Restaurant: Weis

By Gavin Phipps
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Mar 11, 2005, Page 15

For mouth-watering European cuisine, try Weis. PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS ,TAIPEI TIMES

Opened mid-December, Taipei's newest German restaurant differs somewhat from many of its kind. Sure, it serves up a tasty crispy pork knuckle with sauerkraut and mustard, as well as a fair selection of grilled German sausages, but at Weis, diners also get the chance to try food from outside Germany's borders.

Entering Weis, diners could be forgiven for assuming that they've mistakenly wandered into yet another of Anhe Road's trendy lounge bars. With its dim lighting, sofas, armchairs and laid-back, almost bohemian atmosphere, diners are made to feel welcome from the get-go -- if they can get a seat, that is, because Weis is not a large establishment.

Currently, the eatery only seats about 20, so dining out at Weis is on a first-come-first-served basis. More tables will be added sometime in the near future, says the management.

Weis a very individualistic approach to European fare, as a quick glance at the menu will attest to. Diners will find everything from pasta to sausages to risotto and even duck liver tucked away somewhere within its pages. Not that the diversity has spoiled the overall quality of the food, as both flavor and presentation are impeccable.

Some Weis' most popular dishes include roasted rack of lamb with sweet garlic sauce (NT$650), pan-fried beef tenderloin with mixed herbs and rock salt (NT$680), and the wild mushroom risotto (NT$350) and, of course, grilled German sausage (NT$280).

While a la carte menu is not available at lunch, Weis does cook up some very tasty specials for midday diners. Current popular lunch specials include pan-fried chicken leg with garlic or rosemary sauce (NT$280) and roasted snapper fillet with asparagus or pesto sauce.

The wide range of fare on offer puts Weis in a league of its own, but what really sets it apart from the rest is its whopping wine cellar, where its owners store what is possibly Taipei's largest selection of German fine wines.

Currently, Weis boasts 32 German wines, ranging fromstandard Rieslings (NT$1,200 to NT$1,500) to rarer Rieslings, which start at NT$2,000, as well as more up-market and aged Optimas (NT$2,880 to NT$3,600). Although times and dates have yet to be arranged, Weis' owners plan to open the cellar up for wine tasting evenings sometime in the near future.