by the time food arrived.
The Fried Chicken Waffle Sandwich came with shichimi ranch, gruyere, and pickled onions. The waffles were soft and sweet, and the chicken was divine, seasoned and fried to perfection. The tangy sauce and crunch of the pickle onions kicked it up a notch. NT$480 is expensive for what it was, but the combination was great.
The Coffee Short Rib Hash (NT$350) came with chipotle ketchup, toasted bread, and an egg on top. It tasted great but seemed a bit meat-heavy, with barely any other ingredients mixed in. This might be preferable to some, but we felt it could’ve used some more potatoes and peppers to add some variety.
The Duck Confit Croquette Benedict cost a more reasonable NT$300 and had a pleasing mix of textures and flavours with duck crackling and lemon hollandaise. The eggs and sauce oozed as we devoured it, and we appreciated the uniqueness of the dish even though we felt it could have been slightly more memorable.
The Chocolate Chip Pancakes (NT$280) were powdered and buttered, served with sides of maple syrup and chocolate hazelnut spread. This guilty order was also our cheapest and sweetest. The pancakes were fluffy and filling, though they were a bit sparse on chocolate chips.
Overall, we really enjoyed the atmosphere at Spot. We did feel that some items were slightly overpriced, but tasty and creative nonetheless. It’s hard to find brunch places with options for booze, so we embraced the healthy list of alcoholic beverages on the menu.
Here’s the menu for your reference:
What’s the vibe?
Casual yet sophisticated brunch place with high ceilings and modern decor. The menu has a diverse mix of breakfast and lunch options and includes some alcohol to get you started on a weekend morning.
Worth it?
Not exactly. Don’t get us wrong, the food was pretty good, but it fell short of our expectations based on cost (like the waffle sandwich, which was way overpriced). To be fair, some of the dishes, like the pancakes, weren’t a bad deal. But generally speaking, prices would need to be slashed across the board for us to give the “worth it” stamp of approval. Having said that, some of our friends really love Spot, and you might too!
Would you go back?
Only if there’s some reason to. The atmosphere is nice and the Western menu is appealing — we just wouldn’t want to spend that much regularly when there are more reasonable options that are just as good.
Last visited: August 2018
| Spot |
| Hours: 11am - 10:30pm |
| Phone: 02 2775 4117 |
| English Address: No. 58, Lane 233, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 |
| Chinese Address: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段233巷58號 |
