Placebo: Beautiful Drinks in a Chinese-Style Cocktail Bar
Placebo is a gorgeous little cocktail bar near Tonghua Night Market with a distinctly “East meets West” vibe. With beautiful, Shanghai-style decor, a creative menu and delicious drinks, this spot is one of the not-so-hidden gems of Xinyi — and it’s totally worthy of your bucket list! The only catch? It’s small, it’s popular, and they don’t take reservations. Keep reading to find out why you should still go.
We had been trying to go to Placebo for a while before we actually visited but were thwarted in each attempt because A) it was the weekend, and B) our group was way too big. Learn from our mistakes: you may be able to squeeze a table on a Friday or Saturday if you’re only two people, but anything above three is an almost-guaranteed no-go. To be extra safe, we recommend going as early as possible, or even rescheduling for a weekday, which is what we did.
Placebo had a lot of making up to do by the time that we rolled around on a Thursday night, but it quickly proved itself to us. The setting is beautiful and intimate, and the cocktail menu immediately captured our interest with creative ingredients and funny names. Some of the drinks, like the Xinyi District Sour (made with whisky, grapefruit punch, pineapple shrub, and Taiwanese red wine) or the Dim Sum Tea (made with bourbon whiskey, oolong and chrysanthemum tea, pineapple, kyoho grape, and mango) offered a cheeky nod to Taiwanese and Chinese culture, in keeping with their theme.
The first drink we got was The Jasmine Lullaby ($400), made with Taiwanese jasmine tea, gin, green apple, and kiwi. We loved it — the combination of fruit and tea made a slightly bittersweet, refreshing drink that was still strong enough to get the party started. This was a great cocktail to begin the night.
Our next drink was the Even Though it Hurts, Love is Love ($400), made with gin, chamomile, honey, vanilla tea, bergamot, pear, and Suze. This was also very nice, but it was a little on the sweet side, dividing opinions at our table. The combination of flavours was interesting, but we felt that it wasn’t as enjoyable if you don’t love sweet cocktails.
Next, we got the Like a Virgin ($400) with gin, grapefruit punch, lychee, and orange blossom. This was a fruity fresh cocktail with a hint of sourness. It was light and drinkable but lacked some of the character that the other drinks had. It was enjoyable, but we’d probably try something new on the menu before ordering this again.
After that, we got the Roselle Mojito ($400) with rum, lime, mint, and home-made roselle syrup. We ordered this because the incredible menu was giving us choice paralysis, but it turned out to be our favourite drink of the night — sweet, sour, and strong, this cocktail was interesting and fun while also easy to drink. It wasn’t as complex as some of the other cocktails, but the flavours were so well balanced that it didn’t matter. We’d definitely get this again.
Our last drink of the night was Light My Fire ($400), made with bourbon whiskey, cognac, apricot, and guava shrub. This was a deliciously fruity, smoky drink that was heavy on the whiskey. Despite being the dominant flavour, we did enjoy the lingering hints of wood from the cask and appreciated how complex the aftertaste was. If you’re a fan of bourbon or whiskey this is a great choice, but the intense flavour may be off-putting for those looking for something milder.
We ended the night with a round of shots, which is always a bad idea but was particularly hard to resist on this occasion due to the presentation. Cheers!
Overall, we had an absolutely fantastic time at Placebo. The fact that it gets so busy on weekends and that you can’t make reservations was a bit off-putting at first, but the incredible drinks and gorgeous setting more than made up for it by the end of our visit. We loved the creative menu and can’t wait to try more drinks. This would be an amazing date spot during the week when it’s quieter or a nice place to drink some creative, quality drinks with friends.
What’s the vibe?
Beautiful little cocktail bar with a nice atmosphere and old Shanghai-style design. It gets crowded on the weekends. Customers are mostly locals, but we saw foreigners there too.
Worth it?
If you like creative cocktails, then yes — especially during the week, when it’s much likelier you’ll be able to walk in and get a table.
Would you go back?
Absolutely! This is such a nice date spot, and a cool bar to take out-of-towners too.
Last updated December 2019
| Placebo |
| Chinese Name: 安慰劑 |
| Hours: Sun-Thurs 8pm – 2am Sat & Sun 8pm – 3am |
| Phone: 02 8732 2345 |
| English Address: No. 83, Section 2, Keelung Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市信義區基隆路二段83號 |
