19.1 Bistro — Pasta ｜ Pizza ｜ Signature Handmade Dishes ｜ Cocktails

• Recommendation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Ambiance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Typical spend: about NT$700~1000 per person
• Google rating: 4.6 stars
• Restroom: available

Getting There

19.1 Bistro is tucked away in a residential area just north of the Museum of Fine Arts (Google Maps link). It's not especially eye-catching, so if you're not drinking, I'd recommend driving or riding a scooter — there's a parking lot right across the street, so parking is easy.
If you're planning to drink, I'd suggest taking a taxi. If you prefer public transit, you can get off at Light Rail Museum of Fine Arts Station and walk 15 minutes, or get off at TRA Neiwei Station and walk 7 minutes.

The Space

The storefront has a stylish red exterior, while the other side displays a wine cabinet, giving off a vibe similar to the back-alley bars in Taipei's East District. The dining area inside is spacious and comfortable, and the modern decor adds a lot of atmosphere.

How to Order

You order mainly by scanning a QR code to order online, and every item on the online menu comes with a photo. I think having photos for the cocktails is a real plus — at a lot of bars you have no idea what a cocktail on the menu actually looks like, how big the portion is, or whether the color matches what you want. Cocktails aren't cheap either, so if you end up picking a dud, you'll be a lot less eager to order another one.
The food menu has a good variety of specialty dishes, with pasta or pizza as the mains. The printed food menu is only 3 pages, shown below for reference, while the drinks menu runs many pages — here are two pages of it.

Pasta ｜ Pizza ｜ Signature Handmade Dishes ｜ Cocktails

The four of us ordered two pastas, one pizza, four handmade dishes, and four cocktails, and every single one delivered on flavor — all really delicious.

The Thai-style spicy seafood pasta wasn't super "Thai" in flavor, just mildly spicy, but the shrimp, scallops, and squid were all fresh. The beef pasta in red sauce had really tender beef and was tasty too, though the portion wasn't huge — guys might not find it filling.
The pickled pepper chicken pizza could've used a bit more punch from the pickled peppers, but the cheese was generous, and overall it was quite good.

Among the handmade dishes, the takoyaki didn't have much visible octopus inside — I found it a bit ordinary and wouldn't order it again. But the Southeast Asian pepper-salt crispy pork, old-soul plum-scented ribs, and grilled mixed skewers were all excellent — definitely worth ordering.

For the cocktails, I'd recommend checking the photos and descriptions on the online menu first, so you can see what glass it comes in (portion size) and how flashy it looks (presentation). Overall the cocktails were solid but unremarkable in both taste and appearance — still, paired with the food and the setting, you definitely get a chill, relaxed vibe.

【19.1 Bistro Info】

• [Address] No. 59-2, Meishu N. 1st St., Gushan District, Kaohsiung City (Google Maps link)
• [Hours] Dinner 18:30~03:00
• [Closed] Check the Facebook page for holiday and Lunar New Year notices
• [Phone] 07-5225191
• [Facebook] 19.1 Bistro
• [Instagram] 19.1 Bistro

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