Louise is the reincarnation of the jazz bar Branco, occupying the same location on Civil Boulevard and in the Taipei jazz scene. Branco had established itself as a low-key hangout, regularly drawing a talented crew of musicians, both home grown and foreign. The changeover to Louise, which opened three months ago, came with a change in ownership.
The new owner, Jason Ma (
PHOTO: DAVID FRAZIER, TAIPEI TIMES
But while the jazz is still alive, some changes have been made to the environs. Louise has been completely redecorated, replacing Branco's rusticated hardwood feel with marble, dim candlelight and polished metal. The entrance walk consists of black and white marble piano keys; there are plenty of tables for two in the main bar area, near the performance corner; and there is a VIP room in the back that has sliding doors that can be sealed off for private parties or opened to the rest of the bar.
Bar offerings are also nouveau bourgeois, with an emphasis on what are commonly termed "the finer things." The top shelf carries around ten choices of single malt scotch (NT$250-280 a glass) and the cigar list is mostly Cubans and Dominicans (NT$400-800 each). There is also a beer menu featuring a number of German and Belgian brews, including Warsteiner, Erdinger, Chimay, Delerium Tremens and others.
In honor of Oktoberfest, which Ma translates to Chinese as the "German beer festival," there is also a special menu of German bar snacks. The sausage plate (NT$280) is a pleasant mix of three types of German sausages, and the cheese plate (NT$220) provides for some more heavy nibbling. To Ma's credit, he has also managed to secure some good quality German dark bread (NT$80), a bread that can makes for a tasty and nutritious meal by itself. But if you prefer a few more calories, the staff can melt a mix of butter and cream cheese on top, which is very delicious provided you're not worried about your waistline.
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