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Restaurant: in House

Appearances are everything at in House. PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES

They certainly have the chillout part down. Twenty minutes after being seated in the restaurant section, I had yet to get my waitress' attention. I could see the service counter clearly from my table. The problem was my waitress couldn't see me from the sofa she was chilling out on.

I've been to in House a few times in the past. There aren't many restaurant-bars in Warner Village given the number of people it draws, and few in which you can spill into a couch. And so it's a natural place to migrate to after seeing The Matrix, when you're too hyped to go home but need a bowl of ice cream, a couch and time to chill out.

But the times I' ve gone there for dinner have been few. Now I think I know why that is; like my waitress in House seems to be resting on its laurels. And in a city that now has no shortage of lounge bars, that means it's time to redecorate.

I first heard of in House from an architect I befriended a little over a year ago. She's young, attractive and can talk about organic design in urban space. At the time I met her, she told me that she frequented a place called in House, and so with my newfound interest in learning more organic design in urban space I went there.

Address: 90, Sungren Rd, Taipei, behind Warner Village's Neo 19 complex (北市松仁路90號) Telephone: (02) 2345 5549 Open: Lunchtime until 2am Average meal: NT$500 per person Details: Credit cards accepted. Menu in both Chinese and English

What I saw was an oasis where everything seemed a little too perfect, like those hip, urban cartoon characters that live in the backgrounds of advertisements to hip urban parties. The waitresses sashaying between the isles looked like they were on the catwalk. Men wearing Armani suits and confident smirks smoked cigars.

I was the only one eating ice cream. It was an oddly deflating experience; a place I thought might be interesting turned out to be, well, purple. The best indicator of what kind of place in House is can be seen in the mirror that runs the length of the dining area; it's tilted to just the right angle so that everyone facing it can see themselves and everyone else in the dining area.

Little has changed and in House seems to be relying on a combination of the same word of mouth that brought me there initially and the fact that it offers some of the only sofas to lounge on in Warner Village.

Yes, the perfect looking grilled salmon you see pictured above is quite tasty -- and there's always the ice cream and couches -- but something about in House prevents it from being the chillout experience it promises to be. Maybe it has something to do with the 10 percent service charge you pay to get noticed -- at least that's what everyone is hoping for.
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