Our directory currently lists nine Spanish restaurants in Taiwan: seven in Taipei, one in Tainan and one in Kaohsiung.
Taipei: the chef-run tapas bars
La Caja de Música opened in 2011. It was founded by two chefs from Castilla y León: Luis Miguel Hernando Sahagún, from Valladolid, and Ramsés del Cura Nogal, from Burgos. The room is decorated with musical instruments, and the project pairs Spanish food with music and arts events. It sits off Nanjing East Road, section 4. We profiled it in more detail here.
El Marqués, on Yanji Street in Da'an, was founded in May 2017 by chef Jorge Nebot and his Taiwanese wife Vanesa Tsai. It is named after the owner's grandfather. The listing describes a small room, 26 seats at tables and 6 at the bar, with a menu of around 60 dishes plus Spanish wines and gin tonics. Its listing says advance reservations are required, especially for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. Our spotlight on El Marqués has more.
JUJU Spanish Gastrobar, on Bade Road in Songshan, is run by chef Lorenzo Ten Pablo, from Tenerife, and serves tapas and paella.
Taipei: more options
Four more Taipei listings round out the city:
- PS TAPAS, on Anhe Road in Da'an: tapas and seafood, with paella and Spanish wine as its signatures.
- Jarana, in Xinyi off Zhongxiao East Road, section 4: listed as a modern Spanish restaurant, open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday.
- Cava Baja, also in Xinyi, off Zhongxiao East Road, section 5: listed as offering modern Spanish cooking, with lunch and dinner service.
- Molino de Urdániz, on Jianguo North Road in Zhongshan: a hotel restaurant (its listed website is the hotel's dining page), and it has the highest recorded price band among the Taiwan listings that have one.
Tainan: a restaurant that grew out of an import business
Como en casa gourmet in Anping District started as an import business. It was founded in 2014 as a business importing Spanish products such as wine and olive oil. The restaurant came later, as a way to show those products on the plate, and it sits next to a small shop selling Spanish food products.
The owner, Germán, is described as a third-generation hotelier, and the kitchen focuses on what he knows best: Basque-Navarre cooking. The listing also says he has visited the producers whose goods the business imports.
Kaohsiung: a reservation-only room
Nido Spanish Cuisine on Zhonghua Street in Zuoying is a small, private-style restaurant run on a reservation-only basis. Nido means nest in Spanish, and the owners say the name reflects that intimate format. The kitchen cooks traditional Spanish recipes with ingredients imported from Spain. Listed hours are lunch from Thursday to Monday and dinner on Monday and Thursday to Saturday, but since it is reservation-only, book first.
Planning tips
- Book ahead at the smaller rooms. El Marqués says advance reservations are required, especially for Friday and Saturday dinner, and Nido only takes reservations.
- Check days. Several listings close on Mondays, and Jarana lists dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday.
- If you want Basque or Navarre cooking specifically, Como en casa in Tainan is the listing that names it.
Hours and details come from each venue's listing in our directory and can change. Confirm directly before you go.
