So I’m here in Taipei for a while near the tonghua night market. I’ve only been looking around, checking out the night markets and whatnot so far. While I was over at the 101 area at night, I saw lava, room 18, and babe 18 but it seems like everyone is there in groups. It seems like it’d be awkward going alone since I don’t know anybody here except for some relatives. Would it be worth it checking out any of those places? and what about bars nearby, are there any that isn’t for an older crowd around here? thanks!
Close to Ren Ai and Guang Fu roads, not too far from where you are, is OnTap. That’s a pretty chilled out place if you like the real pub type of feel. Owned by a nice Irishman I’ve heard.
Lava is for teenagers mostly. Room 18 is good if you’re with a group. Down the road by DunHua and XinYi is Bliss. Somewhat of a dive but once in a blue moon they will have good live music. If you go down by the An He Rd area (south of Xin Yi) there are quite a lot of places that you could go to.
The Watershed is right behind the firestation on An He and Xin Yi and is a good bar for chatting if you’re just one person.
thanks for the info. I was thinking about looking into room 18 since wednesday nights are free this month. what’re average prices on drinks around here anyways? the last couple times I was at a club in cali, I remember drinks were like $8 at one place and $12 at another… also, is the scene here different than cali? because usually it’s frat/sorority events where I’m at, so there’s usually alot of frat/sorority ppl there.
Bobwundaye is also good. Close to Liuzhangli MRT.
Price of drinks varies, usually a bit over NT$100 for a beer, more if it’s special beer. Some places (clubs) are much more expensive than that.
As to the scene, well this is not California, so naturally the scene is also quite different. To my knowledge there’s no such thing as a Taiwanese frat boy.
Hope you have fun!
Or you could go to Carnegies, because you won’t be alone for long!
good to know. it gets boring here when all I can do while I’m not studying Chinese is to go eat, wander around the night markets by myself 
I think you need to start thinking locally. First of all, prices here are in NT. Second, frat/soror. is back-home shit. Nothing like that here AFAIK.
Oh, if you’re looking for young, happening spots, you should pick up some young language exchange partners – you can learn the local lingo and maybe some of them can cue you in on what’s fun around town, and take you with their group when they go clubbing.
I’m not familiar with bars here, but I’d suggest going to a club with at least one or two people. Going in alone is awkward and you probably won’t have a good time. If you go -
In my opinion, of those three, Room 18 is probably the better choice. Lava and Babe 18 are all you can drink places and typically get way too crowded, with way too many guys, with way too many people who don’t know how to drink. Lava now is typically not a good experience. Think trashy. Back when it was Lava Lounge, it was very nice… too bad 
Room 18 is more expensive with drinks, and somewhat sort of like the place where all the aspiring models and actresses like to go, but because of this, it is harder to talk to them. There are two sections, one hip hop, one electronic/techno. Babe 18 is owned by Room 18, and is almost exactly like Lava, just smaller and newer. If I had to pick between Babe 18 or Lava… I would pick Babe 18 because it is cheaper and you get practically the same thing for less money, therefore, you can expect it to be the way it is.
Another place nearby that just opened up is Primo located right out of YongChun station, opened by the owners of the famous Luxy and a bunch of other ABC investors that have been here in Taiwan for a good while. Drinks are expensive, but the crowd and atmosphere is a par above what you find at most clubs (aka upscale, not trashy). I was there on opening night and saw a few well known icons… but good luck talking to them unless you’re somebody 
… the owners were pretty cool at least, and the place was decked out really nice. Drinks were good too - but expensive. I would highly suggest checking the place out to get a feel of what a good club in Taipei is like. You might be able to get away with coming alone here as there is a bar section clearly separated from the dance area that you can sit, chill, chat, or mill around if dancing is not your thing.
taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar … 2003407461
Club Mint, located at the base lower floor of 101 Financial Center. A nice spot too… not big, but nice, and you need a group to come with you.
A little further out worth checking out -
Ageha, a Japanese owned club with electronica. Walk or take a taxi. For details - ageha-taipei.com/
Plush - If you know loveboat… you probably heard of this spot too. People from Loveboat sneak off to this club all the time. @ 138, BaDer Rd., Sec. 4, 12F - can’t take MRT, gotta go taxi to get there.
