From the outside, one might easily mistake It's for a cheap bar, what with the neon Heineken sign and Budweiser Beer flag filling the front glass. An-ho Road has long been home to bars, restaurants and dance pubs and it's easy to miss It's, even walking down the street.
Only long-time customers who heard of the place through word of mouth come here for a ravishing meal. From the quality of food and drinks offered here, It's is more like a restaurant than a pub. It stocks a surprisingly large variety of quality wines and offers quite likely the best lamb chop in Taipei -- a reason in itself to check out It's for yourself.
"I love everything palatable, which is both a shortcoming and a start," said owner McGill Chen, telling the story of his 10-year-old restaurant.
Chen is a gourmand with a decade-long habit of scouting restaurants for the city's best food and is often among the first patrons at newly opened eateries. He was also one of the few to begin wine-tasting nights in Taipei before red wine even became trendy among Taiwanese 10 years ago.
And so armed with his years of experience, Chen not only owns It's, but is It's' chef as well, presenting his own gourmet recipes. There is no menu. When seated, Chen's assistant comes and tells you the soups and entrees on offer that day. Tomato, pumpkin and mushroom soups are offered daily, with seafood soup or Chinese mushroom soup for occasional variety. The tomato soup is recommended for its rich flavor and thickness, which is a rare find among Taiwan's boiled table scraps soup culture.
Apart from the pink, super-tender lamb chop spiced with rosemary, It's entrees include roast ribs of beef, French spring chicken, German pig knuckle and Basque cod. They come to the table in big portions without any fancy vegetable or rice decoration on the side. If you order the lamb chop, you'll find seven to eight thick ribs on your plate."We offer the real stuff. We don't waste time on side-dishes and pretty decorations," Chen said.
This philosophy reflects both Chen's personal style and, by extension, his restaurant. Donning a casual t-shirt with "American Motors" written on the front, Chen insists on buying the best quality meat and wine for his restaurant, but stops short of turning his place into a glossy, trendy spot.
It's house wine is 1996 Chateau de Gironville, a smooth and fruity vintage, another example of Chen's good taste. It's is not a cheap place, but It's confident quality, a little like It's dust-covered wine bottles on the rack, are waiting for you to enjoy.
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