Aleisha’ - Taipei

Great culinary skills, every dish is crafted with creativity and a palette of favours and freshness! Amazing cocktail pairing, great bartender. A must try in TP... read more Great culinary skills, every dish is crafted with creativity and a palette of favours and freshness! Amazing cocktail pairing, great bartender. A must try in TPE! Price per person: $1–200 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

I've dined at Aleisha twice, once with the original chef and once with the new chef. My original experience was slightly questionable, but I wanted to like this... read more I've dined at Aleisha twice, once with the original chef and once with the new chef. My original experience was slightly questionable, but I wanted to like this restaurant so much that I was willing to give it another shot. Unfortunately, I just don't think it is up to par with my own personal tastes. The pros: I'm such a huge fan of Levantine and North African food, and having Aleisha is such great representation for Taipei, as the city desperately needed new flavors beyond the typical French Italian Japanese fine dining scene. Aleisha puts a personal spin on Mediterranean food in an endearing way, and I'm thankful to be able to find these flavors in the heart of the city. The service and sommelier were way better the second time around, and the courses were run more professionally as well. Cocktail pairings are also amazing and I wish more restaurants would do them! I do recommend you to try this place out if you are yearning for some Mediterranean flavors. The cons: The food was, in my opinion, on the blander side and slightly overpriced across both of my visits. I've seen some reviews talking about the notable improvement in selections and dishes after the change in staff, which I can agree to a certain point. However, I felt like there was a grave loss confusion of the restaurant's identity. A lot of the original authenticity of the cuisine was lost in favor for seemingly pandering to the Taiwanese taste, such as the uni amuse bouche that tasted like it came straight from an omakase restaurant. There was also a Christmas-inspired hot chocolate drink that, although fun and cute, felt completely out of place culturally and thematically. Aleisha, we do not need another fusion joint like this when the restaurant isn't advertised as such. I want strong, bold flavors in dishes that are unapologetically authentic, spiced up, and true to their sources. I also want some sort of elevation of the original dish and not a watered-down or scaled-down version of them. Also, the chairs in the restaurant were extremely uncomfortable for me to sit in, and the spacing between guests were so close to each other. It became difficult for me to relax and enjoy the experience due to those conditions. The bathroom ambience also has room for improvement as well. Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Price per person: $2,000+ Food: 2 Service: 4 Atmosphere: 2

While visiting Taipei we wanted to try something different after visiting night markets and many other popular establishments. Aleisha' offered an intriguing me... read more While visiting Taipei we wanted to try something different after visiting night markets and many other popular establishments. Aleisha' offered an intriguing menu with options for everyone including seafood, beef, and lamb. We were greeted by the staff who made great conversation and recommendations based on our preferences (especially the cocktails to pair with different dishes). Each course was presented beautifully and tasted even better than it looked. We added the Wagyu and Lamb to our set menu and it was well worth it. Every bite was well balanced with different textures and tastes that blended together very well. Overall we had an incredible experience and look forward to visiting again next time we're in Taipei! Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5