Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan
Italy-Japan-Taiwan fusion, Michelin-backed, hard to book.
INITA holds a 2024 Michelin one star for its Italian-technique tasting menu that runs through Japanese precision and Taiwanese seasonal produce. Dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, at the $$$$ tier in Taipei's Songshan District. Hard to book — plan four or more weeks ahead. The Italy-Japan-Taiwan concept is specific enough to justify the commitment for serious food travelers.
At the $$$$ price tier, INITA earns its place among Taipei's most deliberate dinner experiences. You are paying for a 10-plus course tasting menu built around Italian technique filtered through a Japanese chef's sensibility and grounded in Taiwanese seasonal produce. That intersection is not a gimmick: the 2024 Michelin one-star confirms the kitchen is executing at a level that justifies the outlay. If you want à la carte flexibility or a shorter format, book elsewhere. If you want a single, composed, season-driven meal in Taipei's upper tier, INITA is worth the commitment.
INITA sits in the Songshan District, off Bade Road, in a low-key address that gives no visual warning of what is inside. The name itself telegraphs the concept: Italy, Nippon, Taiwan compressed into four letters. The room runs dinner service Tuesday through Saturday from 6:45 PM, and the absence of lunch service or weekend Sunday sittings means every seat represents a deliberate reservation, not a passing visit. Walk-ins are not a realistic option here.
The tasting menu moves through 10 or more courses, each one anchored in Italian structure but opened up with Japanese precision and Taiwanese ingredient sourcing. The visual language of the plates reflects this layering. A dish documented in the venue's award notes gives a clear picture of the kitchen's register: dorayaki reworked as a castella pancake sandwich, filled with a tartare of local yellow beef, served alongside an Italian tuna preparation dense with briny umami. That combination reads as precise and purposeful rather than eclectic. The Italian scaffolding holds, the Japanese detail sharpens the execution, and the Taiwanese sourcing gives the whole thing specificity.
The season-driven structure means the menu rotates with produce availability, which is the right reason to return more than once. It also means that what you eat in spring will not be what a colleague ate in autumn. For the explorer diner, this is the point: each visit is a distinct record of a particular moment in the kitchen's thinking, not a reliable repetition of a signature. If you want to eat the same dish you read about in a review, this format requires some acceptance that the kitchen has moved on.
INITA's database record does not detail the wine list, and Pearl does not fabricate specifics. What can be said with confidence is that the cuisine format — Italian-technique tasting menu, 10-plus courses, $$$$ price tier, Michelin-recognised — sets a strong expectation for pairing depth. Italian-technique restaurants at this level in Asian cities frequently build wine programs that lean on Italian regional producers, with supplementary reach into natural and low-intervention labels that complement umami-forward, fermented, and raw elements in the food. The savory density of preparations like the tuna dip and beef tartare dishes described in the award notes typically call for wines with acidity and texture rather than weight. If wine pairing is a priority for you, contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm pairing options and pricing, as this will materially affect your total spend at the $$$$ tier. For context, comparable Michelin one-star tasting menu restaurants in Taipei at this price point tend to offer pairing supplements that add meaningfully to the per-head cost. Budget accordingly.
Booking difficulty at INITA is rated Hard. Dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday, 6:45 PM with service through 10 PM. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday. There is no lunch service. Given the Michelin recognition and the intimate format of a multi-course tasting menu, securing a table requires advance planning: do not expect to book within a week of your intended date, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. The address in Songshan District, Alley 52 off Lane 12, Section 3, Bade Road, is specific enough to navigate by map app without difficulty, but worth confirming before arrival as the Songshan area has several layered lane addresses that can be confusing on first visit.
No phone number or website is listed in the Pearl database at this time. Check current booking channels through the venue directly or through third-party reservation platforms that serve the Taipei market. A group inquiry directly to the restaurant is advisable if you are planning for three or more people, as tasting menu formats at this scale typically have limited seat counts.
Quick reference: Tue–Sat, 6:45 PM–10 PM; closed Sun–Mon; Hard to book; $$$$; Songshan District, Taipei.
See the comparison section below for INITA against its closest Taipei peers.
If you are building a Taiwan dining itinerary beyond Taipei, JL Studio in Taichung covers similar cross-cultural fusion territory with a Southeast Asian lens, while GEN in Kaohsiung offers a different perspective on southern Taiwan's produce. For a complete picture of eating well across the island, Pearl's Taiwan city guides cover the full range. In Taipei itself, see our full Taipei restaurants guide, and for context on where to stay near the city's leading dining, the Taipei hotels guide is a useful companion. The Taipei bars guide and Taipei experiences guide round out the picture if you are spending more than a night in the city. For Italian Contemporary at a comparable level in Europe, L'Olivo in Anacapri and Agli Amici Rovinj are useful reference points for what the cuisine category looks like in its home context. In Taipei's own Italian scene, FRASSI and Tutto Bello operate at different price points and formats worth considering if INITA's tasting menu format is not the right fit for your visit.
INITA only serves dinner , Tuesday through Saturday from 6:45 PM. There is no lunch service. If you are looking for a midday tasting menu option in Taipei's contemporary dining scene, you will need to look at other venues. For dinner, INITA's 6:45 PM start gives you a full evening without a rush. Book the earliest available table if you want a quieter room at the start of service.
Yes, at the $$$$ tier, the 2024 Michelin one-star is a meaningful signal that the kitchen is performing at a level where the price is defensible. The value case rests on the specificity of the concept: Italian technique, Japanese precision, Taiwanese seasonal produce in 10-plus courses is a distinct offer, not a generic tasting menu. If you are weighing INITA against a similarly priced meal at logy or Taïrroir, the decision comes down to which culinary intersection interests you most. INITA's Italy-Japan-Taiwan axis is the most unusual of the three.
