Terminal One TPE: Aviation-Themed Bar with a Fun Atmosphere

There are tonnes of cocktail bars in the Zhongxiao Fuxing/Zhongxiao Dunhua area that we love, but there is always room on the list for one or two more. One name that has come up over and over again recently is Terminal One, an aviation-themed cocktail bar famous for its fun atmosphere, nice drinks, and unique setting. After our research on Google Maps unearthed nothing but rave reviews (at the time of writing they have a 4.9 rating) and epic photos of a really cool looking interior, we decided to check it out for ourselves.

We were lucky to get seats at Terminal One, as they don’t accept reservations and were already pretty packed on the Saturday night that we visited. Luckily for us, a friendly member of staff was able to squeeze us at the bar, plying us with some free buttery popcorn while we consulted the menu. There were several pages of interesting-looking speciality cocktails as well as many more pages of standard drinks and food, all priced within reason for the area (i.e. around $350 per cocktail).

After much deliberation we ordered, then sat back to soak in the fun atmosphere. We noticed with some surprise that there were more foreigners than we had expected, perhaps even making up around half of the customers. This isn’t necessarily unusual in Taipei, but we don’t always see such big groups of foreigners in the cocktail bars of Zhongxiao Dunhua/Fuxing, and we enjoyed the energy that the mix of cultures created.

We really appreciated Terminal One’s attention to detail when it came to the theme of aviation. The most obvious example is their entrance, which is designed to look like the door of a plane. We also spotted multiple TV screens in the bar, all showing clips of planes taking off or landing. There was something bizarrely entertaining about watching these on a loop, and it definitely reminded us of being in an airport, as did the many photographs of airplanes lining the walls.

The first drink we got was the Fasten Your Seatbelt ($350), made with Zubrowka, Fireball, almond liqueur, milk, and egg white, with a plump marshmallow garnish and a dusting of cinnamon on the sides of the glass. This was a deliciously sweet, milky cocktail that reminded us of Christmas cookies. It was heavy on the cinnamon, which was perfect for us.

We also got the Chandelle ($380), made with dry gin, chartreuse liqueur, Cointreau, Lillet, and elderflower liqueur, with a rosemary leaf and orange peel garnish. We really loved the heavy elderflower taste in this cocktail, which can almost taste like white grape. It was fresh and easy to drink, while still being packed with flavour.

Next up was The Independence ($350), made with Taiwanese kaoliang, Taiwanese black tea infused with cinnamon, mango and raspberry liqueur, and a lime wedge. This cocktail boasts 100% Taiwanese ingredients and makes as much of a statement in terms of flavour as it does with politics. There was a strong taste of kaoliang in every sip that almost overpowered everything else, although we will admit that we actually quite liked it. Still, be warned: if you don’t fancy kaoliang dominating every single one of your tastebuds, you may want to stay clear.

We ordered another round of drinks after our first — Brace for Impact, Artificial Horizon, and Cleared for Takeoff — but in all honesty, they didn’t stand out to us as much as the first round. They were on the sweet side and rather less memorable, though still not bad. We’re not sure if we had just had enough of cocktails by that time of night or if they weren’t as much to our taste, but we probably would stick with some simple mixed drinks for round two rather than order these again.

The one hiccup in our night had to do with an outdated promotion. The menu advertised  (in multiple locations) a Happy Hour deal of buy 2 cocktails, get 1 free, and we assumed this was in effect when we ordered our first round. However, when we asked the staff for confirmation, they got a bit snappy and said they had told us earlier the promotion was no longer valid (they hadn’t) because the menu hadn’t been updated yet. We found this to be a bit unprofessional because they could have taped over it or given us some indication that the promotion was no longer running, and we would expect a business to honour advertised prices. That being said, it didn’t completely taint our experience because we enjoyed the bar a lot otherwise. We’re sure this will no longer be a problem when they reprint their menus.

Overall, we had an awesome time at Terminal One. We went expecting to find just another themed cocktail bar but were extremely impressed by the great atmosphere and (mostly) friendly service. We loved that there was such a great mix of locals and foreigners, lots of whom seemed to be mixing and chatting with each other, which was a nice change from some of the other cocktail bars where people stick to their own groups. We also really like the first round of drinks that we got, which we felt were well-balanced and fun, though the second round didn’t make as great an impression. All things considered, we would definitely return to Terminal One to hang out with friends and enjoy the lively atmosphere.

Check out their full menu down below, but do note that it will be changing soon. We also recommend double-checking all the promotions with bar staff, for reasons stated above.

What’s the vibe?

Aviation-themed cocktail bar with a great mix of local and foreign customers and an upbeat atmosphere. The staff were extremely nice and helpful (besides the outdated promotion incident).

Worth it?

It’s definitely worth paying a visit for the fun atmosphere, and the first round of drinks was really great. We didn’t enjoy the second round of drinks quite as much so probably wouldn’t have paid $350 for them again, but would have no problem returning and ordering something else.

Would you go back?

For sure! It’s nice to have a livelier cocktail bar to add to the list.

Last updated March 2020

Terminal One - TPE

Hours: Tues-Thurs, Sun 7pm – 2am Fri & Sat 7pm – 3am

Phone: 02 2731 2221

English Address: No. 36, Lane 51, Section 1, Da'an Road, Da’an District, Taipei City

Chinese Address: 台北市大安區大安路一段51巷36號