If you're in the mood for tasty Italian food and a trendy atmosphere, Al Cicchetto in the Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a fun option!
Location: in the center of Huashan Park which is only a 5 minute walk from the Zhongxiao Xinsheng stop on the blue line.
We went at 8:30 pm on a Saturday, and the restaurant was still packed and had more people waiting outside. The vibe is very hipster with low lighting, repurposed furniture, and exposed concrete walls. The space is small, so the tables are close together but this didn't bother our group of four as there was enough space on both sides of the table.
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| Front of the restaurant where everyone was waiting for a table. |
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| Cool lamps over the tables and exposed walls. Very trendy interior decorating! |
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| The bar area was well stocked with wine and spirits. |
I'll come right out and say that the service wasn't great - a bit slow and the main course dishes came before the appetizers - but we weren't in a hurry so it wasn't too bothersome. We brought our own bottles of wine, and they only charged us one corkage fee, which was nice. There is also an extensive drink and wine menu to choose from. When I glanced around at the other tables, people had fun martini glasses - def want to try a cocktail next time!
The food had some hit or miss dishes, but overall things were yummy. There is a page of "a la carte" options, cheese and meat platters, and then main dishes and pastas. We ordered some small dishes to share and then each got a different pasta. I found the small dishes to be very flavorful with a wide variety of options. We also ordered a meat and cheese platter and were disappointed when the waiter told us near the end of our meal that they had run out. We opted for just the cheese platter instead, and that ended up being a nice way to finish the meal.
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| The "a la carte" options on the menu. |
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| I forgot to snap a pic before we all started munching on these little fishes with roasted garlic - oops! They were really yummy! |
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| Spicy shrimps that had a super serious kick! |
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| I ordered the pasta carbonara and it was probably our least favorite - way too saucy, but the soft boiled egg was delicious. |
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| Pasta with beef and mushrooms. I liked this pasta dish the best as it had a simple olive oil base. |
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| Seafood risotto that had excellent clams. |
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| Cheese platter at the end of the meal. |
Overall, we all felt satisfied and would definitely return, though next time I think I would order more small dishes rather than a pasta. I enjoyed the atmosphere as that area feels unique in Taipei. There is also a yakatori restaurant next door that looks fun. We will be back to try that, too!
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| Me and my trusty food companion :) |
