Black Pepper transports diners to the seductive location of Italy, recreating the space and cuisine essential for a romantic evening.
Taiwan has its own unique way of recreating Italian classics. Other than a surprisingly good 7-Eleven rendition of a spaghetti bolognese, local pasta offerings can lean more curious than creative.
In my search for authentic Italian, Instagram guides me to this hip hotspot, which strikes a balance between bistro and bar, romantic and chill, and price wise sitting comfortably between get-what-you-pay-for, faux-Italian and a Michelin once-a-year affair.
Photo: Hollie Younger
My Saturday night reservation at 8pm feels positively early as a steady chain of model-esque types stream in all night for a Limoncello Spritz, Italians gesture over clinking glasses (always a good sign) and dates enjoy bottles of bubbly chilled tableside.
Reviews intrigue with promises of must-try chef specials, award-winning calzones and, apparently, gorgeous Italian owners.
Gianluca Marraffa and Luca Botta deliver on all three, hailing from Sicily and Turin respectively. And much of what goes into their dishes — cheese, tomatoes, artichokes, olive oil, flour — is imported straight from the heartland.
Photo: Hollie Younger
The appetizer sets the tone: premium produce, classy presentation and refinement without reinvention. This is the burrata mozzarella (NT$520). Flown in directly from Italy every two weeks, Taipei surely cannot offer better than this.
Our pert little ball of burrata sits pretty atop a moat of Mediterranean vegetables, pink pickled onions and delightful little nuggets of fried pizza dough. Slice in and you’ll see this is the real deal; creamy and luxuriant with that naughty indulgence one only gets from eating an entire ball of cheese and calling it a starter.
All eyes are on the open kitchen, where Botta flings discs of dough in the air, the seductive scent of blistering pizza crusts wafting as he pulls a conveyor belt of fresh pies from the glowing pizza oven. It would feel rude not to order one — or two.
Photo: Hollie Younger
The signature here is the calzone (NT$440); an entire pizza folded like a fortune cookie, filled with creamy mozzarella, cuts of ham and hidden chunks of mushroom, offering a different textural experience as toppings become fillings and steam inside the oven.
But the margherita pizza (NT$320) is the showstopper. Speckled leopard spotted crusts, chewy base and perfectly oozy cheese; this takes us straight to a balmy evening in the Adriatic.
The chef’s specials change every few days or until sold out, keeping regulars coming back for more inventive creations like this particular evening’s homemade gnocchi dish (NT$520) with artichokes, sundried tomatoes and squid slathered in a pistachio lime sauce, sprinkled with crumbled pistachio chunks. Nutty and savory, pistachio proves its place on the dinner table, elevated beyond the humble ice cream.
Photo: Hollie Younger
I would recommend sharing everything family-style; portions are generous and the dishes can be quite rich and complex.
We finish the evening with a sleek cup of tiramisu (NT$220); a viral flavor I’ve seen popping up a lot lately, from night market pancakes to up-scale latte offerings. But this is the real deal. The cream atop is light enough to polish off tonight’s carb-fest and the coffee-soaked cake below receives the highest compliment to be bestowed upon a dessert in Taiwan: “not too sweet”.
Black Pepper can shake up near on any classic cocktail from the martinis to the mojitos, but we stick strictly Italian once I spot local liqueur limoncello on the menu, like gold dust this far from home. We opt for a refreshing Limoncello Spritz (NT$320) and a Coconut Limoncello (NT$350), the lemony pina colada we never knew we needed.
Photo: Hollie Younger
Black Pepper gets it just right for a late-night date night or an after-work treat with friends, at once upscale and exclusive, yet accessible price-wise and inviting with its warm vibe and exceptional Italian hospitality.
Photo: Hollie Younger
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