Delicious Yakiniku & Cheap Drinks on Linsen N. Road
Tabe Yakiniku is a funky little spot tucked away in the alleys of Linsen North Road that serves up some delicious yakiniku in a nice environment. This area of Taipei is pretty infamous, as it is a red-light district of sorts that mostly caters to Japanese tourists. It is chock-full of KTVs, hostess bars, massage parlours, and various other establishments that are a little harder to spot if you don’t know what you are looking for. While it fully deserves the reputation it has, it is also a wonderland for great Japanese food, and Tabe Yakiniku is no exception.
Tabe Yakiniku is pretty tiny as far as restaurants go, and can only seat around 15 people at a push. There is one communal table that is pretty roomy, which has individual grills. It has a cool, funky design with nice ambiance, which is pretty low-key, considering the area that it is located in.
The first thing that we noticed upon browsing Tabe Yakiniku’s seriously cool menu was that they have a variety of high balls for only $100, including fun options like oolong tea high balls and Calpis highballs. We immediately ordered three.
We were slightly disappointed upon trying them, mistakenly thinking that the Calpis highballs to be on the weak side, although the Coca-Cola high ball tasted pretty strong. After two, however, we suddenly realized that we were pretty buzzed.
Since we were in a yakiniku restaurant, we decided to splurge a little on some quality meat. We ended up ordering the beef max combo for $1299, which included a piece of every kind of beef they had. It was pricier than we would normally want to pay, but after learning that it included a plate of wagyu beef, we were sold.
The beef combo came on several small plates, which we grilled and cut ourselves. It definitely focused on quality over quantity, and you should know before you go that this isn’t the place to stuff yourself. However, each piece was absolutely exquisite: the meat was tender, juicy, and very well seasoned. We would definitely order it again, but probably only on a special occasion due to its price.
We also ordered the pork combo, which was 3 different pieces of pork for $199, and was also phenomenal (although we forgot to take pictures!). Do note that everything you see on the menu below is sold individually, so the prices can be somewhat misleading.
After splurging on meat, we decided to order something a little more substantial. The first thing that caught our eye was the rice with green onion ($60), which was exactly what it sounds like, except it also came with a raw egg on top and was slathered in the most delicious sauce. Although it was very simple, it was absolutely delicious, and we strongly recommend you try it!
We were also tempted by the wagyu fried rice, which was a little more expensive at $180. This was very tasty, but it paled somewhat in comparison to the rice with green onion, which was much tastier in our opinion.
The last thing we ordered ended being our absolute favourite: stir-fried noodles, also known as yakisoba ($120). These delicious, saucy noodles absolutely blew our minds with their incredible flavour. Our team has lived in Japan for a combined total of 11 years, and these were some of the best we have had. They are a must-try, and completely affordable!
Check out the rest of their menu here (isn’t it cool?):
Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at Tabe Yakiniku. It was definitely on the expensive end, but we didn’t feel like it was too overpriced, considering how delicious everything was. We also really enjoyed the rice with green onion and the yakisoba, which were very reasonably priced. The $100 drinks were a big draw too, even if they tasted a little weak.
What’s the vibe?
A small, funky little restaurant in the alleys of Linsen North Road. Expect lots of Japanese businessmen and tourists.
Worth it?
It’s not cheap, but the food was very good. The meat was delicious, and we loved the yakisoba! The drinks don’t taste very strong, but they’re only $100.
Would you go back?
We probably wouldn’t go nuts with the meat, but we’d definitely be back for the cheap drinks and yakisoba!
Visited: June 2019
| Tabe Yakiniku |
| Chinese Name: 吃燒肉 |
| Hours: 6pm – 12am closed Sunday |
| Phone: 02 2511 0809 |
| English Address: No. 20, Lane 119, Linsen North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市中山區林森北路119巷20號 |
