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Restaurant: On Tap

By Ron Brownlow
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Mar 09, 2007, Page 15

On Tap will celebrate St Patrick's Day with a special Irish dishes and promotions. PHOTO: RON BROWNLOW, TAIPEI TIMES

Spaceman has landed.

The tiny Renai Road (仁愛路) pub run by Irishman Niall Clinton has moved to a more spacious address on Guangfu South Road (光復南路), taken a new name — and now serves delicious North American food.

Joining Clinton is co-owner Bill Allen, a Brooklynite who worked as a bartender at the River Club in Nyak, New York. Both taught English in Taipei and saw the need for a comfortable nightspot with a kitchen that remained open long enough to serve teachers working the late shift at buxibans, a situation made more urgent by the recent demise of DV8, where Clinton worked before opening Spaceman.

Their search for a suitable location lasted nearly a year until December, when they found a restaurant near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館) MRT station that was looking to close its doors and transfer the lease. It was a good deal and the space was perfect — two floors, a working kitchen and a distinctive Mediterranean facade with a vestibule that keeps the noise coming out of the pub to a minimum.

Inside they added a long bar, wood frames on interior windows that look out to the vestibule, and red brick walls, a touch that for Allen evokes images of the quintessential New York bar. The windows give the feeling of extra space while the brick makes things cozy. One's first impression is that everything is clean and new, but the decor grows on you and after a drink or two On Tap feels like an old local you've been frequenting for years.

Then there's the food. Last week, On Tap started serving dishes ranging from entrees like spaghetti (NT$170), grilled steak (NT$300) and grilled BBQ chicken (NT$250), to sides like nachos (NT$180), chicken caesar salad (NT$200), and the best calamari (NT$160) this reviewer has tasted at a Western restaurant in Taipei.

Customers were raving: "A restaurant selling this after midnight?" proclaimed an approving South African as he tucked into a side of grilled BBQ Pork with mashed potato (NT$250). "Swensen's, bye bye!"

On tap at On Tap are Strongbow, Abbot Ale, Stella Artois and, coming soon, Taiwan Beer (NT$150 to NT$200). Of course, Guinness is also served and Clinton says that at NT$200 it is the cheapest Guinness in town. The bottled selection (NT$150 to NT$180) includes Heineken, Belgian beers and English ales.

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