Toasteria Cafe: Expat Favourite with Delicious Mediterranean Eats

Toasteria Cafe is one of those places that almost every expat and their mother in Taipei knows about, and for good reason — they have an extensive menu and consistently great food that speaks for itself. It’s a great place for brunch, lunch, dinner, and everything in between, as it really does have something for everyone, and also serves alcohol. We’ve been eating there for years and never thought to do a post on it because it’s so well-known, but finally figured it was time.

Toasteria Cafe has two locations — one in Zhongxiao Dunhua, and a much bigger branch at the start of Yongkang Street near Dongmen. Both are great. Our friends have a theory that the food is better at the Zhongxiao Dunhua branch, but if we’re being honest we really can’t tell the difference. However, an advantage that the Yongkang branch has over the branch in Zhongxiao Dunhua — other than size, as it’s way bigger — is their rooftop, which is open every day unless it’s raining. With a clear view of Taipei 101, this is an amazing spot to sip your drinks and catch up with friends. We’ve had great times at both so wouldn’t necessarily recommend one over the other, but you should remember how much bigger the branch on Yongkang Street is — during peak hours, you’re way likelier to get a table here than in Zhongxiao Dunhua. However, if you’re planning to stay late, the branch in Zhongxiao Dunhua does stay open later.

Toasteria Cafe has a pretty good selection of alcoholic beverages, including beer, cocktails, wine, and sangria. Fans of the boozy brunch, rejoice. We haven’t tried many of their cocktails as we usually order a pitcher of sangria ($880), which isn’t the best but does the trick for us. The white sangria is one of our favourites for warm weather, as we love the passion fruit that comes in it, although we do wish they would use fresh fruit rather than canned. The red was also nice, though not the best we’ve had, and the rose was a little too sweet for our tastes. We got around six glasses of sangria from one jug, though a big portion of that was fruit.

For brunch, Toasteria Cafe offers a nice omelette, served with pickles, fries, toasted bread, and salad. Our friend got the cheese fourtet omelette ($295) made with grilled feta, cheddar, jack and house-made ricotta cheese with olive oil and fresh basil. This was soft and cheesy, a nice dish to start your day with. We enjoyed the range of textures in this dish: the firm, chewy bread, crispy fries, crunchy, creamy salad and pickles, and the softness of the omelette. Perfection.

Another popular option is the nutrition express ($275), which comes with mixed nuts, dried fruit, granola, and corn flakes topped with seasonal fresh fruits and drizzled with date syrup. You can choose yoghurt or fresh milk to drizzle on top — we recommend choosing yoghurt if you’re looking to make the dish a little more substantial. This is a healthy, tasty dish that’s surprisingly filling, and has the added benefit of looking absolutely gorgeous.

One of our personal favourites for brunch is the classic shakshuka ($345), the Moroccan poached eggs in tomato sauce. It comes with hummus and pita bread, and you can add falafels too for an extra $30, which we highly recommend doing. It’s a hearty choice that still feels somewhat healthy.  The eggs are soft and runny, and the tomato sauce is perfect for mopping up with bread.

The hummus and falafels are also amazing — the hummus is soft and creamy, and the falafels are crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside — and not dry at all. It was worth the extra $30 per falafel.

If hummus is your thing, we also recommend the hummus sabich ($265), which comes with roasted eggplant and roasted pepper salsa. Damn this hummus is good. The vegetables are cooked to perfection, add an extra layer of flavour to an already solid dish, and make for an incredible starter or side.

One of the reasons we love Toasteria Cafe so much is that they do a whole range of really great sandwiches. We’ve tried most on their menu and have loved them. This time we got the chicken jack cheese ($235), which was also great. It’s a classic: nothing too experimental, but delicious all the same.  We loved the combination of the chicken with jack cheese, and the caper aioli inside gives it a little something extra to stop it from being too boring or bland. We’re pretty confident that you’ll like most of the sandwiches on their menu, and they have a great selection.

One final thing — every month or so, drag queen Bouncy Babs hosts a drag brunch at Toasteria Cafe, which can be a lot of fun if you go with the right people. This is not organized by Toasteria Cafe, so you need to keep your eyes peeled for the event on her Facebook page and arrange a spot through her, not Toasteria Cafe. The entrance fee is $200 and there is a minimum spend of $400 on food and drink. It lasts for a few hours and features lip-sync performances and lots and lots of games. Note: the event may say it starts at 2:30pm, but you should expect that it will start late, sometimes very late. Don’t plan to go to this right before anything else, because you may have to cut one of them short.

Overall, we really can’t recommend Toasteria Cafe enough. Yes, it’s popular, and yes, everyone knows about it, but there’s a reason for that: the food is excellent. And while it’s fun to experiment with new, undiscovered restaurants, there’s also a comfort in knowing that you can rely on a place for quality. If you haven’t tried it already, do yourself a favour and pay a visit — you can thank us later.

Check out their full food and drinks menu down below:

What’s the vibe?

Bustling restaurant with amazing Mediterranean food. Customers are a mix of locals and expats.

Worth it?

Yes. It’s not cheap, but the food is awesome.

Would you go back?

We go back all the time.

Last updated December 2019.