Anyone know what the oldest bar in Taipei is?
DV8 on Jinhua Street must be in the running.17 years.
I know there’s bars in that combat zone area that are older and I’d guess there might a few in the Minsheng or Dihua area.
The Post Home is at least 25 years old.
According to one website, The Ploughman Inn has been around since 1982, which would make it 21 years old. I believe it was preceded by a bar called the Ploughman’s Cottage, but I guess that’s irrelevant since it’s now gone. There was some talk re: this topic in this thread, but no conclusion and no dates.
There were several pubs in the Ploughman chain…the Pig And Whistle is one. The Ploughman’s Cottage was on Nanjing E. Rd. between the Brother Hotel and Asiaworld. In the mid-80s it was THE place to eat. If you have a copy of the old Shih-Ta Mandarin textbook (red or green, I can’t remember which), there’s a photo of me in the student center in the old building…wearing my Ploughman’s Cottage Taipei t-shirt.
My Place in the Combat Zone ?
Blueface:
What were you doing in bars back then? Somehow you just don’t strike me as the drinking kind. 
Research, sir…research.
I checked the Combat Zone sites that Cranky listed. There were some “pub crawl” maps from the early 70s, but I didn’t recognize any of the names. Then again, I’m not an expert on the place. They may still have the same owners, though.
Doubtful…owners come and go…and die. And get married…
The ploughman pub was alive and kicking in 1980 when I was living and working in Taiwan. My eldest son was partly raised on the bar at the Ploughman Pub.
Great place when they were still shooting at each other over the Kinman Straights.
One time there was a typhoon coming so we (expats) sheltering in the Ploughman Pub. After the night was over we walked out into the street and the typhoon had completely missed and not even a drop of rain.
Murray
Classic story Murray, thanks for sharing.
lol…. wow, this thread has been raised from the dead. I’m gonna go with My Place in the Combat Zone as Taipei’s longest running bar…. can’t think of any other contenders honestly.
Someone commented on a Facebook page recently, asking about the old Driftwood bar that was near the NTU campus. Apparently there is another bar using that name in Ximen, but this person was referring to the old one. Does anyone remember that place and when it shut down? I think I might have gone there on my first trip to Taiwan way back in 2009. All the same, I’d like to know what that one bar was, I have a couple pictures that I took of some people I was hanging out with that night, would be cool if someone could identify it. I’ll post the pictures later, and try to edit myself out of them, lol….. still need to maintain some level of anonymity here on Forumosa.
I think The Green Door is nearly 50 years old…
I was going to say Green Door.
Or maybe something in Wanhua.
God I have quite a memory there at least 35 years back.
So is the Farmhouse still there ? It wasn’t my place of choice but there was some decent music there. Unfortunately another bar called 45 closed a couple of years ago in the Guting area.
The first bar or club I ever went to in Taipei was Buffalo Town. 45 and DV8 were probably two of the most recently closed and previously long surviving.
which one? there are two. the one in the Combat Zone, and also the one near Zhishan station, which I believe is some kind of hostess bar…… as for the one in the Combat Zone, I think you’re right…. it’s a little older than My Place….. If I remember correctly, Green Door was founded in 1977, and My Place in 1979.
yeah, Farmhouse has closed in the Zone, it’s been replaced with some kind of like hostess/strip club type place, really weird…. Maybe it moved, or some other place is using the name now, but yeah, it’s gone from its original location, maybe going back about 2 years ago.
45 also closed a few years back…. really sad to see that place go, also one of the first bars I went to in Taipei on that trip back in 2009…. I remember going there getting a sandwich and some beers before heading out to good ole Roxy 99, lol….. those were the days. After having been in Korea for nearly a year at that point, let’s just say Roxy 99 was very refreshing, haha…. and was kind of a factor in me moving here…… XD
I think that 45 also moved, or maybe someone is using the name, perhaps very close to the NTU campus if I remember correctly. Again, really sad as I have a lot of good memories of the place…. hanging out with friends, going on dates, having a few quiet drinks to reflect on life or just relax….
I was there on DV8’s final night on NYE 2016/17…. great night out, watched the count down there and jumped in a taxi to go bar hopping in the Combat Zone… pretty fun night.
I have heard about Buffalo Town, I guess it was located near the Combat Zone area too? Seemed pretty legendary too, lol…..