Taipei 101 is definitely a sight to be seen when visiting Taipei. A clash of traditional Chinese art with a modern twist gives this building’s architecture a great balance between the old world and the new. The observatory is definitely worth going just for the breath-taking views. The elevator ride is just as interesting, being the fastest one in the world thus so far, covering 89 floors just shy of 40 seconds. So what do you do when you have a big tall building at the heart of a metropolitan city? You open restaurants in them of course!!! And that’s why we went to Diamond Tony’s Italian Restaurant.
Since 1988? You’d think 20 years is enough time to learn how to cook real Italian food.
Couple things to note about Diamond Tony’s. From what I understand, there are two located inside Taipei 101. One of them being on the 85th floor with a nice view and the other is located at the mall level, so no view whatsoever. Unfortunately for me, I went to the one on the mall. Reservations for the 85th floor restaurant had to be made six months in advance, so that made it impossible.
This salad wasn’t too bad. It was rather interesting trying to figure out how to eat it tho.
I’ll begin by saying this…I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. It was an experience…it was here where I first had Escargot…which by the way, I won’t have again unless I go to France or something. I always wondered what Escargot was doing in a pseudo-Italian restaurant anyway….
Snails swimming in cheese
Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia Prime Rib, now with Pine Nuts!
I want to say Creme Bruelee, but I’m just not sure what the heck it is.
I didn’t pay for the meal (my sister treated us and I don’t want to sound ungrateful), so I’m really trying not to be too harsh here. However, the truth is that the food was very average…Olive Garden is probably slightly better. I guess my biggest gripe is that everything just had a “Taiwanese” flare to it. Nothing wrong with Taiwanese food, if that’s what you are looking to eat. This was more like “Italiawanese”, if there is such a word. It’s like Panda Express out here…Americanized Chinese food, which down here in So Cal is prepared by mostly Mexicans (How many authentic Chinese restaurant really serve Orange Chicken? Really) The point is that it’s just not authentic, and that is what made Diamond Tony’s such a disappointment. For the location, the price and the type of ambiance, I was expecting more. I really didn’t want to go into the each dish one-by-one, so instead, I’m going to post a few photos and summarize…Go to the 85th floor restaurant, take in the scenery, eat the Italiawanese food, take lots of pictures with friends and family, drink lots (might make the food taste better and you might even ignore how slow the food comes out) and call it a night (don’t ever go again).
I personally had a great time hanging out with my mom, dad, sister and my wife. A Quality family moment, so the food was secondary to the occasion.
4F.,No.45, ShihFu Rd. Sinyi Disctrict, Taipei City 110, Taiwan
(02) 8101-8268
Hours: 11:30 am-9:30 pm
85F., No.7, Sec.5,Sunyi Rd., Sinyi District, Taipei City 110, Taiwan
(02) 8101-0016
Hours: 12 am-24:00 pm
Too pricey for the quality of food being served.
Not Authentic Enough.
No View. If you must go, go to the 85th floor restaurant.
Average service.
1. Weirdest thing you have had for breakfast?
* Sushi & Sashimi
2. Most desperate meal you've ever had?
* Canned corn with a slice of American cheese, microwaved.
3. When you eat too much, you...
* Sit back on my chair and stare at the ceiling blankly...in pain. 
wow.. i thought you were generous in your review.. i’ve had pretty terrible experiences there, but i don’t know if the 85th floor is any better.
hope you got eat some good food otherwise
You think so?
I was trying not to be very mean. After all, I didn’t pay for it, my sister treated us…so as I wrote the review, I felt kind of bad bashing it. I think the service for us was not too bad. That’s usually the case when my mom tags along. She can get good service out of some of the crummiest restaurants I tell ya. She never holds back when she doesn’t like something, she speaks her mind and oddly enough, people listen.