Since the lounge-styled restaurant craze first took off in Taipei some years ago the city has been so overwhelmed by joints featuring in-house DJs, retro-furnishings and offering a "chillout experience" that hardly a month goes by without yet another one opening its doors.
While the proprietors of many of these establishments no doubt have lofty ideas of becoming the city's "in place," few actually actually survive. One of only a handful to have successfully withered Taipei's "here today, gone tomorrow" syndrome, however, is In House.
Opened three years ago and located in Taipei's Xinyi district, the reason for In House's continuing success is simple: Unlike many of its rivals, both past and present, it doesn't cater to one particular clique of clientele. You don't have to be young, you don't have to be chic and you don't have to be decked out in designer labels to go to In House.
During lunch hours it attracts office workers looking for a reasonably priced and filling midday repast. In the afternoons it caters to shoppers and cinema-goers with a yen for relaxation and in the evenings it accommodates denizens of the night who want to unwind with a cocktail and take in the turntable smarts of one of its resident, we might say in-house, DJs.
Tastefully minimalist in its interior design, In House offers winers and diners the choice to either relax on sofas or sit at dining tables. Its huge glass windows, which stretch from floor to ceiling, allow for plenty of natural light during day hours and inoffensive mild acid-jazz/ambient music is piped through the sound system from midday until early evening.
The menu doesn't throw any curve balls, nor does it set out to impress with the out of the ordinary. Instead, it contains a good choice of appetizers, main courses and a handful of desserts derived largely from Western cuisine with some Asian dishes tossed in for good measure. The fare includes pastas, steaks, seafood and an assortment of other such staples.
None of the dishes on the a la carte menu will break the bank, ranging between NT$200 and NT$450. The cheapest way to enjoy a meal at In House is to opt for one of the joint's set meals or the even cheaper lunch specials.
At NT$390, NT$450 or NT$550 respectively, the four-course set meals give diners the chance to choose from five combinations of starters, main courses and desserts. The lunch specials, which give diners the choice of a starter and entree are priced at NT$250 and NT$290. -- gavin phipps
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