The Room Bistro: Sex-Themed Bar and Restaurant in Dong Qu

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Yes, you read that correctly — Taipei is now home to its very own sex-themed bistro, where the young and adventurous can sip their cocktails and revel in the shock value of their Instagram stories. As ridiculous as it sounds, we were determined to check it out and see if it was purely gimmick. To our surprise, it exceeded expectations: the food was great, the cocktails were creative, and it made for a reasonably fun night out.

The Room Bistro screams SEX as soon as you step inside. A double bed inhabited by two mannequins making love is prominently placed in the entrance, sex toys and sexy neon signs are mounted on the walls, and there is a surprisingly cheeky animation projected on the wall of a side room. It’s nowhere near as scandalous as it could be (check out the gay bar Commander D in Ximen if you really want to be shocked), but it would definitely push boundaries for the more conservative among us.

As you sit down, you’re informed of a room that requires a special key and a reservation to access. This room houses an array of high-quality sex toys, all of which are available to purchase through their online store. You can pick them up and turn them on, and scan a QR code to find out more information about each toy. Poking your friends with these and giggling maniacally is discouraged, but an inevitable part of your visit once you’re a few cocktails deep. We were fascinated by these toys and grateful to the staff for giving us some time alone to tinker with them. It could probably be quite a sexy experience to come here with a date, but it was also a lot of fun with friends.

We had read that the food at The Room Bistro was good, and we were glad to confirm that for ourselves. They have an extensive menu with a focus on Taiwanese braised foods, although there are other options too. The first thing we ordered was the aromatic calamari ($200), which was amazing: the calamari was fresh and wonderfully crispy, and it was served in a delicious mix of garlic, scallions, and chilli peppers. We’d get this again for sure.

Next, we ordered an assortment of platters of braised food, their speciality. These were cool because you could select your own ingredients: we particularly loved the mushrooms, but the meat, vegetable, and tofu dishes were also incredible. These come with your choice of sauce, and they had some interesting options: we particularly enjoyed the Shaoxing wine sauce, but the others were great too. We started off with the Get Together For a Little Meal for Four (left, $680) and immediately added a Two People Can Do a Lot With This Meal (right, $350) as soon as we were done, we enjoyed it so much. We highly recommend trying one of these dishes if you’re planning on ordering food — they were great!

Last, we ordered a single serving of udon ($120). This was really good, but the portion was quite small so it wasn’t easy to share as a group. This also came with our choice of sauce, and we were a little divided on the pesto sauce that we ended up with. It was decent, but we wouldn’t choose it again for noodles.

The Room Bistro has an extensive cocktail list that’s fun to look through, as they have unintendedly hilarious names. We’re sure these were much more titillating in the original Chinese, but the sexiness they lost in translation is more than made up for in entertainment value. The cocktails were all about $350 — the average price for the neighbourhood — and pretty good, though nowhere near the best in Taipei.

The first cocktail we ordered was the On My Knees Atop a Rooftop in Taipei ($350), made with vodka, banana, caramel, almond, lime, and pale ale. This was delicious, tasting just like a banana milkshake with a kick. It didn’t scream Taipei to us, but we didn’t really mind as it was so easy to drink.

We also got the Spicier Than the other Bohol Style Cocktail (bottom left, $350), made with rum, mango, pineapple, lime, and pale ale. This was great, maybe our favourite of the night — it was strong and tropical, with a spicy kick that we loved. If you aren’t a fan of spicy drinks, you could also try the A Dive off of Bohol Island. You Can Go Deeper (bottom right, $350), made with rum, mango, cream, coconut, and pale ale. This was similar in flavour but a little creamier, reminding us of a summer smoothie.

We also got the French Kiss at Midnight in Paris, Saying I Love You ($350), made with gin, Earl Grey tea, black tea, roselle, and pale ale. We weren’t totally sold on the presentation of this cocktail, but it tasted rather nice — strong, sweet and sour, the tea and roselle blending nicely with the gin. This is one to try if you’re a big fan of tea-based cocktails.

Next, we got the I Was Seasick, Sailing Across the Aegean to Find You ($330), which was made with rum, grape, lime, and pale ale. This was extremely fruity with a strong taste of grape, which we actually quite liked as it was refreshing and very drinkable. It came steaming, which had the added benefit of being both fun and photogenic.

We weren’t quite as impressed by the last three cocktails we had, which were the Midnight in Shangahi, You Were the Sea That I Soaked in Every Night (left, $350), the When We Did It in the Backseat of a Car in Okinawa (middle, $350) and the Hotter Than a Honeymoon in the Maldives (right, $350). The first two were okay but not particularly memorable, while the last one we really disliked, as it felt rather cheap and uninspired compared to the rest. You might love these, but we didn’t.

Check out their full English menu down below:

All things considered, we really did have fun at The Room Bistro. Sure it was gimmicky, but it was still playful and unique in Taipei, and worth visiting once if you have the right crowd. The food was great, and we actually quite liked that their specialities were Taiwanese. It goes without saying that you could get it for cheaper almost anywhere else in Taipei, but it was genuinely good quality and the prices here were what you’d expect from a bistro in the neighbourhood. The cocktails were also nice, and although they were though nowhere near the best in Taipei, they were at least creatively named and fun to drink. In fact, reading the cocktail names amused us so much that it was probably one of our favourite parts of the night.

What’s the vibe?

Moody bistro with a fun concept in one of the trendiest neighbourhoods of Taipei. Customers are mostly young Taiwanese couples and friend groups.

Worth it?

If it sounds like something you’d be interested in checking out, then yes it’s quite fun to experience at least once. If you’re not interested in the concept, we recommend skipping it.

Would you go back?

Not on our own, but we’d take someone who hadn’t been before.

Last updated May 2020

The Room Bistro

Chinese Name: 房間餐酒

Hours: Sun-Thurs 5:30pm – 1am Fri & Sat 5:30pm – 2am

Phone: +886227731665

English Address: No. 56, Lane 160, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City

Chinese Address: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段160巷56號