Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/02/20/2003099507

Restaurant: Diamond Tony's Italien Restaurant

Address: 4F, 45 Shifu Rd, Taipei (北市市府路45號); 2, Ln 38, Alley 16, Tienyu St, Taipei (北市天玉街38巷16弄2號)
Telephone:Taipei 101 branch (02) 8101 8268; Tienmu branch (02) 2873 6397
Open: Taipei 101 branch, 11:30am to 10pm; Tienmu branch, 11:30am to midnight
Average meal: NT$700 per person, including beverage and dessert

By Gavin Phipps
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Feb 20, 2004, Page 19

Diamond Tony's spanking new branch is at the Taipei 101 Mall.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
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.