The format is tasting menu only, multi-course, dinner-only, and the kitchen is closed Sunday and Monday. Booking is Hard , plan at least three to four weeks ahead for weekend tables. The address in Songshan District uses the layered lane system common in Taipei; use a map app and confirm the exact entrance before your visit. The Michelin recognition means demand consistently outpaces availability, so if your travel dates are fixed, book as early as possible. Budget for wine pairings on leading of the base tasting menu price if you plan to drink with the meal.
INITA runs a set tasting menu, so ordering is not part of the experience. The kitchen decides the progression. What the award notes confirm is that the menu includes a dorayaki-style castella pancake with local yellow beef tartare and an Italian tuna preparation with umami depth. Beyond that, the menu rotates with the season, which means your specific courses will depend on when you visit. Communicate any dietary restrictions clearly when booking, as the tasting format requires the kitchen to plan substitutions in advance.
No phone or website is currently listed in Pearl's database, which makes direct group inquiries harder to initiate. The tasting menu format at a Michelin one-star level typically means a limited seat count, and groups of four or more at the $$$$ tier will need to confirm availability well ahead. Contact the venue through whatever reservation channel is currently active , third-party booking platforms that serve Taipei are a practical starting point. For large groups wanting a comparable experience with clearer group-booking infrastructure, Le Palais at the same price tier has private dining room options that suit formal group occasions.
At the same $$$$ price tier in Taipei, your main comparisons are logy (Modern European with Asian Contemporary technique, also Michelin-recognised), Taïrroir (Taiwanese-French, strong local identity), and Le Palais (Cantonese at the formal end). If the Italian-Japanese-Taiwanese intersection is not your primary draw, logy is the closest alternative in terms of format and ambition. If you want a shorter format or more flexibility, step down a price tier and look at what the broader Taipei restaurant scene offers. For value, A Cun Beef Soup in Tainan represents a completely different register but one that serious food travelers consistently rate as essential Taiwan eating.
The tasting menu format works well for solo diners , you are not penalised by group-size minimums, and the course-by-course progression gives you something to engage with throughout the meal. At the $$$$ tier, solo dining at INITA is a meaningful spend for a single person, so it is worth weighing against a multi-stop approach across several Taipei restaurants on the same evening. That said, for an explorer traveler prioritising depth over breadth on a given night, a solo seat at a Michelin one-star tasting menu is a coherent choice. Confirm counter or single-seat availability when booking, as tasting menu restaurants often manage solo reservations differently from table bookings.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INITA | Italian Contemporary | INITA, a portmanteau of Italy, Nippon (Japan) and Taiwan, delivers victuals that are underscored by Italian technique, jazzed up with Japanese twists and crafted with Taiwanese ingredients. The season-driven tasting menu consists of 10-plus courses inspired by the Japanese chef-owner’s culinary roots and experience. His dorayaki is a castella pancake sandwich filled with a tartare of local yellow beef, alongside an Italian tuna dip packed in briny umami.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| logy | Modern European, Asian Contemporary | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Le Palais | Cantonese | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| Taïrroir | Taiwanese/French, Taiwanese contemporary | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| Mudan Tempura | Tempura | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Golden Formosa | Taiwanese | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
INITA serves dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, with a single seating at 6:45 PM. There is no lunch service to compare against. If your schedule is inflexible, plan around the Tuesday-Saturday window — Sunday and Monday closures rule out weekend-only visitors arriving on those days.
At the $$$$ tier with a Michelin 1 Star (2024), INITA is priced at Taipei's upper end and earns it for diners who want a structured, concept-driven meal. The 10-plus course format built on Italian technique, Japanese twists, and Taiwanese ingredients is a coherent idea executed with precision — not a novelty act. If you want à la carte flexibility or something shorter, look at Taïrroir instead.
The address in Songshan District, off Bade Road, is deliberately low-key — do not expect a marquee entrance. Booking is hard, so reserve well in advance. The format is a single tasting menu of 10-plus courses, meaning there are no choices to make at the table: arrive ready to commit to the full experience.
INITA runs a set tasting menu only — there is no à la carte ordering. The menu is season-driven, so specific dishes change, but the documented signature is a dorayaki: a castella pancake sandwich filled with local yellow beef tartare alongside an Italian tuna dip. Expect the kitchen to rotate around that Italy-Japan-Taiwan framework throughout your meal.
The venue data does not confirm a private dining room or maximum group capacity. Given the tasting-menu-only format and the difficulty of securing a reservation, larger groups should check the venue's official channels before assuming availability. For a confirmed private dining option in Taipei at this tier, Le Palais is better documented for group bookings.
Taïrroir is the closest comparison — also Michelin-starred, also Taiwan-ingredient-focused, with a more overtly local identity. Le Palais suits diners who want Cantonese fine dining at a similar price point. Logy covers Italian technique with Japanese precision at comparable difficulty to book. If your interest is specifically the cross-cultural fusion angle, those three cover the main alternatives before looking outside Taipei.
A tasting-menu counter format is generally comfortable for solo diners, and INITA's single-seating dinner structure means solo guests follow the same meal as everyone else — no awkward ordering decisions. The venue data does not specify counter seating explicitly, but solo dining at Michelin tasting-menu restaurants in Taipei is common practice. Book as an individual and confirm seating preference when you reserve.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