Pasoul, a younger, mostly Taiwanese crowd. 800 nt all you can drink, composed of 2 floors with the same layout in the basement levels. There’s usually a good amount of nice looking girls here… and they have a nice dance lineup (ones that can actually dance cough 9 Percent)… this is like Lava, but better. My personal all you can drink place preference. Take Zhongxiao Dunhua Exit 6 to get there.
I would avoid Carnegies and Brass Monkey, they are okay if you go with a group, but these places are mostly for expats and the crowd that goes there are typically a notch older (not to mention that you mostly have women there interested in white… sorry if this offends anyone.)
Would also avoid: Club W (formerly Wax), B1 (owned by Club W), Hips (though seems to be getting a little better now), and Roxy Vibe.
The only bar I can suggest is -
Oldie Goodie’s located out of Taipower Building MRT exit 3 on the 2nd Floor has a live band performance. Chill and entertaining.
B1 was sold off by the W group well over a year ago.
They have have absolutely nothing to do with W.
If your info is that far out of date, how can you be trusted to recommend or criticize clubs?
Have you been to the newly renovated Club W in the last month?
It really does have a different feel (and smell!) than the old Wax.
totalabc: If you’re looking for a younger crowd, W is a great place.
Club W is an all-you-can-drink club with different prices on different days, but never more that 500nt.
Also, plenty of people go to W alone.
The people that go there go to dance and have fun, and it is easy to meet new friends.
PS- Two of the above flashy-expensive-models-standing-around clubs nolza recommended are part of the W group.
Guess which club’s more successful?
I actually recommend Wax
If you’re looking to among a bunch of people who just are solely looking to show themselves off and stand around drinking weak drinks–by all means go to the flashy places like Luxy, Room 18 and Plush.
If you’re looking to dance, drink, get wild and actually have some fun go to
Wax or 9 percent
ahhh yes, I forgot about that, B1 changing ownership. Well, I don’t really keep close tabs much on clubs I don’t really like… who would? And might just be me, but I’ve witnessed some of the shadiest characters at Wax (correlation with price). Plus their drinks are weak, and the lines are long and full of people always cutting so you have to wait a long time to get a refill. Can’t say that there are a lot of girls either, and that’s cuz of the shady characters part. I was there maybe just 2-3 months ago, and the same applied just as it was 1, 2, 3 years ago. BUT –
To be honest, no, I haven’t checked out the new Club W. I haven’t heard anything from anyone I know who’s mentioned anything special about the new Club W yet so I have no interest at the moment either. Your claims seem a bit far fetched…it’s only been a month since it reopened. I doubt it is more successful than any other club around in Taipei, especially the two clubs I mentioned before. However, If the image, crowd, and atmosphere really have changed that much, then I’d be glad to go again from time to time.
But for now this cat is just too waxed out. Maybe in a few months I’ll drop by and check things out if hear some good things, but not anytime soon for me. For clubs in that area, I’m sticking to 9 Percent and Roxy 99
I’d also highly recommend PA Soul. http://www.pasoulclub.com. Near Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT.
It’s an all-you-can-drink and the prices are posted on the website. They have beers, mixed drinks and shots. Every Friday and Saturday is also backless and Bikini night though I’ve noticed not all that many actually partake. If you’re going by yourself, wait until it gets crowded. I’ve gone with a friend a few times now and they usually get lost somehow after the first 30 minutes so I’m by myself finding people to dance with anyway. Thus far I’ve found the girls there easy to dance with (and when I get shot down it’s not the “Get away from me you freak”-look, but more of a laughing and “I’m too shy to dance with you, Mr. Foreigner”-look). The guys are actually quite nice as well. (I was originally afraid of getting beat by some Taiwanese local, but by the end of the night they were high-fiving me). I’ve become good friends with a group I met there actually. Also, every so often they do a beer chugging contest which I find to be quite accessible despite any language barriers. As someone mentioned, Taiwan has no fraternities, so if you have any experience in the rapid consumption of alcohol, you just may win a small stuffed animal like me.