The opening of a Western restaurant and live house in Taipei is nothing special — the city has seen a rise in both types of establishments in recent years. What is worth noting is a place, like new venue Tone 56 Live Bar, that combines all the elements of a great night out — food, service, and entertainment, and excels at all three.
When Robert Iacoboni, who has been traveling and playing in bands for the past 17 years, decided to move to Taiwan and settle down, he contacted old friend and Taipei resident Greg Johnston. “I am experienced in the entertainment industry,” said Iacoboni, who performed mainly in five-star hotels, “but Greg is more business-oriented.” Johnston was mostly involved in franchise development companies. Together they decided that they wanted to open what Iacoboni called “the kind of place you’d go for dinner with friends, followed by a chilled evening of drinking and dancing to a live band.”
The last element fell into place when they hired Thomas Huang (黃聖偉), who not only trained at a five-star hotel in Taipei, but had also spent two years working as second to the chef at the Taipei American Club. Huang prepares all his sauces, marinades and gravies from scratch. His Caesar dressing is a creamy concoction richly imbued with garlic, Parmesan and a hint of anchovy; the salad is topped with crisp crumbled bacon and fresh grated Parmesan.
Huang’s chicken wings alone make Tone 56 worth a visit. The meat is tender and juicy and pulls off the bone easily, seared with grill marks. A generous portion of wings is offered with mild, spicy or a rich, flavorful and savory barbeque sauce. I can’t stop thinking about them and have already convinced several friends to go to Wednesday Wing Night, when wings, a choice of salad, and a half-liter glass of beer or soda is NT$290.
The attentive and friendly staff seems motivated to provide the best possible service. Johnston “likes to train them in a franchise way — there’s a certain standard, to give that extra little bit,” said Iacoboni. “We want to have a higher-class place without high-class prices.”
The restaurant was originally called Tone, so they decided to add 56 — the street number as well as the number of seats in the bar — to the name and make it a live house. The floor has a blue-lit pathway from the bar to the fully equipped stage, which was “built from scratch” under Iacoboni’s direction. His band, Loaded, is the house band. It performs live rock ’n’ roll covers on Saturday nights from 10pm. Last weekend more than half the tables got up to dance.
On Fridays The Rubber Band plays, and different blues, rock, swing or jazz bands are scheduled to play on Sundays. There is also an outdoor barbeque on Sundays, and on Thursday’s Disco Night two dancers perform and “are willing to teach you a few disco moves,” said Iacoboni.
The decor is quite upscale, which is surprising to new customers who “come in expecting to see a pub” and “tell their friends who then show up on Sundays,” said Iacoboni, grinning and gesturing to the landscaped courtyard and outdoor tables. Both owners like to bring their Taiwanese wives for a night out. Said Iacoboni: “there’s no place like this where you can go on a date, get up and dance to songs you know, hear a blast from the past and really get into it.”
Tone 56 is at 56, Minchuan E Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市民權東路三段56號). Hours are from 5pm to 1am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5pm to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and 5pm to midnight on Sundays. Tone 56 is closed on Tuesdays. For more information call 0960-504-924 or 0988-182-818. For a full schedule of weekly events, visit their Web site at
www.myspace.com/tone56livebar.
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