Ueshima Coffee Lounge 上島珈琲店
I Highly Recommend ☆☆☆☆☆
Taipei lounge offering: Coffee / Sweet Coffee / Drip Coffee / Matcha / Cocoa Drink / Milk Tea / Soy Milk Coffee / Ice Cream / Sandwiches / Bagel Sandwiches / Cake / Dessert / Waffles / Salad / Jazz Music
Address:
No. 199, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd, Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106
台北市大安區敦化南路一段199號
Phone: (02) 2711-7573
Hours: Mon - Sat: 7am - 11pm, Sun: 8am - 11pm
Last Reviewed: 3 November 2015
Ueshima Coffee Lounge is a Japanese chain establishment that opened locations in Taipei (3 at the time of this review). It's a unique place in Taipei, being that there aren't many coffee shops that have nice lounge seating while playing jazz music in the background, which is perfect for solo visitors to read or do some work on their laptops. It's also a great place for small groups to chat over coffee. It's a lounge, so of course there is no time limit for one's visit. Ueshima does a pretty nice job at separating the solo seating area with the group area, but it's impossible to completely partition talking areas from quiet areas, as there is still always going to be the chance of a loud conversation between two people in an area that is meant more for silence. I usually like to enjoy Ueshima solo while reading a book. About half of the time there is a loud Taiwanese couple (meaning two people, not necessarily in a relationship) seating close enough to me to ruin the nice jazz ambiance while I read my book, so I always bring my music with me in order to listen to my own jazz music, or just put my earphones in my ears to lessen the couple's noise enough for me to still enjoy Ueshima's jazz music and a light enough cafe chatter in the background; light chatter can actually be nice for a certain mood, but no one likes loud talking while trying to read, of course.
Now that I've covered the ambiance of Ueshima, I'll get into what they offer for drinks and food. What they offer in the way of coffee isn't traditional to most coffeehouses; they don't have espresso based coffee drinks like a latte, cappuccino, or an espresso shot. They have some of the best sweet coffee drinks that I've ever had, in any country. Other drinks that are also offered: milk and coffee mixed drinks, milk tea, soy milk coffee (for vegans), matcha milk, and a cocoa drink. They also have a really nice drip coffee for black coffee lovers. They also have Vienna coffee for those who want to take the bitterness off their black coffee with some cream. Vienna coffee is traditionally black coffee or espresso shots topped with whipped cream; some places add more cream than others, but the point is the same: to lighten up the drink by taking the bitter-bite out of the drink. It just so happens that the book I was reading at the time of my many visits to Ueshima took place in Vienna, where the characters chatted about philosophy, politics, current affairs in Austria in the late 1800s, and their own lives at Café Central, one of the legendary coffeehouses in Vienna that still exists today. Here are some links if you're interested in the Viennese coffeehouse culture, or where you can find traditional cafés in Vienna’s Old City to experience Viennese coffeehouse culture in its most original form. Sorry for getting down to the details and history of only one drink that is served at Ueshima; it's just that I am particularly taken by the drink. I almost always order it or one of their two sweet coffee drinks. I started out drinking only sweet coffee drinks in my early coffee days, and have since moved to drinking cappuccinos with no sugar, but Ueshima's sweet drinks have re-opened the door to my appreciation for sweet coffee drinks again. They're gourmet and top-notch; they aren't syrup-filled gross sweet coffee drinks one could find at Starbucks or other major coffee chains.
Some of their sandwiches are good and make for a nice light meal along with your coffee, but don't expect too much out of them or you might be disappointed (particularly pertaining to Westerners who are use to more hardy sandwiches). The tuna bagel sandwich and smoked salmon sandwich are the two best choices. Most of their desserts are clearly rip-offs of Wendel's cake recipes. The one cake that I tried wasn't as good as Wendel's, but I can't speak for the others.
I've visited all three of their locations more than once. Even though the location in the basement of the Ming Yao department store (明曜百貨) has the coolest layout for solo visitors, I can't recommend it because they keep the air conditioning set to freezing; so much so that I actually don't recommend that location. I told the staff about the issue on my first visit, and knowing that they wouldn't have changed anything, I brought a sweater on my second visit in order to fend up the cold to appreciate their nice solo, dimly-lit seating area, but it was even too cold with the sweater and I ended up getting a headache. One of my Taiwanese friends brought up this same issue about that location at the beginning of our conversation about Ueshima without me having said anything about it. It's nice to have one's opinions validated. I highly recommend Ueshima's other two locations. Their location on Dunhua South Road close to exit #7 of Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT Station stays open the latest, and the location on Bade Road, in my opinion, has the best layout.
Vegetarian light meal options: Bagel Sandwich (NT$190 solo, NT$110 w/ drink), Cheese & Egg Sandwich (NT$85), and Waffles (not served all day) (NT$170 to NT$190 solo, NT$90 to NT$110 w/ drink).
Vegan drink options: soy milk coffee (Small: NT$100, Medium: NT$115, Large: NT$140)
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Click pictures for prices and critiques
Ueshima Coffee Lounge 上島珈琲店 website with menu
Ueshima Coffee Lounge 上島珈琲店 Taiwan Facebook page
Ueshima Coffee Lounge 八德店 Bade Rd. shop Facebook page
Ueshima Coffee Lounge 忠孝敦化店 Zhongxiao Dunhua shop FB page
Ueshima Coffee Lounge 明曜百貨店 Ming Yao Dept. shop FB page
Barrel Leaf's Toast Notebook's Ueshima Coffee Lounge Chinese review
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Address:
No. 199, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd, Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106 台北市大安區敦化南路一段199號 Phone: (02) 2711-7573 Hours: Mon - Sat: 7am - 11pm, Sun: 8am - 11pm Chinese & English Menu Average Coffee: NT$120 Average Light Meal: NT$120 No 10% Service Charge Free Wi-Fi Jazz Music Electronic Japanese Toilets Click on link below for a Google STREET VIEW Ueshima Dunhua S. Rd. |
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Address:
No. 32, Sec. 3, Bade Rd, Songshan Dist., Taipei City 105 台北市松山區八德路三段32號 Phone: (02) 2578-5207 Hours: Mon - Fri: 7am - 9pm, Sat: 7:30am - 10pm, Sun: 7:30pm - 9pm Chinese & English Menu Average Coffee: NT$120 Average Light Meal: NT$120 No 10% Service Charge Free Wi-Fi Jazz Music Click on link below for a Google STREET VIEW Ueshima Bade Rd. |
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Address:
Ming Yao Dept. Store, B1, No. 200, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd, Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106 台北市大安區忠孝東路四段200號B1 (明曜百貨) Phone: (02) 2711-9671 Hours: Sun - Thu: 8am - 9:30pm, Fri & Sat: 8am - 10pm Chinese & English Menu Average Coffee: NT$120 Average Light Meal: NT$120 Freezer Setting for Air Condintioning (bad) No 10% Service Charge Free Wi-Fi Jazz Music Click on link below for a Google STREET VIEW Ueshima Ming Yao |
At the Bade Rd. location, I took this 360º video to show the layout and convey the jazzy lounge atmosphere.
Create your own jazz cafe music ambiance in your own home, thanks to BGM's 4-hour mix.
A very nice video by miyakez that displays the Ueshima Bade Rd. shop (上島珈琲店 店內介紹影片).
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