August 03, 2007
The Library
It's the more casual cousin of the flagship Burgundy restaurant in the XinYi Eslite book/department store. On a rainy Friday evening we didn't feel like foraging elsewhere so it was a good time to give the place a try.
The restaurant was impeccably decorated with high ceilings, solid wood furniture, and comfortable lounge chaises. Usually lounge-style furniture don't work in a restaurant setting because they're usually too low or too soft for one to comfortably sit up and eat. But the chairs and tables were perfectly matched so that we could enjoy our meal in comfort, and would also make an excellent place to kick back for an afternoon tea-party or an after-meal drink. The window-wall overlooking the heart of the fashionable Xinyi district connects the chicness of the interior and exterior spaces.
They didn't bring water automatically, pushing their fancy mineral waters instead. Decided to play the sucker and went with a sparkling Austrian water to add a little European flair to our meal. Found the water a bit salty, as one might expect from a natural spring, but it seemed flat, too. Could be just the way it is or maybe the bottle's been sitting in the warehouse a bit too long. Hard to tell. At least it was all-you-can-drink so we made sure we got our money's worth.
SO had a smoked-chicken pizza with some greens thrown on top. Nothing special but it works by itself as a light entree or could be shared as an appetizer. I had the smoked salmon - cod entree. The fish had a springy almost scallop-like texture which was interesting. But the strong flavor of the smoked salmon dominated the taste reducing the fish to purely a textural element. I think a bacon wrap, which is a standard scallop preparation, would've worked better than smoked salmon. Besides, everything tastes better with bacon.
To be honest we were paying as much for the view and the nice furniture as for the food. That doesn't mean the food's at all bad, just not all that special and not a particularly great value. Great spot to go for a drink to impress your date, though.
The Library
110台北市信義區松高路11號6樓
(Eslite Xinyi 6F)
02-87873388