Taipei's Tienmu expat community has had a trusty friend in the form of an American/Italian style eatery called Diamond Tony's since 1988. Designed to be part-bar, part up-scale restaurant, the joint is great for those looking to unwind after a day at the office, to wine and dine a special friend, or take their family at the weekends.
Building on the huge success of its long-standing Tienmu store, Tony's recently brought its popular diner downtown and opened a second branch in the burgeoning Taipei 101 Mall. Within three months of opening it has already proved a hit.
Offering diners a tranquil and somewhat romantic atmosphere, with dim lighting, slick pinkish satin-covered furniture and with a constant hum of mellow lounge music in the air, the new Diamond Tony's is far removed from its lively Tienmu brethren.
The difference is only skin deep, however, as the menu is packed with all the same tasty appetizers (NT$180 to NT$420), seasonal salads (NT$200 to NT$280) and enticing entrees (NT$520 to NT$780) as the original store. One of the better ways to begin a meal at either branch of Diamond Tony's includes the deep fried squid with tartar sauce (NT$180), grilled calf tongue with spicy sauce (NT$260) and homemade liver pate (NT$240).
Served with more of an eye for haute cuisine when compared to some other Taipei American/Italian-styled diners where stodge is the order of the day, the entrees at Tony's both look and taste nice.
It's the homemade and reasonably priced pasta, gnocchi, penne and lasagne that are the biggest draws, however, with spinach, herb, pumpkin and squid ink pastas all available in various styles and with various sauces. Some of the more interesting include spinach pasta with smoke salmon, black pasta with squid and lemon sauce and herb pasta with lamb and pesto sauce.
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