Restaurant: Toros
Food: Steak and Western Cuisine
Prices: Set meals are around TWD 2000 per head
Location: Level 13, FE21 Department Store, Banquiao

On New Years Eve in Taipei, we visited a department store called FE21 in Banquiao (blue line on the MRT).

And for New Years Eve dinner, we went to a restaurant on level 13 called Toros.

Toros prides itself on being a high quality steak restaurant.  Taiwanese people seem to like their meats.  All the meat at Toros is supposedly CAB certified.  I have no idea what that means, though I get the feeling in Taiwan that if something is certified by some foreign agency (especially one using acronyms), the masses invariably trust it.

Anyway, Toros clearly considers itself a high class venue – with nice silvery cutlery, lush fittings and well-dressed waiters.  The menus also have English on them.  The prices are pretty dear by Taiwanese standards.

We went with one of their many set dinners – in our set you get bread (with dips and spreads), soup, salad, a massive steak main (to share) and dessert.

Check out some pics below!

(Click on ‘More…’ to see the delicious pictures and read the verdict on Toros)

The fresh, warm, fluffy bread made us ask for seconds!

The various dips and spreads for the homemade bread

My tomato based soup with cream froth was very refreshing

The cripsy Caesar Salad

The size of the main course should not be underestimated: beef steak + chicken, pork and prawns

The chocolate cake was sensational

The food was very good – tasty and flavoursome.  The medium steak was soft and with the sauce, not at all bland.  Everything was of a very high standard.  I’m not much of a steak person, to be honest, but this was quite satisfying.  It was, however, too filling for the night before arrival of the New Year!

Mmm…8 out of 10!

How to get there

FE21 is in Banquiao, which is a bit of a distance away from the centre of Taipei.  But it’s still easy to get there via the MRT on the blue line (or via the actual railway).  I recall the department store itself is a short walk from the MRT station.  The underground passages are a little confusing, so it might help looking for it on the ground level, or else ask around.

There are several restaurants on level 13 of FE21, which overlooks a games arcade on level 12.  Make sure you don’t get confused like this 10 year old kid who ran into Toros crying for his parents.  Apparently he went to the toilet facilities (shared by the various restaurants) and kept forgot which one to go back to.  Seriously, he was at least 9.