The $50 Shot Bar That Will Make or Break Your Night
When we first found out about the shot bar AQ Cava, we didn’t believe there could be a place so cheap. We scoured the internet, convinced that the legendary $50 shots were a thing of the past. How could it be possible that a place so reasonable existed in the middle of Zhongxiao Dunhua, notoriously home to a million bars with a $500 minimum spend? How could they have kept their prices down all this time? How come we hadn’t heard of it already? In a nutshell, it’s because the bar is pretty underwhelming, and no one we know had thought it worth mentioning. That being said, it’s not a total loss — check out the details below.
AQ Cava is a quick three-minute walk from Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station, making it unexpectedly convenient to get to. It’s tucked around the back of a building and has a particularly instagrammable set of stairs leading up to it.
The first thing we noticed about this bar is its lack of atmosphere. The decor is pretty half-baked, and neither the music nor the mood did much to improve the overall vibe. We had expected to see lots of people getting down and celebrating the weekend, but the crowd was mostly small groups of friends catching up. There is plenty of space and lots of seating, both inside and in the covered smoking area outside. The place was pretty dead on the Saturday night that we visited, which was an instant bummer. On the plus side, we’re guessing reservations aren’t necessary.
To its credit, AQ Cava does have a pretty extensive range of shots, which are almost all $50. Instead of buying each shot, you must buy drinks tickets, which come in sets of four. Each set is $200, which means each ticket is worth $50, the price of one standard shot. There is no minimum spend, but you need to purchase one set of tickets to order — the good thing is, you can split one set between members of your group, so you don’t get stuck having to finish four shots by yourself.
The shots are grouped into categories of spirits and flavour profiles, and there is a deal where if you get a set of nine shots you only have to pay for eight. You can choose a pre-made set or mix and match. The alcohol percentage is clearly marked on the menu, so you have some control over how drunk you can get. We all ordered different shots, and they were pretty hit and miss — some were great, and others were terrible. This could be down to the quality of the alcohol or personal preference, but nevertheless, it was pretty fun trying to guess which shots wouldn’t make us gag. Side note: even though some of the shots were horrifying, none of us felt sick afterward.
All in all, we’d probably reconsider AQ Cava if there was a huge group of us that were bringing the fun. The drinks are cheap AF, enough to make the occasional bad shot worth it. The real issue was the lack of atmosphere, which is a huge buzzkill when you’re out drinking.
What’s the vibe?
Cheap student bar that could do with some redecorating and a better playlist. When we visited, most people were huddled together in their own groups.
Worth it?
Hard to say. The $50 shots are a huge bargain, but the vibe in the bar killed our buzz. It was worth it in terms of money, but not really worth our time.
Would you go back?
Maybe, but probably not.
| AQ Cava |
| Chinese Name: 品酒智商 |
| Hours: Wed - Sat 6:30pm – 1am, Closed Sun - Tues |
| Phone: 02 2721 8545 |
| English Address: No. 1, Alley 34, Lane 223, Section 4, Zhongxiao E Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 |
| Chinese Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段223巷巷口2F 106 |
