If you’re up in Tienmu on Zhongshan North Road, I very much like Lutetia (露特西亞). Strong coffee, reasonably priced, unbeatable hours (open very early to late), indoor and outdoor seating, great in-house baking, and a relaxed vibe.
Tienmu itself is way out of the way! Since the MRT was rerouted away from the neighborhood, its fate has been sealed.
But if anyone does visit Lutetia, be aware it has two spaces next to each other: a compact cafe on the corner (the older space, which I quite like) and a newer sit-down and eat space next to it (nicer but also perhaps also more generic).
North Fuxing Road (I visit more than one office in the area) so area north of Sogo to near the airport… Within that area and High Speed rail Stations (use mostly Taipei but sometimes Nangang and Banchau to get to Kaoshiung)/ When I have breaks between meetings, visits was looking for “espresso breaks”
A surprisingly good place in that zone is the Thermos Cafe (膳魔師 環保咖啡館) on Fuxing South Road, just south of the Bade Road intersection. It’s open only Mondays to Fridays, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. If you’re needing a quick espresso spot during office hours, that would be my choice.
(This would not really work with espresso, but they offer a 50% discount on their drinks if you bring in a thermos—a nice touch.)
As opposed to stand up seats? I know what you mean though. Cama has been opening up a lot of new places with full seating to compete with Louisa lately.
Both are good. Not sure if in Taipei they have bigger newer stores. I went to one in PingTung that had full sit down booths with wifi and power as well full coffee bar. Almost all shops though now have ice cream and coffee which is much better than Maccas (Micky D’s).