Ueshima Coffee Lounge is a Japanese chain establishment that opened locations in Taipei (3 at the time of this review). It's a unique place in Taipei, being that there aren't many coffee shops that have nice lounge seating while playing comfortable jazz music in the background, which is perfect for solo visitors to read or do some work on their laptops. It's also a great place for small groups to chat over coffee. It's a lounge, so of course there is no time limit for one's visit. Ueshima does a pretty nice job at separating the solo seating area with the group area, but it's impossible to completely partition talking-areas from quiet-areas, as there is still always going to be the chance of a loud conversation between two people in an area that is meant for silence. I usually like to enjoy Ueshima solo while reading a book. About half of the time there is a loud couple or group of people seated close enough to me to ruin the nice jazz ambiance while I read my book, so I always bring my music with me in order to listen to my own jazz music, or just put my earphones in my ears to lessen the noise enough for me to still enjoy Ueshima's jazz music; no one likes loud voices while trying to read, of course.
Now that I've covered the ambiance of Ueshima, I'll get into what they offer for drinks and food. What they offer in the way of coffee isn't traditional to most coffeehouses; they don't have espresso based coffee drinks like a latte, cappuccino, or an espresso shot. Ueshima is a Japanese version of a European coffeehouse. They have some of the best sweet coffee drinks that I've ever had. Other drinks that are also offered: milk and coffee mixed drinks, milk tea, soy milk coffee (for vegans), matcha milk, and a cocoa drink. They also have a nice drip coffee for black coffee lovers. They also have Vienna coffee for those who want to take the bitterness off their black coffee with some cream. Vienna coffee is traditionally black coffee or espresso shots topped with whipped cream; some places add more cream than others, but the point is the same: to lighten up the drink by taking the bitter-bite out of the drink. It just so happens that the book I was reading at the time of my first visit to Ueshima took place in Vienna, where the characters chatted about philosophy, politics, current affairs in Austria in the late 1800s, and their own lives at Café Central, one of the legendary coffeehouses in Vienna that still exists today. Here are some links if you're interested in the Viennese coffeehouse culture, or where you can find traditional cafés in Vienna's Old City to experience Viennese coffeehouse culture in its most original form. Sorry for getting down to the details and history of only one drink that is served at Ueshima; it's just that I am particularly taken by the drink. I almost always order it or one of their two sweet coffee drinks. I started out drinking only sweet coffee drinks in my early coffee days, and have since moved to drinking cappuccinos with no sugar, but Ueshima's sweet drinks have re-opened the door back to my appreciation for sweet coffee drinks. They're gourmet and top-notch; they aren't syrup-filled gross sweet coffee drinks one could find at Starbucks or other major coffee chains.
Some of their sandwiches are good and make for a nice light meal along with coffee, but don't expect too much out of them or you might be disappointed (particularly pertaining to Westerners who are use to more hardy sandwiches). The tuna bagel sandwich and smoked salmon sandwich were my two favorite choices. Most of their cake is similar to Wendel's cake, meaning their cake is good.
I've visited all three of their locations several times. Their location on Bade Road is the biggest and has the best layout -- it's my favorite location of theirs. The location in the basement of the Ming Yao department store (明曜百貨) has the coolest, dimly-lit area for solo visitors who want to read. Their location on Dunhua South Road near exit #7 of the Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT Station stays open the latest, but is my least favorite since they renovated it. This location no longer offers the caramel milk coffee, which was my favorite sweet coffee choice of theirs; they switched the great cake selection -- that is still available at their other locations -- for more expensive, forgettable desserts; they tried to make the Vienna coffee more fancy by serving the coffee in a separate glass container that is poured into a smaller-than-before ceramic cup with the cream on the side, but it ended up totally ruining the drink because the coffee gets cold quickly in the glass container and is a nuisance to have to keep pouring it into the ceramic cup (now I can only get my two favorite drinks of theirs at the other two locations); the prices increased about NT$15 per drink (probably because of the high-rent cost for that location); several times my hot drinks were given to me at lukewarm temperature!, and the customer service is usually not as good as the other two locations. That location did get a bigger selection of black coffee, so that's one positive change for dark coffee connoisseurs.
Vegetarian light meal options: Bagel Sandwich (NT$190 solo, NT$110 w/ drink), Cheese & Egg Sandwich (NT$85), and Waffles (not served all day) (NT$170 to NT$190 solo, NT$90 to NT$110 w/ drink).
dedicated back button on Google Maps to view the destination on a full-screened Google Map for directions.
Create your own jazz cafe music ambiance in your own home, thanks to BGM's 4-hour mix.
A very nice video by Miyakez that displays the Ueshima Bade Road shop.